Processor cooling: various cooling methods, types of coolers and their differences. Choosing a high-quality, reliable water cooler All types of water cooler

Coolers are devices for dosing, cooling and heating drinking water. Some models have additional functions and can carbonate, disinfect and even ozonize water. The cooler can be a good alternative to an electric kettle, boiler or water refrigerator. With this unit, you can get the right amount of water from large store gallons or a water pipe at any time. It is very convenient to use in in public places and apartments. In hot weather, you can always drink cold water from the cooler. And for tea lovers, it always has hot water.

Types of coolers

Today there are many different models of coolers - evaluate the range at https://elitcoolers.ru. Depending on the manufacturer, these units have different functions, design and price.

Coolers have different ways connections and are divided into flow and bottled.

They are desktop and floor, for installation on a table or on the floor.

Flow coolers

Such units purify tap water (up to 180 liters per day). They cool it down to 4 degrees or heat it up to 98 degrees. This is convenient for large offices or industrial premises.

Bottled coolers

These devices are not connected to the water mains. The water in them comes from large bottles that are sold in supermarkets. They can be used in any conditions, they are easy to transport and install. These coolers also cool and heat water.

Floor coolers

The devices are installed directly on the floor, their height is from 1 meter or more.

Attached are:

coasters;
cupboard for storing cups, sugar, tea, etc.;
ozonizer cabinet for ozonizing products;
fridge;
carbonator (a device for carbonating water);
electronic scoreboard (for control).

Compared to a desktop cooler, this cooler is more expensive, but it has more features and more convenient to use.

Desktop coolers

They are produced up to 0.5 meters high, without a bottle of water installed on top. They allow you to save space in the room, although they need a stand. These devices are cheaper and simpler than outdoor ones. They heat and cool water.

Cooling

Coolers have electronic or compressor cooling.

With electronic cooling, a Patelier element (tablet) is used. It works more slowly than compressor, but attracts with its simplicity and cheapness. Such units are not recommended for installation in hot or dusty places. They can become clogged or overheat and fail.

Compressor cooling, works on the principle of a refrigerator. These coolers are more expensive, but they are reliable and efficient. They can even be used as mini-fridges.

Cooler selection

The range of these products on the Russian market is quite large, but not all manufacturers produce coolers High Quality. The most reliable can be considered: coolers AEL, Ecotronic, Vatten, HotFrost.

When choosing a cooler, it is necessary to determine in which room it will stand and how many people it will serve. For a small room and a small team or family, a desktop cooler with electronic cooling is chosen. It is cheaper and more compact.

If the cooler will be installed in a large office, it is advisable to choose a floor-standing unit with a compressor type of cooling. It is more productive and has more functions. In addition, it can be connected to the water supply.

In any case, the cooler makes people's lives more comfortable. This device is used at home, in offices, shopping centers and children's institutions. Wherever you need hot and cold water for drinking, it is advisable to install a cooler. The functions of cleaning, disinfection, and ozonation of water and products make this unit even more useful and attractive.

From this article you will learn:

How desktop water coolers work
What are the features of floor standing water coolers
What are remarkable compressor coolers for water
What are electronic water coolers
What are designer water coolers for?
Who is suitable for water coolers with a refrigerator and with a locker
How does the child lock function work in water coolers
What are the types of faucets in water coolers
How coolers with top and bottom water loading are arranged
What are the most FAQ about water coolers

Many people think that a water cooler is a small cabinet with a 10-liter bottle on top of it. There is an opinion that such devices are produced by 1-2 companies. But it's not. Now coolers are presented on the market in a fairly wide range, which allows you to choose a model for a specific interior. In this article we will tell you what types of water coolers exist.

Table water coolers

Desktop water coolers - the group is quite extensive. It includes all devices intended for installation on a table, cabinet, window sill, kitchen set. In devices of this type, a cooling function may be provided. Often they are equipped with a display, the ability to control the temperature, an on and off timer. Another option - such models are simply handed out drinking water without heating or cooling it.

The desktop cooler has a number of advantages, it:

compact;
multifunctional;
economically consumes electricity;
practical;
is inexpensive.

Most often, a desktop water cooler is used:

at home, if tenants are 5 or less;
in small offices, the area of which does not allow placing a large cooler;
in the country, because the desktop cooler is easy to move and install.

When choosing a cooler, you should also consider the type of cooling. If the model provides for compressor cooling, the water with it quickly acquires the desired temperature. This option is suitable for homes and offices with a large number of people. Coolers with electronic cooling are used if the number of water consumers is small. Desktop units are compact and relatively light. They weigh only 2-3 kg, so there are no problems with their transportation.

When choosing a desktop cooler, remember that you will often have to change the bottle in it. Microorganisms can get into the internal pipeline of the device, which quickly multiply and accumulate, penetrating into the water. Can this problem be dealt with? Yes, if you opt for the innovative tank model with a UV lamp. Such a lamp is installed in a tank, and due to ultraviolet radiation it destroys bacteria. Of course, a cooler with this element will cost more than a classic model.

Floor standing water coolers

Considering the types of water coolers, photos and prices on the Internet, you can not ignore the floor model of the device. It is installed on a flat, flat surface. It's better if it's just the floor. The device works in automatic mode. The front panel is equipped with an indicator button that informs about its status. At the request of the user, the cooler can be switched to heating or cooling mode. If you plan not to use it for a long time, then the device should be disconnected from the network.

There are types of water coolers, inside of which ozonation chambers are built. Thanks to them, it is possible to save working time and use disinfected dishes.

Consider the advantages of floor coolers:

You can place them directly on the floor. This is very convenient if the area of the room is small or there is no separate table on which a compact model could be placed.
Thanks to their small dimensions, coolers can be installed even in a small room.
Floor types of water coolers are presented today in a wide range, which allows you to choose your favorite model to your taste and the interior of your home or office space.
The cooler both heats and cools the water.
There are completely different models with different functions on the market.

The coolers have additional useful options, such as, for example, a carbonation system, filtration, built-in lighting and cup holders. There are models with 3 taps for water supply (the third is designed to fill large containers with water room temperature), operating in light pressure mode, and there is also a tap blocking function hot water.
Models may be equipped with other additional elements, for example, a mini-bar (built-in refrigerator), a cabinet for storing dishes, coffee and tea, as well as a new convenient ozonation system that disinfects all the dishes in the cabinet.

When choosing a floorstanding unit, you should consider what type of loading it has - bottom or top. If only women work in the office, then it is better to choose a model where the water tank is installed at the bottom, since it is difficult to lift more than 20 kg. And you will have to do this, because there will be a need to replace the bottle.

Compressor water coolers

Compressor devices are more productive than coolers, which provide for thermoelectric cooling. They are able to give, as a rule, 2-2.5 liters of cold water per hour. At the same time, the device can operate 24 hours a day, similarly to a conventional refrigerator, and maintain the temperature of cold drinking water at 5–8 degrees above zero.

When buying a compressor device, you can say that you get a small specialized refrigeration unit. This is a great purchase for both home and office space.

Of course, the price of such models is higher, and they weigh more than electronic ones. In addition, after being transported in a horizontal or inclined position (which is highly undesirable), they should be allowed to stand for several hours, and also leave free space around the case for air circulation during operation. However, all these small difficulties and disadvantages are not so noticeable, given that the devices are reliable and productive: at least 2 liters of water per hour, cooled to 7-10 degrees.

Compressor types of water coolers are the best solution for large offices where many employees work. Also, the devices are suitable for installation in meeting rooms or reception managers, in a word, in any place where the reputation of the company is important.

So, compressor coolers cool water on the same principle as refrigerators and some air conditioners. The design consists of several main elements:

directly to the compressor, which creates the necessary pressure difference;
thermostatic valve maintaining differential pressure;
an evaporator that takes heat;
a condenser that releases heat into the environment;
refrigerant - the substance by which heat is transferred from the evaporator to the condenser.

Compressor models are characterized by high performance and reliability. At the same time, a compressor is always provided in coolers with a built-in refrigerator. Such devices can usually cool up to 2-3 liters of liquid per hour, some types of water coolers of this category - up to 5 liters. At the same time, the water temperature, as mentioned above, is maintained at a level of 5-7 degrees. One of the main and, of course, useful functions of compressor models is the ability to adjust temperature regime. As for the shortcomings, here, perhaps, only one can be singled out - very large dimensions and weight, due to which it is rather difficult to move and transport devices.

Of course, due to the extensive functionality and performance, compressor models become more versatile and in demand in any conditions. But knowing the key advantages and disadvantages of electronic and compressor cooling systems, you can more carefully look for the model that suits you. That is, in each specific situation, you need to choose the device taking into account your own requirements, the characteristics of the room where the device will be placed, and the operating rules.

Electronic water coolers

Electronic types of water coolers have certain advantages over simple compressor ones:

their cost is lower;
they weigh less, making moving to another room or moving around the city a breeze.

But there are also disadvantages:

the cooling system of electronic devices is not efficient enough: 4-5 glasses of cool water per hour with a temperature of 12-15 degrees below the external environment.

Electron cooling is carried out according to a principle named after Jean Peltier, a French physicist. This scientist first investigated electron cooling back in 1834. The essence of the Peltier principle is that when direct current flows in a circuit of several conductors, cooling occurs in those places where they are connected. Then the Russian academician A.F. Ioffe investigated this principle and applied new semiconductor alloys for it, thanks to which the production of electrical equipment with a cooling function was subsequently established with fairly good performance.

Why are coolers with an electronic cooling system better than compressor coolers? The fact that they have a longer period of operation (2 times or more) due to the fact that there are no mechanical parts in the system, there is no poisonous freon refrigerant and, therefore, there is no risk of its leaks. Due to this, the cooler with electronic type of cooling is an environmentally friendly and safe device, the cost of which is very low. Another significant advantage of such models is the almost silent operation. This kind of coolers, as a rule, are purchased for medical institutions, schools, kindergartens, hotels. You can transport the device in any position - this will not affect its further operation.

The performance indicator of a cooler with an electronic cooling system is 1–1.5 liters of cold water per hour. Such models are designed for a small number of consumers (5-7 people). The cooler cools the water up to 15 degrees.

It is better not to install electronic devices in rooms that are poorly ventilated, in dusty rooms, since the fan built into them may become clogged, and this can lead to damage to the cooling module. In addition, it is better not to use such a cooler when high temperature in room. So it will take a lot of time to get water with the right parameters.

As already mentioned, the electronic type of cooling has its pros and cons when compared with a compressor system. Be that as it may, it is up to you which type of cooler to choose.

Designer water coolers

Today on the market are different kinds water coolers, both standard and designer. You can opt for some original model of the device by placing advertising information, company brand, name, contact information on its body. So the device will become not only functional, but also a good aesthetic addition to your room.

Coolers for water with a refrigerator

There is another type of water coolers - with a refrigerator. These are devices with a built-in chamber, where, as in a conventional refrigerator, the temperature is automatically maintained at +5 degrees.

Coolers with a refrigerator are divided into two types. Some have a small chamber built in, with a volume of 16 to 28 liters. In others - a large refrigerator, with a volume of 50 to 60 liters. Models of the first type are perfect for ten people. If it is assumed that 15-25 people will use the device, then it is better to purchase a cooler with a large internal refrigerator. Such models have a more thoughtful design.

In addition to the refrigerator, there are also types of models with an ice generator. At the bottom there is a special section where you can take ice. The cost of such coolers - from 20 thousand rubles.

Water coolers with cabinet

In the floor types of coolers with a locker, you can keep coffee, tea, and some products. Coolers with extra storage space are a useful solution for both offices and home kitchens. Necessary items are very conveniently placed on the shelf in the device. Some models are equipped with an additional function of internal ozonation. According to many consumers, the functionality of the locker is similar to the refrigerator, but this is not entirely true. There is no cooling element at the bottom of such coolers, and therefore the choice must be approached very carefully. And, of course, the cost of models with a refrigerator is much higher.

Child proof water coolers

Certain types of water coolers are equipped with an option that protects users from scalding. Usually, given function called child protection.

On the hot water taps in such coolers, a special latch (lever) is provided, which blocks accidental pressing of the boiling water supply mechanism and, accordingly, protects against burns.

These types of water coolers can be placed where there are children and the elderly, since these models are absolutely safe.

Types of faucets in water coolers

There are two types of mechanisms for activating faucets for water supply:

pressed by a mug;
with buttons (or keys).

Taps type "press mug"

Drinking water taps are considered the most wearing parts in coolers, and therefore, when choosing a model, you should definitely consider what it will be used for, how many users will operate it, and other factors.

The most popular design are taps that are activated by pressing a mug. Typically, such models are installed in offices where staff uses their dishes. The design is ergonomic and convenient in that a person can draw water using only one free hand(in which there is a cup).

Such faucets break quite often, but they are very easy to replace with new ones. It is convenient that for this you do not need to disassemble the device completely.

Taps with buttons

If the cooler is planned to be placed where disposable tableware is usually used, then it is better to choose a model with faucet activation by buttons (keys) for a number of reasons:

Pressing a soft plastic cup on the faucet is inconvenient.
The buttons provide smooth pressure and ease of use.
This design of faucets lasts longer and is more difficult to damage.

In addition, coolers with push-button faucets are best for homes and institutions that have children:

the risk of mechanical damage is reduced;
the use of faucets with a button virtually eliminates burns.

Top loading water coolers

The most familiar type of water coolers for us is a floor-standing model with a top-loading bottle. In them, a replaceable container is placed in a special recess in the upper part of the apparatus with the neck down. From there, water enters the cooling system, and then into the mugs.

And, in fact, it is not without reason that top-loading bottle models are more familiar to us. According to some people, it is more pleasant to fully see the container from where water enters your mug. There is a psychological aspect to this, especially if you need to pour water in an unfamiliar place, such as a doctor's office or a shopping center.

The top-loading bottle machine is serviced in much the same way as other types of water coolers. But there is one caveat: it is not always easy to lift a heavy container to the desired height. But even this minus does not cover all the advantages of such coolers, and therefore they are successfully used in many institutions in Russia.

Coolers with bottom water loading

Bottom loading bottle water coolers are easy to use and stylish design. For a replaceable container in such models, a special compartment is provided, due to which it does not need to be moved. In addition, the device itself looks more aesthetically pleasing, since the bottle is installed at the bottom.

Floor types of water coolers with bottom loading bottles have many advantages, among which the following are especially distinguished:

No need to lift a heavy bottle up. For its placement in the design of the device, a special compartment is provided at floor level.
The machine has heating and cooling functions. Some models have a third faucet; such a cooler provides consumers with not only cold and hot water, like most others, but also at room temperature.
Aesthetic design. These types of water coolers look aesthetically pleasing and modern. The bottle at the bottom of the device is hidden behind a special door.
Such coolers differ from each other in size, power, individual design characteristics and cost.

In coolers in which the bottle is located at the bottom, the following elements can be provided:

monitor with control function;
system of additional filtration and purification of water from bacteria and viruses;
backlit buttons;
leakage protection.

Frequently asked questions about this or that type of water cooler

Does the cooler boil water?

Desktop or floor type they heat water to 95-97 degrees, but do not boil it. This can be regarded as an advantage, since it is precisely this temperature, which is several degrees less than 100, that helps to preserve all useful substances and allows you to easily brew coffee and tea. It is known for sure that boiled water does not give any benefit, and more often it does harm to health due to the properties that have changed as a result of heating.

Which cooling system is better: compressor or electronic?

A compressor cooling system is much better than an electronic one in terms of performance. Figures in numbers:

compressor cools up to 7 ⁰C,
electronic - up to 15 ⁰C.

Important! The electronic cooling system does not function if the air temperature is above 30 degrees. In the summer in the heat, it is absolutely ineffective.

Which system is quieter: compressor or electronic?

In terms of noise, the devices are almost identical. In the compressor types of coolers, the sound source is the compressor, in the electronic ones, the fans are buzzing.

What is the cooler's power consumption?

Typically, a cooler consumes the same amount of energy as an electric light bulb (approximately 40-60 watts per hour). The model with a refrigerator has a power of 80 to 100 watts.

Does the cooler come with a glass holder or is this item purchased separately?

The cooler is not equipped with a holder for glasses - it is bought separately.

Can the cooler be transported horizontally?

It is desirable to transport compressor-type devices in a standing state. As for electronic coolers, they can be transported in a horizontal position, and their weight is significantly lower than that of compressor models.

What to do when the cooler buzzes?

If the cooler makes noise during operation, this is normal. It is only necessary to place the device on a flat and solid surface and make sure that all the legs are on the same level.

In most of the coolers, a water cooling system is provided - compressor or electronic, and it is because of them that little noise is created in the room. In models of the first type, the hum is formed, as mentioned above, due to a running compressor. As for the electronic system, a small fan makes noise in it. Bottom-loading coolers may have additional sound due to the pump that supplies water to the storage tank. But it turns on from time to time, for a short period.

Are refrigerators and cabinets the same thing?

No, because the locker does not cool - it does not have such a function. The refrigerator is provided only in compressor types of coolers.

What is the third faucet for?

Some models have an additional faucet that supplies room temperature water. Remember that the first half glass of water from the extra faucet is usually quite cool. This is because the supply tube passes through the cold water tank.

Is sanitation necessary and do I have to pay for it?

You need to sanitize and clean the cooler about once a year - this is the minimum. It is better if professionals in the service center do this. They will carry out high-quality cleaning and disinfection of the cooler and provide a guarantee for the work performed. Most often, disassembling the device at home is impossible, and cleaning is simple household chemicals no proper results.

What is the temperature in the refrigerator compartment of the cooler?

The temperature in the chambers of all types of coolers is the same as in ordinary refrigerators - from 5 to 7 degrees, which helps to preserve the freshness of products.

There is water in the refrigerator compartment. Is it normal?

Opening the doors too frequently will allow air to enter the refrigerator compartment and cause condensation to form during the cooling process. This is normal, and each cooler with a refrigerator is equipped with a drip tray to collect excess liquid.

When is it necessary to replace the filter in the cooler?

No replacement required. Coolers are not equipped with any filters. Bottled water is already clean, prepared, and it is this that a person drinks.

How is a water cooler different from a purifier?

The purifier was preceded by a fairly common water cooler for a nineteen-liter bottle. The scheme of operation and the housing remained the same, however, in the purifier, water comes from the filtration system located at the bottom of the device.

Often these types of coolers are also called water purifiers or aquabars, and they work according to general principle: purify tap water, improving its taste and quality characteristics. Like traditional coolers, purifiers can heat and cool water.

There are several types of purifiers:

according to the type of filtration, they are reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration;
by type of installation - floor and desktop;
according to the type of construction - with and without a storage tank.

How to connect a purifier?

The purifier is connected to the cold water line using a plastic tube with a diameter of 6 mm. In this case, the water source can be removed by 100 meters. The supply tube is pulled out so as not to interfere with others, if possible, then it is laid along the baseboards or under false ceiling- as convenient. High-quality plastic 100% protects against leakage. If a floor connection is chosen, then for aesthetic purposes and for additional protection of communications, you can hide it under special boxes.

In purifiers with RO-membrane, one more tube is provided - for drainage (draining) of dirty water. With the help of a special fastening (fitting), it easily joins the drain into the sewer under the sink.

From the water pipe, water enters the filtration system through a tube. After passing through all stages of purification, it enters the storage tank, which is located under the cover of the purifier, and from there - into the cold and hot water tanks.

In those types of coolers where there is no storage tank, its function is performed by a cold water tank. In distribution tanks, the temperature remains at the set level by means of electronic sensors. Water is heated and cooled automatically if the temperature drops or rises above normal. For cold water, the norm is 10 degrees, for hot - 90. Thanks to this function, you can immediately get both hot and cold in

Coolers for processors, coolers for hard drives, coolers for video cards and system chipsets. Add to that card coolers, system blowers and laptop coolers. With so many cooling devices, you can easily get confused, and little by little you start to believe that coolers are the main component of today's computer. Fortunately or unfortunately, this is not the case yet, and today there is no need to pack your favorite PC with noisy fans until it takes off. In this article, we will try to figure out what are the sources of heat in a computer, what are the ways to cool these components, and whether it is necessary to deal with the increased temperature of the computer at all.

Theoretical foundations of cooling

So, some theory. From the course of physics it is known that any conductor through which an electric current flows generates heat. This means that absolutely all components of the computer, from the central processor to the power wires, heat up the surrounding air. The amount of heat released by one or another computer component directly depends on its power consumption, which, in turn, is determined by many other factors: if we are talking about a hard drive, then the power of the electric motor and controller electronics, and if we are talking about a processor or other chip, then the number elements integrated into it and the technological process of its production. This is the physics of our world, and there is no getting away from it. But no one has yet come up with the idea of gluing radiators to electrical wires and blowing air around, say, internal modems! This is because different computer components affect the temperature in the case in different ways, and if such a "cold" device as a modem does not require any additional cooling, then we pay too much attention to the same video card, which is why modern motherboards are equipped with huge coolers, sometimes even with two fans.
But first of all, let's repeat what a cooler is. A cooler (from the English Cool - cold) is a device for cooling something. The main task of any cooler is to reduce and maintain the temperature of the cooled body at a given level. And depending on the type of cooled device, be it a transistor, a chip, a processor or even a hard drive, different types of coolers are used. In our concept, the cooler has become stronger, like "a big piece of iron with a propeller", and the larger it is, the better it is. However, coolers can also be more complex devices, costing hundreds of dollars. Typically, coolers used in computers consist of a fan, a heatsink, and a mount.

Radiators

The radiator (from the English. Radiate - radiate) serves to remove heat from the cooled object. It is in direct contact with the cooled object, and its main function is to take on some of the heat generated by the body and dissipate it into the surrounding air. As you know, again from the course of physics, the object gives off heat only from its surface, which means that in order to achieve the best heat removal, the cooled object must have as large a surface area as possible. In today's heatsinks, the surface area is increased by adding more fins. Heat from the cooled object passes to the base of the radiator, and then is evenly distributed along its fins, after which it escapes into the surrounding air, a process called radiation. The air around the heatsink gradually heats up and the heat transfer process becomes less efficient, so heat transfer efficiency can be improved by constantly supplying cold air to the heatsink fins. For this, fans are used today. But we will talk about them a little later.
The radiator must have good thermal conductivity and heat capacity. Thermal conductivity determines the rate at which heat spreads through a body. For a radiator, the thermal conductivity should be as high as possible, because often the area of the cooled object is several times smaller than the radiator base area, and with low thermal conductivity, the heat from the cooled object cannot be evenly distributed throughout the volume, along all the radiator fins. If the radiator is made of a material with high thermal conductivity, then at each of its points the temperature will be the same, and heat will be released from the entire area of its surface with the same efficiency, that is, there will be no situation when one part of the radiator is hot, and the other remains cold and will not give off heat to the surrounding air. The heat capacity determines the amount of heat that must be imparted to the body in order to raise its temperature by 1 degree. For radiators, the heat capacity should be as high as possible, because when cooling by one degree, the body gives off the same amount of heat. The heat capacity and thermal conductivity of a radiator depend on the material used to make it.

Table of thermal properties of materials

As you can see, for the manufacture of radiators, it is most advantageous to use two materials: aluminum and copper. The first is due to low cost and high heat capacity, and the second is due to high thermal conductivity. Silver is too expensive to be used to make heat sinks, but even aside from its high price, due to its good thermal conductivity, this metal is best used to make only the bases of heat sinks.
The design of the radiator is also of great importance. For example, the fins can be set at different angles to the airflow. They can be straight along the entire length of the radiator, or cut across, they are thick and burred if the radiator is made using extrusion technology, or thin and smooth if it was cast from molten metal. The ribs can be flat, bent from plates and pressed into the base. The radiator can generally be needle-shaped, that is, instead of having ribs, it can have cylindrical or square needles. Today it is known that in terms of the design of the fins, needle radiators show themselves best.

Thermal interface

Radiators adjoin their base to the cooled object, and the heat from it to the radiator passes only through the surface of their contact, so we must strive to make it as large as possible. But even the contact area that is usually available (for example, the surface of the processor core) must be used one hundred percent. The fact is that when two surfaces come into contact, the smallest cavities filled with air remain between them. This cannot be avoided, and no matter how even and smooth the surface of the radiator may seem to you, it still has cracks and cavities where air collects. Air conducts heat very poorly, and therefore the cooling efficiency will be significantly lower than the capabilities of the radiator.
To get rid of air cushions and increase cooling efficiency, various thermal interfaces are used. They have high thermal conductivity and due to fluidity they fill all the irregularities of the radiator base. As a result, those places where there used to be air interfering with us are now filled with a material that conducts heat well, and the radiator is already working at maximum efficiency. Thermal interfaces come in various types: thermal pastes or conductive gaskets. Gaskets are rubber-like polymer plates applied to the base of radiators. When heated, they change their state of aggregation and, softening, fill in all the irregularities. Now thermal pastes are supplied with the vast majority of branded coolers. More often, thermal paste is simply put into a box with a cooler in a syringe or a small plastic bag. But it happens that it is already applied to the base of the radiator. In this case, it will only last for one or two installations, since it will be more difficult to assemble it from a cooled chip or processor than to buy another bag of paste. When choosing a thermal interface, I would recommend using thermal pastes, not thermal pads. The high fluidity of thermal pastes allows them to better fill all the irregularities of the radiator, and due to the use of materials such as silver or aluminum in their composition, they have a higher thermal conductivity. Today on sale you can find thermal pastes with a 90% silver content. And although silver is an excellent electrical conductor, manufacturers guarantee that thermal paste will not short-circuit the contacts of elements of the board or device on which it is applied, but still recommend that you do not check the insulating properties of their product and, if possible, avoid getting thermal paste on electrical elements computer.

Fans

Fans provide a continuous flow of air around the heatsink, converting the less efficient process of radiation into the more efficient process of convection. Convection is a heat exchange process that differs from radiation in that the cooling air is constantly in motion. In active coolers, it forcibly enters the radiator and, when heated, dissipates into environment. With the use of a fan, the cooler becomes much more efficient, and the temperature of the cooled object can drop by half, or even more, depending on the performance of the fan. Fan performance is its main characteristic, measured in the number of cubic feet of air distilled by it per minute, abbreviated as CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute). It mainly depends on the area of the fan, its height, the profile of the blades and their speed. The larger these values, the large quantity air will be able to overtake the fan, and, accordingly, the more efficient the cooling will be. Today, in fans for computer coolers, there is no way to indefinitely increase either the size or the speed of rotation of the impeller. It is clear that it is already difficult to place a fan larger than 80 mm in the case, and the propeller speed directly affects its noise level. In addition, a larger fan will have to have a more powerful and more expensive electric motor, which will affect its cost.
All fans used in computers today are powered by direct current, most commonly 12V. They use 3-pin Molex connectors (for Smart fans) or 4-pin PC-Plug connectors for power connection.

The Molex connector has three wires: black (ground), red (positive) and yellow (signal). The PC-Plug has four wires: two black (ground), yellow (+12 Volts) and red (+5 Volts). Molex connectors are installed on motherboards so that the system itself can control the fan speed by applying various voltages to the red wire (usually from 8 to 12 V), and change it if necessary. On the yellow signal wire, the motherboard receives information from the fan about the speed of its blades. Today, this has become very relevant, since a fan that has stopped on a processor cooler can damage the processor. Therefore, modern motherboards make sure that the fan is always spinning, and if it stops, they turn off the computer. Connecting via Molex has one drawback: it is dangerous to attach fans with a power consumption of more than 6 watts to motherboards. The PC-Plug connector will withstand tens of watts, but when connected to it, you will not be able to find out if your fan is working or not. Today, more and more fans are equipped with PC-Plug - Molex adapters to connect them to the power supply, or even both connectors at once: PC-Plug and Molex, to receive power from the computer's power supply, and inform the motherboard via the Molex signal wire about the speed of the motor.
Fans can also be different type rotor hangers. For this, sliding bearings (Sleeve bearing) or rolling bearings (Ball bearing) are used. The fan can have one or two bearings, and sometimes they are combined different types- Sleeve and Ball. Fans with rolling bearings (ordinary ball bearings) are considered the most reliable. Manufacturing companies promise them continuous operation for 50,000 hours, which is more than five years, while those that use plain bearings promise to live no more than 30,000 hours, about three and a half years. Today there are fans with ceramic bearings, which are promised almost immortality - 300,000 hours of continuous operation, but that's thirty-six years! However, on the one hand, the declared lifetimes of fans very rarely correspond to reality, and often they must be divided by two, or even three, and on the other hand, believe me, a computer will not live for thirty-six years. It is worth expecting that an ordinary fan can live for a year or two. Then it starts to buzz, and it needs to be lubricated, but even lubrication will solve the problem only for a while, and soon the fan will have to be replaced with a new one.
Some modern fans have automatic speed control, depending on the ambient temperature or the heatsink temperature. We will tell you about one such at the end of the article. Almost all of them have a temperature sensor directly on the fan itself and may not reflect the actual temperature of the cooled object. That is, when the temperature of the processor rises, the cooler on which such an automatic fan is installed can increase its speed only after a couple of minutes. Another thing is fans with stop alarms installed on them. When the rotor speed drops below a certain limit, a special electronic unit on the fan wire makes a loud squeak, and you know for sure that it's time to turn off the computer and replace the cooler.

Passive coolers

Passive coolers are ordinary radiators installed on a cooled object. They remove heat only by radiation, if they are not blown by any computer fans, and are used to cool low-power and small-sized elements, for example, memory chips or transistors. Radiators are installed today on video cards, some motherboards, where there are no full-fledged coolers yet, memory modules, and indeed on almost everything that has to be cooled, and even on central processors, if they have low power.

A special case of a passive cooler is a heat distributor. It looks like a "bald" radiator made from a plate, without fins and with a small surface area. Heat spreaders are used today to cool system memory. In particular, Thermaltake releases special kits for DDR SDRAM DIMM modules. The disadvantage of heat spreaders, as well as passive coolers, is their low efficiency.

Active coolers

Coolers that work by convection are called active coolers. Simply put, this is a radiator with a fan installed on it. Most often they are used to cool processors. And today, when we say the word "cooler", we mean, first of all, just them. Active coolers are used almost everywhere where cooling is required, replacing conventional radiators. The advantages of such cooling can be called a significantly greater efficiency in comparison with conventional radiators. Active coolers are able to cool hot processors, while having small size. But fans are always a source of noise in computers, and sometimes vibration. Therefore, they need to cool only strongly heated elements, otherwise it will become unbearable to work behind a noisy machine. Another disadvantage of active coolers is that they are short-lived. The fan blades are spinning and sooner or later the bearings on the rotor will fail and it will stop. Naturally, in this case, the cooled element will overheat and possibly fail. But most often the fans start to hum loudly before stopping, so you will be warned in advance.

Now that we've covered the basics of computer cooling, we can move on to looking at heat sources in a computer and how to cool them.

What heats up in a computer and how it cools

Well, having an idea about coolers, let's now draw up a picture of what heats up in computers, and how it should (if necessary) be cooled. Let's start with the most basic element of any PC - the central processing unit. Today, special attention is paid to processor cooling, and therefore every manufacturer of PC coolers necessarily has coolers for the CPU in its assortment.

Processors

If we do not consider server and portable computers (including laptops), today personal computers use processors from two manufacturing companies: Intel and AMD. They use three main platforms: Socket 370, Socket 478 and Socket 462 (Socket A). The numbers in the platform designation indicate the number of pins for each processor. Naturally, all these standards are not compatible with each other, and Pentium III for Socket 370 cannot be installed on a motherboard with any other socket. Until recently, the Socket 423 standard was also common for the first Pentium 4, but with the advent of the more modern Socket 478, it almost disappeared and is now being successfully forgotten. Each type of processor has its own cooler standards.

Socket 370 uses Intel Pentium III, Intel Celeron (except for new ones for Socket 478) and VIA C3 processors. Processors manufactured by AMD (Duron, Athlon based on Thunderbird, Palomino and Thoroughbred) use Socket A. Coolers for Socket 370 and Socket A are almost compatible with each other. More precisely, we can say that they are fully compatible, but this does not mean that you can install an Athlon cooler on a Pentium III. The fact is that although Socket 370 and Socket A sockets have the same dimensions, the standards by which AMD recommends building motherboards differ from those of Intel. First of all, look at the photo. Socket A has three prongs on the front and back for attaching the cooler. Initially, it was assumed that more powerful coolers would be installed on Athlon processors, which would require a more rigid mount, and one tooth could break under the cooler spring. In addition, AMD recommended that motherboard manufacturers leave a so-called free zone to the left and right of the socket. There should be no elements in this area that could interfere with the installation of rectangular coolers with a length of more than 55 mm (socket width). Thus, on Athlon and Duron processors, you can install coolers with a size of 60x80mm and as high as your case allows. On the Pentium III, of course, such large coolers are unlikely, but this again depends on the motherboard.

Also, many Athlon/Duron motherboards have four holes around the socket. This is another way to attach the cooler - not to the socket, but to the motherboard. On the one hand, it is more convenient, since the cooler will no longer fall off, breaking off a tooth, and on the other hand, to replace it or upgrade the processor, you will have to remove the motherboard. For better or worse, AMD recently stopped requiring four holes in the free zone near the processor socket, and all future coolers will be attached only to it, and not to the motherboard.
Athlon processors generate up to 73W of heat when not overclocked. For powerful servers, such heat dissipation of the processor is a common thing, but for desktop computers it is a lot, and besides, the area of \u200b\u200bthe processor core is constantly decreasing, so coolers for modern processors actively use copper in their radiators. And on sale you can see coolers not only with aluminum radiators, but also with a copper base, or completely copper. Some manufacturers, in an attempt to increase the efficiency of coolers, cover the copper on top with nickel, silver, or other materials with high thermal conductivity. Fans on such coolers are most often 60x60x25 mm in size, although 70mm and 80mm models are now widely used. They have a lower rotation speed and are much quieter.

CPU	Heat dissipation, W
AMD Duron 1100	51
AMD Duron 1200	55
AMD Duron 1300	57
AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1400	73
AMD Athlon XP (Palomino) 2100+	72
AMD Athlon XP (Thoroughbred) 2600+	68.3

In the case of coolers for Socket 370, everything is much simpler: they all cling to two teeth of the socket and have dimensions not exceeding the dimensions of the socket. Usually from 50x50 to 60x60 mm. The heat dissipation of Pentium III processors is about half that of Athlon, so it is easier to cool them, and Pentium III most often uses coolers with all-aluminum heatsinks or with a copper base. They are cheaper than all-copper ones, which are also not necessary.

If we keep talking about Socket 370 and think about VIA C3 processors, we can forget about coolers altogether. The thing is that VIA C3 processors have a reputation for being "cold" processors, because they emit too little heat and can work with passive coolers - ordinary heatsinks or very simple coolers. For them, heat dissipation is not a problem, and therefore computers based on them are very quiet.
Today it is more profitable to produce coolers for Intel Pentium 4 and Celeron processors for Socket478. The fact is that the market for coolers for Athlon is already quite saturated, and besides, the prices for computers with AMD processors are low, and not every user is ready to pay dearly for good cooler. With Pentium 4, the situation is completely different, since they are much more expensive than their competitors from AMD, and you can sell coolers worth several tens of dollars to the high-performance processor market.

In computers with Pentium 4 and Celeron processors for Socket 478, the cooler is attached to a special stand on the motherboard. There is an opinion that Pentium 4 processors do not overheat at all. It is fundamentally wrong, and the first Pentium 4s really got warmer than their Athlon comrades, but now the power consumption of the Pentium 4 with a frequency of 2.8 GHz is around 64 W, and the Pentium 4 3.0 GHz promises to require up to 80 W. Of course modern technological processes and the design of the Pentium 4 with a built-in heat spreader help it better deal with the heat generated, but like the Athlon it requires a large cooler. True, boxed versions of processors are already supplied with coolers, but if necessary, you can find a wide range of coolers for Pentium 4 in stores.

Coolers for Socket 478 basically have one type of fastening: with two steel brackets they cling to the plastic stops of the motherboard and are firmly pressed against the processor surface. Sometimes the motherboard is slightly bent from too strong cooler springs, but by and large this is not a problem. For computers using the Pentium 4 in low or server cases, there are coolers that attach to the motherboard without the use of racks around the processor.

Just like in the case with some coolers for Athlon, in them the mount passes through the holes in the motherboard (to do this, you will have to remove the standard cooler holders from it) and is fixed on top of the processor. In this case, much less physical load is applied to the board. Unfortunately, such coolers are not widely used.
Coolers with different heatsinks are available for Pentium 4. There are both pure aluminum and copper bases, or all-copper bases. Fans for such coolers are usually installed quiet, because their low performance is compensated by the large size of the heatsinks. Although, loud models are also not uncommon among coolers for Socket 478.

The water cooler is handy device for pouring water, which is often equipped with a cooling or heating function. Some of them are equipped with a water carbonation function.

How to choose a water cooler?

The purpose of water coolers is to provide people with purified, cooled, heated, mineralized water. Today, you can simply get confused in the range of coolers. Equipment can be distinguished by several factors:

By type of cooling: coolers with electric cooling are more ergonomic and operate almost silently. Devices with compressor type of cooling are designed for use by a large flow of people.
According to the method of installation. All coolers can be divided into desktop and floor. The devices have similar functions. Floor-mounted coolers are often larger and are used in public places, while others are designed for use in homes or small offices.
By design features. A traditional cooler is a compressor apparatus with a built-in function for cooling or heating water, not equipped with a cabinet, etc.

The purpose of water coolers: we will understand the processes of cooling and heating

How is cooling done? Water enters a special chamber from a bottle, where it is cooled to +10, +5°С. The exact temperature is set by the manufacturer. On more expensive models, the consumer can independently control the cooling temperature.

How does heating take place? In coolers, water is heated up to 95°. This optimum temperature retains a greater amount of useful substances in water, which are not destroyed during boiling.

When choosing a cooler, it is necessary to take into account the number of people who will use this device. For home use, a desktop cooler with a small liter of water is suitable. It can be placed on a table or window sill in the kitchen. With intensive use of the device, it is better to purchase a compressor floor device.

A bottled water cooler is an indispensable attribute for home and office, which will provide the consumer with a constant supply of purified water. This is a convenient, practical, affordable device that pleases with hot water in the morning, and cool, purified water in the hot season.

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Long ago, probably, there were times when people, in order to quench their thirst, opened a tap and poured tap water into a cup. But those times are almost universally over. Today, to quench our thirst in summer or drink tea in winter, we often head to the water cooler, which has become an integral part of many office and home kitchens. But what do we know about them, about coolers? They, one might say, took over the world, but we did not even notice it. the site presents to your attention a material with details about those who save us from thirst.

Classics of the genre

So, a cooler (from English cool - coolness, fresh) - it is sometimes a dispenser, water heater. It is a device that allows the user to consume clean drinking water simply, conveniently and safely. Usually the cooler consists of a plastic case with a funnel for installing a water tank. On the body there are one or two taps, light indicators for heating and cooling, a switch. The cooler is powered by an ordinary socket (220 V network). Despite the fact that the cooler is usually constantly connected to the network, it consumes little electricity, because in most models there are temperature sensors, thanks to which cooling or heating of water does not occur constantly, but only when it is necessary - when the desired water temperature is reached, the cooler switches to the waiting until the sensor “tells” that the water temperature has changed and gone beyond the set limits. Then the cooler goes back into operation.

Cooler water available in standard plastic containers(bottles, flasks), volume 19 or 22 l. If there is a special adapter, it is sometimes possible to use water in small (five-liter) bottles sold in stores. There are also special adapter containers for packaged drinking water.

How he does it

The principle of operation of the cooler is simple - a certain amount of water from the main flask enters special compartments (tanks): for cooling and for heating (if this function is available). Accordingly, the water is cooled or heated. As the amount of water in the tanks decreases, new portions of it enter there, the water is brought to the desired temperature. Minimum temperatures, to which the water is cooled, depend on the type of cooler (see below), the maximum heating is usually up to 92-98°C.

Water coolers also differ in the way water is cooled. There are coolers compressor, and there are electronic (thermoelectric). The compressor cooler works (cools the water) in the same way as it cools the air inside the refrigerator - the principle is the same. As a rule, compressor coolers for water are floor standing, although desktop models are also sometimes found. However, the dimensions of desktop compressor coolers are somewhat larger than those of desktop electronic ones. Compressor coolers are a reliable, time-tested solution. Such a cooler will cool water to a temperature of 4-5°C in a short time, the time required for cooling here almost does not depend on the ambient temperature in the room (unlike an electronic cooler). Compressor coolers are somewhat more expensive than electronic ones.

Details about thermoelectric coolers. Note that due to the lack of a compressor, they are easier to operate and repair, weigh significantly less, and are cheaper. Water is cooled here using an electronic module (Peltier element). This is a thermoelectric converter, the principle of operation of which is based on the Peltier effect - the occurrence of a temperature difference during the flow electric current. Typically, an electronic cooler cools water to a temperature of 10-15 ° C, not lower. That is, you will not get really cold water from such a cooler - only cool (but, for some, this is good). Cooling in a thermoelectric cooler is slower than in a compressor cooler. As a rule, such models are an option for operation by a small number of users, suitable for use at home. For too hot rooms, the electronic cooler is not the best option You will be waiting for cool water for a long time. It is better not to install electronic water coolers in poorly ventilated, dusty rooms, and in general it is advisable to periodically clean the fan provided for by the design from dust, otherwise it will become clogged and break, which will eventually lead to failure of the cooling module of the device.

Up and down

There are two types of water coolers: top mounted and bottom mounted water tanks. Everyone knows what a cooler with a top installation is. The bottle is installed here from above, in a special holder on the device body. This happens not to everyone. Therefore, such coolers are usually serviced (bottles are changed) by employees of water supply companies or simply by representatives of the stronger sex who are nearby. There are, however, special handles that make it easier for the user, if not lifting, then at least carrying bottles (sold by companies supplying water and coolers).

A cooler with a lower installation is easier to maintain and requires significantly less effort to replace an empty flask with a full one. You just need to remove the cap from the bottle, insert the adapter with the tube and slide the bottle inside the cooler on a convenient stand with wheels. Servicing such coolers is quite within the power of most users.

On the floor and on the table

Modern coolers also differ in the way they are installed (placed) in the room. They are floor and tabletop. Technically, floor and desktop differ little. It is logical that the body of the desktop cooler is smaller in size. A flask of water in the "desktop" case is always installed on top of the case. When buying such a cooler, be sure to first decide what kind of table or other surface you will put it on, so that all users have free access to it, so that the cooler is convenient to maintain, so that it does not interfere with anyone.

The location of the floor cooler, of course, should also be thought out in advance, guided by the same criteria as in the case of a desktop cooler.

cold and gas

A water cooler - that's what a cooler is for, to cool (and heat, if the corresponding possibility is implemented). It cools or heats the water. However, there are models that are able to cope with the cooling of something else - these are floor coolers with built-in refrigerator. Usually the volume of the built-in refrigerator is not very large - about 20 liters, but for storing various small things, products that will be useful to users (a small team in the office, because it is not entirely logical to buy such a cooler at home - there is always an ordinary refrigerator at home) during the working day, this quite enough. There are, however, coolers with more capacious refrigerators. For example, the design of the HotFrost V 205 BS cooler provides for a refrigerator with a volume of 60 liters - this model is also suitable for larger teams. Usually in the "cooler" refrigerator there are one or two shelves for products, there are models with small shelves-balconies on the refrigerator door.

Eat ice coolers, which allow the user to always have ready-made ice cubes. For example, the IceS A106C model, in the lower part of which there is a compartment for making ice. In addition, this cooler has three taps: for supplying cold, hot water and water at room temperature. Ice, however, will have to be taken out of the appropriate compartment and put into the glass manually. Such a cooler costs, however, not cheap - about 20 thousand rubles *.

Another cooler option - for soda lovers - with water carbonation function. The design of such coolers provides a place in the case for installing a carbon dioxide cylinder (one cylinder is usually included in the delivery package, it is enough for about 1000 portions of water). Typically, these models are also floor-standing and have two "port" for installing cups. That is, in such coolers, both carbonated and ordinary water is available to the user. A separate place is for supplying chilled soda. It is often possible to set the degree of water carbonation: medium or strong.

Finally, there are water coolers with ozonation function- they are usually floor-mounted, the design provides for an ozonizer cabinet, where the user can store fruits or vegetables, disinfect a small amount of dishes, and ozonize water. If you do not turn on the ozonizer, then you can use the lower space as a regular locker. Such coolers are suitable both for installation at home and in the office (but still, in our opinion, more for the home - hardly anyone will "bother" with ozonation at work).

Miscellaneous

In addition to the main “cooler points” listed above, there are also several other differences between coolers from each other, they relate directly to performance characteristics and ease of use. For example, there are coolers whose design provides for built-in holder for a "stack" of plastic cups. But in budget models, the holder is often not provided and it must be purchased additionally.

Also coolers are different from each other crane design through which water enters the cup, glass. There are taps from which water flows when you move the valve away with a cup, and there are water coolers designed so that the user, having placed the cup in the “port” to pour water into it, must separately press the desired button or turn off the tap valve.

It is impossible not to mention some accessories available to cooler users. For example, is on sale special filter flasks needed to purify tap water and further use her in a cooler. Such a filter flask - for example, MT-3 (768CB), costing about 1.6 thousand rubles - is available for models with a top bottle installation. Actually, the flask is installed just instead of a bottle, it has two filter cartridges (we are talking about the model mentioned above). The upper ceramic microporous filter cartridge removes lime, rust, sediment, pathogens, and other contaminants from the water. The bottom filter cartridge consists of activated carbon from coconut shell with silver, mineral and flint sand, ion exchange resins, carbon fibers and mesh filter membranes. The cartridge completely purifies water from bacteria, chlorine, nitrates, pesticides, dyes and other organic compounds, eliminates bad taste and smell. Ion-exchange resins remove heavy metals (lead, mercury, cadmium, others), iron from water, soften water. Silica sand removes acids from water, improves taste. Mineral sand effectively fights toxic elements. The resource of cartridges is 5 and 2 thousand liters, respectively.

Also found on sale. Actually, these are not coolers at all, because the "cool-component" (cooling) is absent here. Such models are able to heat water and supply water at room temperature. Such devices will come in handy for those, for example, who want to protect children from drinking excessively chilled water. Or they can be used instead of a kettle, thermo pot.

There are also coolers that do nothing at all: they do not cool and do not heat up. Comfortable with them just pour water at room temperature. Of course, they are also called coolers simply out of habit - manufacturers often do not bother to change appearance such devices. It's just that cooling and heating "stuffing" is not installed in the cases of ordinary coolers. There are usually only two taps left. These models (water dispensers) are most likely to be most suitable, for example, for kindergartens, perhaps for medical institutions, for gyms (after all, drinking is very cold water during training is not recommended). It is hardly logical to use them at home or in the office. Water dispensers are also for children - with a 2.5-liter flask (for example, the Funtik water dispenser), into which, according to Turkish manufacturers and domestic sellers, you can pour not only water, but also juices and compotes.

There are also - a very simple option, perhaps a summer cottage - bottled water pumps. Mechanical the pump is simply put on the bottle and, by gently pressing on its upper part, the user receives the amount of water he needs. Simple and budgetary (the price of the pump is 200-300 rubles).

The design of any household appliance is a rather significant thing. Cooler design is no exception. He is always in sight, he is often used. He must be cute. Certainly, design features of these devices partially limit manufacturers in experimenting with design. But still the variety is quite large - there are models different colors, with variously executed controls. There are, for example, models with a display, which, of course, is not only a design element, but also makes it easier for the user to “communicate” with the device, expands user capabilities (for example, temperature settings for heating and cooling water are available, the user can adjust them in his own way). discretion). There are coolers with various designs on their cases, even coolers with rhinestones. Many supplier companies offer the possibility of ordering individual design for the cooler.

Price order

Since coolers differ from each other in their functionality, they also differ in cost. Simple models (for example, desktop water dispensers) can be purchased at a price of about 1 thousand rubles. Floor - for 2-3 thousand rubles. Models without cooling, but with heating, cost from 1.5 thousand rubles. The cost of fully functional desktop thermoelectric coolers starts from about 2,000 rubles. Compressor "desktops" are unlikely to be found cheaper than 4 thousand rubles. Floor models with electronic cooling cost from 3 thousand rubles, floor compressor models - from 5 thousand rubles. The cost of coolers with refrigerators (only compressor ones) starts at about 7 thousand rubles. Approximately these are the minimum prices for models with ozonation. Coolers with a carbonation function are unlikely to be found cheaper than 20 thousand rubles. The cost of a flask (19 l) with water is from 100 rubles.

Epilogue

Water cooler - very convenient and useful household appliance. Full-featured models provide the user at home or at work with cool and hot water. In fact, the cooler replaces the kettle. An excellent and necessary option for large families, for offices. A modern water cooler is an economical device, so do not be afraid that with its purchase, the cost of paying for electricity will increase (but at night, by the way, this is especially true for offices, it is better to turn off the cooler, no one uses it anyway - all savings). If necessary, to make life more convenient, you can consider buying a model with some additional features(with refrigerator, ozonation, with the possibility of making ice). the site is definitely for coolers that make life easier, especially in summer, in the heat.

* - All prices in the article are based on the results of monitoring Russian tinnet stores. As of June 2012. Depending on the region, the cost of devices and accessories may vary.