Quote from ShaggySVK on 2023-01-24, 04:00

Hello everyone! Below you can find notes regarding Volcano LN2 Container along other info and 3D Printable goodies

Getting started:

Package contents:

• Liquid nitrogen container (Cu core, Al tube)
• Mounting bracket (POM)
• Mounting backplate (Al)
• 4x Threaded rods M4 170mm
• 4x Thumb screws M4
• 4x Springs 1x7x25 mm
• 8x Washers M4
• 1x Insulation tube 76×15 mm
• 2x Insulation sheet 100x100x10 mm
• 1x Sandpaper 600 grit 280×230 mm
• 1x Sandpaper 1000 grit 280×230 mm

Basic inspection:

Before using your new Volcano inspect the base contact surface for any machine marks, scratches or imperfections, in case there is room for improvement you can re-surface the finish with the included sandpaper for wet-sanding. For this you will only need a glass pane and few drops of water, while lapping your pot, make sure to hold it at the lowest point possible to avoid wobbling and inconsistent surface sanding.

Thermal probe:

If you are using thermometer with calibration capability like Elmor KTH, consider calibrating your probe for full pot temperature before inserting it to provide more accurate readings.

The probe hole is 15mm deep which is considerably deeper than other LN2 pots on the market, this helps to provide a reading which is closer to CPU hotspot. Make sure to push the probe all the way in, then secure it to the body of the LN2 pot with tape (ideally kapton tape as it doesn’t leave glue residue behind).

Insulation:

Volcano includes insulation foam tube, this tube is about 10mm smaller than the pot, so you might need to stretch it slightly to pull it over the pot.

In case the original foam tube would get damaged or fall apart you can simply search for replacement 76x15mm thick closed-cell foam tube.

Another option for insulation is to use sticky HVAC tape made from closed-cell foam, if you want to use this type of insulation, I would recommend to wrap the surface of the pot in kapton tape first, that way if you need to remove the insulation, there will be no sticky residue left over.

***WARNING***

Do NOT use Volcano below -150°C without Insulation. The pot gets cold enough to condensate Liquid Oxygen on its surface, LOX is electrically conductive and will result in strange behavior/damage of motherboard once it finds its way inside CPU socket. Insulation completely negates this effect as it blocks air access to the outside surface.

 

Supported platforms:

Intel:

• LGA 775
• LGA 115X/1200
• LGA 1700
• LGA 1366/20XX – note: 2066 may need to be mounted with integrated socket mounting excluding Volcano backplate.

AMD:

• AM2(+) / AM3(+)
• FM1 / FM2(+)
• AM4 / AM5

 

Features:

Elmor HOT

Volcano backplate natively supports Elmor HOT heaters, it includes cutouts for HOT SMD components preventing short circuit or mechanical damage and allowing assembly with no additional layers between.

Elmor HOT support:

• HOT300-B-CPU-01 – fully supported
• HOT-B-02 – fully supported
• HOT-B-04 – fully supported
• HOT-B-05 – limited support to only: 775/20XX/AM2/AM3

Heating up:

Volcano base is designed with 35mm wide cutout in its center to support most heat guns on the market allowing to simply place heat gun inside and leave it until desired temperature is reached (hands free).

Additional passages in the base allow hot air from a heat gun or gas torch to flow from the center all the way to the outside of the base, this prevents melting of the heat gun and maximizes heat absorption.

Additionally, if your pot is full of LN2 and you need to heat up, heat gun takes care of that and just blows all LN2 out rapidly – make sure not to freeze your hands doing so 🙂 .

 User printable projects:

Below in attachment you can find project files for optional pot extension and replacement mounting bracket. Both of the files are 3D printable. Bracket 1 is the original design with clearance for RAM LN2 pots (tested using Bitspower RAM LN2 pot on Z790 Apex). Bracket 2 features thicker walls to allow for including your own nickname or logo.

Any user-made modifications or add-ons are welcome to be shared further with rest of community!

Please be aware optional pot extension might not be fully liquid proof on joint due to 3D printer deviations. It is aimed towards avoiding LN2 splashes or helping to pack more DICE in the pot, not to be filled with LN2 or acetone / other liquids used in combination with DICE.

 

Maintenance:

Lapping:

Over time it is expected that the part of the copper base which is in contact with CPU will get scratched up and will show signs of wear&tear.

To re-surface it you will need a glass pane (at least 15x20cm for comfort) – suggestion for source: IKEA/HWstore picture frames with front glass cover (1-2$).

For lapping there are 2 different options:

1: Use sandpaper and start with 400-600 grit for lightly damaged surface, for heavy dents you might want to go as low as 220 grit. to achieve an acceptable surface, it is recommended to do a final lapping with 600 or 1000 grit paper – finer grit takes more intermediate steps and time.  When looking for sandpaper, make sure to get one that allows wet sanding, this creates less dust and helps with removing shavings from the sanding surface. rule of thumb is to raise grit by 1.5 to 2x every step when going from coarser to finer.

2: Use lapping paste/compound, automotive engine valve lapping compound does surprisingly great job and allows to remove even deeper scratches in surprisingly short amount of time compared to sandpaper. Drawbacks for this paste are that it wears down the glass pane very quickly and requires to be mixed together with oil (typically engine oil) to be used, and can be harder and more expensive to find in some markets. The upsides are, no dust, fairly low amount of time needed, very good surface finish with just 2 steps of coarseness.

Copper Tarnish:

Volcano does not have any protective coating on its copper surface (typically nickel-plating), the reason for this is performance, additional metal layers would decrease thermal conductivity.

Copper is fairly reactive and it is expected to oxidize/tarnish over time when being exposed to oxygen and sweat from hands, this tarnishing does NOT influence performance in any meaningful way and is purely cosmetic.

If you would like to get rid of this tarnish, you can choose one of following options (there are more known options, however make sure they are not too reactive with Aluminum):

• Commercial copper cleaners (liquid)
• Ketchup diluted with water
• Vinegar (100ml) mixed with a tablespoon of salt

Both ketchup and vinegar can be expected to take around 20 to 30 minutes to take effect, once you are happy with the outcome, make sure to thoroughly rinse out any remains of substance used to prevent unwanted damage to the aluminum tube. 

 

3D Printables: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c_h5owHZqqIRPIfECoDiRPZ1tiqJJIlY/view?usp=share_link