Project : Double Header II - Going Cryo

Preparing the parts to go to sub freezing temps-

I knew that condensation was going to be my biggest problem once I venture into cold temps.  After thinking about it, and listening to N8's personal problems he has had with super cooling on his Bp6, I followed his lead and scored a can or 2 of Urethane Seal Coat made by CRC.  It was cheap, like 5$ per can at Gray Bar ((datacom / electrical warehouse). This is a very strong dielectric spray paint used in high voltage applications to seal connections from the elements.  It dries to a rubberized coating that is very durable, and can handle temps way more serious then what I will be going for.

Since I cant paint in my apt, and didn't want to coat the deck, I made a makeshift paint booth out of a paper bag. I placed the mobo in the bag upside down and masked some of the areas with duct tape (only stuff I had). I gave the board 3 very careful and controlled coatings.  I didn't want to get it on the front of the board. I then gave it a 4th coat that covered the socketed areas more to give it a bit more protection and to make sure the pins are covered with a good thick coat of the sealant.

I masked over any areas that the sealant could leak down and into a socket (damaging the socket), or onto the front of the board and covering something that shouldn't be covered. The reason to cover the back of the board is because the cold temps are going to chill the back of the board below the dew point and water will form. this way if it does, the water will form on the urethane and not on the motherboard.

It was time to start sizing up and testing the mounting for the new water blocks / bracket on the pelts.   You can also see in the picture the 40mm fan I mounted on the chipset.

Then disaster strikes

Pop Quiz - What's wrong with this picture?

Hint: it really caused some problems with mounting the CPU's....

I took the original clips and the original small brackets (one bracket for each CPU, instead of the one long one). and I made the holes bigger on the clips so they could fit the bigger lugs, and also by hand and with a file (didn't have my dremel around when I needed it) I filed a area out of the bracket to fit around the fitting on the water block that is on the top because it is running diagonal across the CPU.

Once that fubar was out of the way, I was able to get on with the remainder of the sealing.  It was time to bust out the RTV and seal anything that was left unsealed by the urethane.  Mainly the top of the mobo, and components going into the cooling setup.