Why are heatpipes sealed and what would happen if they were opened?

JC316 · Sep 21, 2007

This is a question that has been on my mind for a while and I can't seem to find an answer.

I mean, if heat rises and it's sealed at the top, then wouldn't the heat just stagnate? If the top was open, wouldn't the heat be forced out the top for a fan to suck it out? Just curious about this.

[I.R.A]_FBi · Sep 21, 2007

nothings in there dude

POGE · Sep 21, 2007

Heatpipes arent just pipes, they are mini phase change systems. They contain a liquid that evaporates when heated, the hot gas moves along the pipe, and gets cooled again, turning back into a liquid, and repeating.

[I.R.A]_FBi · Sep 21, 2007

some heatpipes nowadays are just "hotpipes"

JC316 · Sep 21, 2007

Ok, the reason that I am asking is that my Thermaltake CL-PO370's heat pipes never get hot. They stay quite cool ALL the time, even when orthos is running and TAT is reporting 60*C.

sneekypeet · Sep 21, 2007

Remember when dude modded his Zalman 9500 on water cooling? The thread started exactly this way. there were lots of theories about, and when he cut his open , he found hollow tubes of AIR.

Deleted member 24505 · Sep 21, 2007

depending on the liquid inside them,if you open them they will be ruined.without the fluid in the pipes they would not work as intended and would be no good.

if the pipes were empty they would not work,possibly when he opened them the liquid turned into a gas and escaped making the pipes seem emty.

if the pipes were empty,they would do no good at all on the heatsink.

POGE · Sep 21, 2007

@sneekypeet

Thats because when heatpipes are cut the vaccuum is broken and the liquid evaporates instantly under standard pressure.

a111087 · Sep 21, 2007

When I run Bioshock, 3 heatpipes on my 7600gt Ultra V1 gets very hot to the touch and they are being cooled by 1 low rpm 80mm fan

BTW, i read somewhere that heatpipe can loose its cooling powers if too much heat applied to it

JC316 · Sep 21, 2007

Yeah, I can feel the heat on my 8600, I could feel it on my Arctic freezer pro, but I can't feel it on this damned thermaltake.

sneekypeet · Sep 21, 2007

POGE said:
@sneekypeet

Thats because when heatpipes are cut the vaccuum is broken and the liquid evaporates instantly under standard pressure.

That makes sence...I guess if I acctually was the one to cut them I would notice something like that. Was just goin off of what I remembered being posted. Thanks tho I did think it was "air" of some gassy derivation, and not liquid tho!

spud107 · Sep 21, 2007

iv been wanting to know whats inside this one,
been thinking of modding it and filling with water, might try it if i get a new hs

a111087 · Sep 21, 2007

lol, i bet you will just make it much less efficient
but if you are willing to take a risk, the go ahead, the tell us the result

kwchang007 · Sep 21, 2007

It's what Poge said...mini phase change within a pipe. Carries the hot to cold, then the liquid condenses back to hot and etc. I don't think your supposed to feel it on the outside...because if you do that means it's not quite carrying the heat the way it's suppose to but dumping some on the outside of the heatpipe. I think...

Chewy · Sep 21, 2007

yeah the water woould just reach its point.. the guy who opened his added it to his water cooling loop so it had constant cooler water flowing through the pipes... it actually worked good! he used s zalman 9500.

a111087 · Sep 21, 2007

I saw Ninja cooler ready for water cooling, it was on the show or something

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Why are heatpipes sealed and what would happen if they were opened?

JC316

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[I.R.A]_FBi

POGE

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