Water-Cooled Raspberry Pi Zero

The Pi Zero is the hottest micro computer around, but this Water-Cooled Pi Zero is the coolest too .

Scott Wood hooked up his Pi Zero to a water cooling system for the ultimate in micro overclocking. “I had a system I put together for my Raspberry Pi over a year and a half ago,” says Scott.

“But by the time I had all the parts that I wanted, two other people had already posted," he tell us.

Scott was determined to be the first to water-cool his Pi Zero. “Well the parts have been sitting around,” says Scott. “I just got my Pi Z so I figured ‘what the hell’!”

Building a Water-Cooled Pi Zero

“I was originally trying to find a radiator/fan combo, but I specifically wanted a small one,” says Scott, going over his system. “Then I saw this little aluminum fluid overflow reservoir used for small mini-bike and scooter braking systems. I looked around and found a clip on cooling ring for RC helicopter motors that would fit around it.”

“I have a fan that can be mounted to it in a pinch, but as an aluminum reservoir with an aluminum heat sync it should do just fine,” explains Scott.

“Initially, I was trying to talk a company in Great Britain to give me a discount on a  pump actually used for full sized PCs,” he says. “I ended up finding this one Stateside instead. It is used for RC submarines.”

The cooling system has a wonderful MacGyver quality to it. “The hose lines are medical tubing from the guy next door to where I work,” says Scott. "The tubing is used on medical cart systems they build.”