Will a hard drive immersed in non-conductive fluid or oil work properly?

Discussion in 'General Hardware' started by Adrian Wong, May 26, 2008.

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Can a hard drive immersed in non-conductive liquid work properly?

  1. Yes, I think it's possible.

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  2. No way! No way in hell it will run.

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  3. I don't really care or wish to guess.

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  1. PsYkHoTiK

    PsYkHoTiK Admin nerd

    The viscousity of the liquid would probably kill the hard drive instantly as soon as it got in (resistance).

    A computer company here in the Pacific Northwest has a mineral oil submerged pc. They did not submerge the HDD for this reason as well (though I don't see why SSDs would not work).

    Custom PC's by Puget Systems; Mineral Oil Submerged Computer
     
  2. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Yeah, IMHO, only solid state components can be submerged like that. SSDs should not have a problem running in oil or other non-conductive fluids. :D
     
  3. Mac Daddy

    Mac Daddy Pickin' Da Gitfiddle

    Thats cool THX for the link ;)
     
  4. Max_87

    Max_87 huehuehue

  5. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    LOL!! Looks like everyone agrees! :mrgreen:
     
  6. mikegas

    mikegas Newbie

    I am amaze.. maybe .. they can try ...put the breather hole with a tube, then put the tube outside like snookering .. that might work, the casing of the drive is quite air tight maybe put another seal at the silver servo writer sticker... it might work .. anyone care to try? hahaha .. then we can put this section at hard drive myth debunk ..
     
  7. Mac Daddy

    Mac Daddy Pickin' Da Gitfiddle

    Well I would also remove the top plate and put a thin bead of silicon around it. I have an old Maxtor 40G IDE that has a lot of bad sectors on it. Tell ya what when I get my new SATA drive (hopefully in a couple of weeks) I will give it a shot ;)
     
  8. slugbug

    slugbug Newbie

    Try it and find out for yourself :D
     
  9. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    LOL!! Was thinking of adding it to the guide. If it works with a snorkel, man, that would really be something!! :thumb:
     
  10. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Hmm.. Don't think you want to do that. That would introduce dust into the drive. Why not just seal the edges of the top plate with silicon?
     
  11. Mac Daddy

    Mac Daddy Pickin' Da Gitfiddle

    Better idea and will try it out as soon as I get my new drive ... the platter assembly is well sealed from the electronics ... worth a shot :mrgreen:
     
  12. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Okay, someone thinks it's possible. Can that person tell us why?
     
  13. Papercut

    Papercut Newbie

    Think you mean snorkelling. To me, snookering means putting the cue ball in such a position that the opposing player has no direct shot at his ball(s) :p
     
  14. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Yeah, he meant snorkelling. It's the only way to provide some air supply to the breather holes without the non-conductive liquid blocking it up or soaking through.
     
  15. PsYkHoTiK

    PsYkHoTiK Admin nerd

    lol. pwnzor... :p
     
  16. Lacus

    Lacus Newbie

    I wonder should i try on my old dying Hdd :whistles:
     
  17. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Well, if you want to try, make sure the top plate is sealed properly and there's a snorkel or two for the breather holes. Some breather holes are located at the bottom of the drive though.

    Finally, don't forget to immerse only in non-conductive fluids like oil. Soaking in water will definitely result in a short circuit.
     
  18. mikegas

    mikegas Newbie

    o_O .. too much use of brain cell .. corrupted english .. argh .. yeah i meant tat blup blup thing you do at the seaside ..
     
  19. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    It's okay, they sound about the same. :D
     
  20. mikegas

    mikegas Newbie

    Just remembered, underneath the PCB, there is the connector from the head stack to the PCBA. Remember to silicon the side of the connector as well. Also you might want to silicon all the screws just incase. Remember to take a video and post it at youtube. Good Luck!
     

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