Equipment List
Ok I know about dry ice and its health and safety aspects what additional equipment do I need?
The following are this writer’s recommended but by no means definitive list (as will be explained later)
The most important kit you need would be the cooling apparatus itself. This is a copper tube built to hold the alcohol and the dry ice pellets in order to cool the processor. The best this writer has found can be ordered from www.piotres.com and can be purchased for roughly 130 euros plus delivery for a 1.6 kilogram dry ice pot.
 Piotres Website |
 DICE Pot From Piotres |
The alcohol suspension medium that was mentioned earlier can be purchased from any Boots’ store. Some prefer acetone others Isopropyl alcohol, none of them are wrong just differing ways to do the same job.
Isopropyl Alcohol
For the FIRST layer of motherboard insulation nail polish of any colour (clear is recommended) Can be purchased almost anywhere
However an alternative to nail polish can be used, albeit at a much higher price, by the name of Dragon FX skin. This substance is used to create masks for the film industry and is entirely water proof and non conductive of an electric current. If you wish to dissemble the equipment after use then the Dragon Skin substance is easy to peel off, leaving no residue behind.
Dragon Skin FX
http://www.bentleychemicals.co.uk/
A second layer of insulation must be used, there are many techniques that can be used here and none of them is incorrect, they are just differing solutions the do the same job. However this writer would recommend artists putty eraser (though expensive they can be used over and over again. At least ten of these must be purchased.
Artists Putty Eraser
Note: some people on using erasers do not use nail polish as first layer; this writer finds this to be a very cavalier attitude and would NOT recommend anyone using this guide to miss out on the first section.
Putty eraser can be purchased from any artists or craft store.
The third layer of insulation can be purchased from any supermarket. These would be paper towels (thicker the better) this reviewer uses the brand ‘plenty’ (One sheet does indeed do plenty) This layer catches any possible condensation drips that may have leaked through the top most insulation layer.
The last layer of motherboard insulation could either be a new covering of putty eraser or sheet of ‘Armaflex’ foam this can be purchased from www.pipelagging.com The remaining insulation is exclusively used to wrap around the copper pot itself. Available are tubes of Armaflex foam, these are measured by the insulation thickness and the BORE size. If the copper pot is 60mm in diameter, do NOT purchase a foam tube at the same bore size of the pot, rather use a slightly bore size slightly smaller, so the foam tube stretches tight around the copper tube in order to create a seal.
Armaflex Pipe Lagging
The last piece of insulation would be armaflex insulation tape. This is used to wrap around the mounting posts of the copper pot and to create a nice seal. Again paper towels can be utilised in this area, instead of the tape
Armaflex Tape
As previously mentioned, the armaflex foam and tape can be purchased from www.pipelagging.com
A thermal compound, any white gunk will do such as artic cermique, however if you wish to be adventurous an alternative compound can be used which can be utilised is Innovation Cooling’s IC Diamond. However for this substance to work it must be heated before being used in order to fast-cure the compound.
This compound can be purchased from www.overclockers.co.uk
A hair dryer, purchased anywhere or borrow your girlfriends.
A bench table to mount everything on. Yes if your budget is tight, cardboard boxes can be used, however if we were to do things correctly then a dedicated review/bench table must be used. The Recommended model would be the Dimastech bench table. This is easy to setup, takes minimal room and is easily transportable.
Dimastech Benchtable
Last and certainly NOT least are the Dry-Ice pellets themselves. They can be obtained in a 10 kilogram bag for about twenty pounds which includes a standard charge for any order. This can be easily obtained from BOC (British Oxygen Company) or simply google Dry-Ice suppliers/manufacturers.
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