Kitchen Computer

[AgotPM]

Does anyone have an effective way to protect computer/server from 'ingesting' kitchen grease? We have office computers and kitchen air fryers. Fans pull in aerosolized grease from the fryers (and dust), vents get clogged, and CPUs/GPUs overheat = fried systems. Any ideas?

 

Thanks!

[Electronics Wizardy]

What type of computing power do you need? Id go fanless here if you can. Good amount of fanless nucs out there.

 

I have done a good amount of work with POS and restaurant systems, and seen some pretty gross stuff. I have kinda just decided to let them get dirty, and they last their normal lifespan for me when its very dirty.

[BiotechBen]

Maybe have something like Ras Pi type POS/terminals that can be easily passively cooled and cleaned. Or passively cooled NUCs like @Electronics Wizardy said. Another solution could be to hide the machine and just just run display to the terminal which would keep the system clean. 

[AgotPM]

4 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

What type of computing power do you need? Id go fanless here if you can. Good amount of fanless nucs out there.

 

I have done a good amount of work with POS and restaurant systems, and seen some pretty gross stuff. I have kinda just decided to let them get dirty, and they last their normal lifespan for me when its very dirty.

We're running t4 GPUs on some inference machines. I'm looking into fanless but was also hoping for some alternate ideas.

[Electronics Wizardy]

3 minutes ago, AgotPM said:

We're running t4 GPUs on some inference machines. I'm looking into fanless but was also hoping for some alternate ideas.

Got a budget for this?

 

Best idea would be to move it to an area with less grease, like an office if there is one in the back.

 

They make pretty heavy filters for racks, but that can get pricy and depends on the exact deployment your using.

 

 

[AgotPM]

2 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Got a budget for this?

 

Best idea would be to move it to an area with less grease, like an office if there is one in the back.

 

They make pretty heavy filters for racks, but that can get pricy and depends on the exact deployment your using.

 

 

Budget isn't a big issue. Unfortunately, we're working in QSR locations so not a lot of space options. Our problems have surfaced on machines installed in the office.

 

[Heliian]

I've used furnace filters for intakes before.  They can be cut down and taped on.  Isn't pretty but it worked. 

 

Filtering unfortunately comes with some restrictions and requires monitoring for when it becomes clogged with dirt/grease.  

 

 

[inund8]

Is the HVAC done for the kitchen? You could design dedicated airflow for the computers and overbuild the extraction hoods over the fryers EDIT: Didn't see the word air in front of fryer... you could still use extraction hoods to cut down on aerosolized grease, which is sometimes a carcinogen. These aren't great options though, but they would be the most "conventional".

 

You could also take inspiration from the Whole Room Watercooling videos (Don't recommend watching the entire thing, make sure its on double speed). You've said that budget isn't an issue, so this is the high budget option. Softline cooling that connects to copper plumbing (make sure the waterblocks and fittings are either copper or brass. Zero aluminum allowed.) then have that plumbing connected to a bunch of  radiators that exhaust somewhere safe and a decent pump on one end. You may also want to put taps into the high spots, so you can refill fluids, and check for issues. A high risk project to be sure, but if none of the other options work... I guess you'd have to?

 

The final and probably most practical solution is probably getting a Corning Optical Thunderbolt 3 Cable, and a thunderbolt 3 dock, so you can have the computer in a separate room. The downside is that this cable is 400USD and you're tethered to Intel CPU's. If you can have it less than 3 meters away, you can get away with a much cheaper copper cable. There maybe other cheaper actively powered copper cables, but I can't seem to find any.

Good luck.

 

PS I see your company is hiring... Mind if I PM you?

[AgotPM]

14 hours ago, inund8 said:

Is the HVAC done for the kitchen? You could design dedicated airflow for the computers and overbuild the extraction hoods over the fryers EDIT: Didn't see the word air in front of fryer... you could still use extraction hoods to cut down on aerosolized grease, which is sometimes a carcinogen. These aren't great options though, but they would be the most "conventional".

 

You could also take inspiration from the Whole Room Watercooling videos (Don't recommend watching the entire thing, make sure its on double speed). You've said that budget isn't an issue, so this is the high budget option. Softline cooling that connects to copper plumbing (make sure the waterblocks and fittings are either copper or brass. Zero aluminum allowed.) then have that plumbing connected to a bunch of  radiators that exhaust somewhere safe and a decent pump on one end. You may also want to put taps into the high spots, so you can refill fluids, and check for issues. A high risk project to be sure, but if none of the other options work... I guess you'd have to?

 

The final and probably most practical solution is probably getting a Corning Optical Thunderbolt 3 Cable, and a thunderbolt 3 dock, so you can have the computer in a separate room. The downside is that this cable is 400USD and you're tethered to Intel CPU's. If you can have it less than 3 meters away, you can get away with a much cheaper copper cable. There maybe other cheaper actively powered copper cables, but I can't seem to find any.

Good luck.

 

PS I see your company is hiring... Mind if I PM you?

Sure. I'd be happy to chat with you.