First, let me thank you guys for taking the time. Second, I am in the IT field and, like most of my colleagues, am a huge computer nerd, which leads us to my rather strange questions.
I have been kicking around the idea of completely submerging a computer in mineral oil. Sounds crazy right? Well it's been done before and it actually works quite well! What hasn't been done (to my knowledge) is a simultaneous water cooled/mineral oil submerged/intercooled mineral oil rig. Now I want to be able to run this machine for and extended period of time and I have no idea of what the long term effects could be. Then I thought to myself "I'll ask some chemists!".
Here's the question: Will mineral oil react in any negative way (ie: corode, cause the oil to break down, etc) with the following materials:
a) PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)
b) Acrylic glass, AKA Plexiglass (methyl methacrylate). Also similar to this is Lexan.
c) Aluminum
d) Copper
e) Silicone (sealant)
f) Steel
g) Nickel
h) Plastics in general
i) Silver
I know mineral oil has a negative effect on some adhesives, which is why I'm concearned about the silicone. The water blocks I want to use on the CPU/GPU etc will be copper and copper tends to oxidize when exposed to certain things. If copper is a no-go I can use aluminum, but that tends to oxidize easily if exposed to certain things as well. Aluminum is also what caps the dies of the processor itself! Steel and nickel will also most likely be making an appearance in this build. I need to know about the silver becuase I will be using a TIM (Thermal interface material) that contains silver (Arctic silver 5).
I have been trying to find out if these materials would be safe in mineral oil over a long period of time for a while now, but have been unable to find out. I don't expect you guys to do any exhaustive research. All I need is a thumbs up/down for each material, even if you might only know about one or two of them!
Sorry for the lengthy post.
Thanks again for your time!