Two small paperback books do a better job. One on each leg. Works great on a table as well. If you're a non-reader you can go grab a couple for a quarter apiece at the thrift store. Just make sure they're the same thickness.

Skipping the obvious douche bag jokes, a water bottle and a laptop are a BAD combination.

infmom

How long before the bottle melts? If you've got a $1000+ computer and your lap's that sensitive, a $30 cooling pad insurance policy is worth it.

Michael @ Paperweight Blog

Wow, talk about delayed post on my previous comment. I was compelled to rewrite it, thinking it wasnt posted.

@robdew: Like.. bad idea articles and Lifehacker comment posters.

Lazarus

Im concerned about this blocking the airflow of the fans under the laptop. Wouldnt this cut down on the heat transfer from the cpu & graphics chips heatsinks?

By the way, most times water bottles are made of thick enough rubber that you can have body parts on them. I used to use them as a warm bottle for my back and lie on them for extended periods of time, and I weigh, well.. lets say I weigh more than a laptop.

What the hell are electronic rays? Does he mean RF radiation?

Oh, and to clue Ron Brinkman in on water cooling, it only works if the water has a way of releasing the heat from the liquid using a heat exchanger to a minimum temperature of the ambient air temperature.
[en.wikipedia.org]
The heat produced by the laptop overcomes the heat released through the water bottle. The bottle is designed to actually partially insulate the liquid and release the heat slowly. (Or else the bottle becomes cold very quickly, and the person using it gets burnt.)

Lazarus

Water and electronics go together like, er, nothing.

robdew

Let's face it, you can prop anything underneath a laptop to improve the airflow and therefore cool it, however once you've mentioned the corks and 20 other home made laptop stands, writing an article about placing a water bottle seems a bit silly...

Not only will it be useless as a "water" cooler as the water needs to be in movement so as to cool down away from the laptop, but it will also smother the laptop vents or, even worse, in the case of a more powerful laptop, the fans dragging air from beneath.

Bobly

yep. i agree.

"I would be so afraid that it'd pop someday. Water + laptop = NO."

"

Boy, I didn't think that we could get any more ghetto than some of these DIY laptop stand projects.

Sadly, I was wrong. "

i just don't like electronics to be close together you know. i wouldn't want them to have any funny ideas. ;-)

fredygamer

Isn't that a douche bottle?

MikeSims

Boy, I didn't think that we could get any more ghetto than some of these DIY laptop stand projects.

Sadly, I was wrong.

Deprong Mori

I wonder how this affects the fans mounted on the bottom of the laptops? Wouldnt it block air flow, thereby decreasing efficiency of removing heat from the cpu & graphics card heat sinks? I'm definitely missing something from this. Slow news day, Adam?

Lazarus

I would be so afraid that it'd pop someday. Water + laptop = NO.

Luana Arrrr

What are "electronic Rays"? How are they stopped by a water bottle? Oh yeah, that part is stupid, just like the rest of it.

Tachyon0118

Not to mention that as the water heats up it becomes less and less effective at pulling heat from your laptop whereas a stand typically allows for air to circulate. And I can't say that a $6 bag of water is ever something I want to have in constant contact with an expensive piece of electronic equipment.

Yup, spend $10 instead of $6 and make yourself a nice stand.

Jason

Ok, this is dumb. It sounds really unstable, not to mention it would look ridiculous. Do you really want your laptop moving every time you put pressure on your keyboard? Just imagine typing with your laptop sitting on a water bed.

allinthefamily

Agreed with everyone who believes water + laptop = bad idea. I'd really really not suggest this to someone who might think that colder water is better - if the water's too cold, you might get condensation on the outside of the bottle, and if that happens that water's in direct contact with the bottom of your laptop. BAD idea!

phoenix

@krewl: Thats nothing. I made my own laptop stand using nothing but the ashes of bad lifehacker cheap DIY articles, and a cable tie (for neatness)

Lazarus

I've been resting the laptop on my cat; she likes the heat once the sun goes down. This also allows me to turn down the heat in the room. I'll get a posted on how to make this innovative, energy saving laptop stand soon.

aeronaut

I made my own DIY laptop stand with nothing but a cialis tablet.

krewl

Hmmm, I hope the next DIY laptop stand isn't a stick of dynamite cut in half or maybe a lump of plastic explosive ("mold it to your preferred angle!").

Deprong Mori

Not to mention laptop stands go for as low as $7-8 if you watch Fry's ads etc.

cisengineer

I actually had been toying with some kind of water solution for my laptop. My Precision M65 really gets hot (hot enough to burn).

I won't try the bottle idea though, too risky... (I can't buy those laptop stands because I haven't seen any selling where I live (in India))

whoisvaibhav

overall, i don't recommend using laptops on your lap. there's reason why laptops were renamed 'notebooks'. people have gotten burned by the heat, and rumor has it that someone sued for that, since it was called a 'laptop'.

anyways, it's bad for your posture, and not ergonomic.

and if it's on your desk, yes, anything flies as a laptop stand. I don't understand this novelty with a DIY stand. I just prop a book under it.

qrius

Failtacular!

ghostwind

@allinthefamily - it's actually very stable if you position the waterbottle towards the back of the laptop and let the front of the computer rest on your body. Most of the heat (at least on my macbook) seems to be generated at the back anyway).

@jason - the water never gets more than slightly warm and the direct contact between laptop and smooth rubber surface seems to give pretty good heat conductance between machine and water.

@tachyon0118 - it was sarcasm :-)

But hey, you guys all feel free to go spend more $$$ if you want - it's been working for me for a couple of years now (and no leaks!).

ronbrinkmann

condensation anyone? wouldn't this create condensation like a glass with ice in it on a hot day... doesnt seem a solid idea

pernicious

Wow, so much hate! I thought this was a great idea. I don't know if it necessarily deserves it's own post (seeing as how there have been SO many DIY laptop stand posts) but this actually seems pretty innovative to me.

Jabronimus

This is what I have been using for the last few years as a laptop stand:
[www.ikea.com]

Yes, it's a cutting board from Ikea. It's exactly the right size for a 15" laptop, quite light, completely flat, very stable, and isolates the heat perfectly. And at CHF 4.95 (~USD 4.95 at the current exchange rates), it's even cheaper than the water bottle, but it looks a bit classier IMHO :-)

ZZamboni

I always used a washcloth and a big ziplock bag. Douse the washcloth with cool water, place in plastic bag, and place bag on lap with laptop on top of the bag. Works very well and easily replaced. Microwave it to remove any bacteria. Wash it, douse it again. Worked for me.

FreeChaos

I like all the _theories_ about how this can't possibly work but I think I'll stick with the 2+ years of actual experience with it that demonstrate it's very viable.

ronbrinkmann

I use a generic wire basket that was designed for holding documents. I turn it upside down and place my laptop on top.

Sometimes the best solution is already at hand.

Bialosky

Comment on Prop and Cool Your Laptop with a Water Bottle Wow. I thought the folks making comments at this site would have a better grasp on basic physics and thermodynamics. Seems I was wrong. Maybe if the water bottle had a cool logo or a picture of Obama on it people have more faith in it.

AndrewCadman

@Jabronimus: Yeah, I with you. Someone mentions an idea they have and instead of a think tank atmosphere where people come up with clever McGuyver ways to make it more workable (which would be far more interesting to read), most people resort to childish jokes.

Apollo 13 astronauts got home safely because the scientists on the ground figured out how to put a round peg in a square hole, rather than falling on the floor laughing saying, "It ain't gonna happen. So long suckers, you're doomed."

I enjoy reading alternative solutions to commonplace problems, which I thought was the main premise of this website.

Lambasted

This idea isn't half bad as the comments are making it seem...
I think the comments are a little dumber then the idea itself.
1) Its a HOT water bottle - the computer heat will not melt it especially if your allowing some of the heat to transfer to the water
2) Hot water bottles are built to be DURABLE because a company that advocates you to pour super hot water in their product and then place it under body parts would probably think hmmm lets make sure it doesn't rip open and scald the shit out of our customers? Maybe?
3) To all the 'smart' people who dissed the 'electronic rays' and had NOO idea what he meant - even if the lingo isn't right do you not grasp the concept that your laptop that obviously is emitting 'some' sort of electrical energy should be distanced from your balls? Even if your not using them much? Like seriously..
4) The man said he had been doing this for 2 years, and yet your post which took 20 seconds says its not possible it wont work...

5) The cialis tablet induced laptop stand - Genius! And i'm sure if you have a 17" (aww i was talking about my laptop :( this is better execise then Jack Black's - Cock pushups (can only do one)

6) Generic Wirebasket fold holding documents as laptop stand - best use of making do with what you have EFFECTIVELY

7) My biggest issue is that because the bottle isn't solid that the rubber would actually block the vents on the bottom of the laptop and make it hotter?

jalilt

I'm rather distressed by the fact that laptops (sorry, notebooks, you're not supposed to set them on yor lap...) apparently still have vents on the bottom, you know, the part that goes against a surface when you set it down.

My Powerbook had vents on the side and kind of behind the hinge; my new Macbook Pro is completely open only behind the hinge. Neither one gets any hotter than any other modern laptop I've used. As a bonus, the vents don't get blocked by setting it on a surface, even a soft one.

Eris

This method works really well in the bath tub too! If you add just enough air to the bottle it acts as a laptop buouy. To keep it from tipping forward, you can use a coat hanger (and of course duct tape) to attach to the front of the screen holding your toaster on the back side of the notebook. The toaster acts as a counter balance keeping the notebook and toaster on the water bottle buoy cooling unit as a fulcrum in a perfect balancing act. Works like a charm!

* The cord from the power strip MUST be at least 10' long, so get an extension cord handy if you have the standard 3' power strip cord!

I'm a recent Mac convert. I just got a MacBook. The heat venting comes out the back behind the hinge so it doesn't need propped up. Oh yeah and Leopard smokes Vista.

fusion27

@ronbrinkmann: Thanks for the tact to post replies and the ingenuity to look at a health care product and solve two computing problems at once.

Don't let some of the comments here get you down; after all clicking on someone's name shows you a review of just how helpful they really are.

Boter

I use the iXoft passive cooling pad from Thermaltake. Brilliant: looks like a little quilt but keeps everything cool. I even put it in the freezer when the laptop is not running (I slip it in a 2 gallon Ziplock beforehand so it doesn't get condensation).

Hermagoras

+ Watch video

I've been using 'Snapballs' for a couple of years. OK, they cost a few pounds (sorry, dollars).. but they work really well!

[www.postworx.com]

FizzyPopMan

Dumb de dumb, dumb.

Dumb, dumb, dumb,
...... dumb.

elanne

@elanne: As opposed to this comment which is so clever and insightful...

This actually seems like a viable solution (especially since we know that it has worked as such for the author for quite a while now). I've been using a document stand (like a previous customer), but the water bottle solution would be great for when I want to surf (or create new Civilizations) in bed. Thanks!

abhowell

Beyond stupid.

Nice job covering vents to make SURE the laptop overheats. At least you won't feel it until the water warms up.

If you're desperate and cheap just use a couple of pieces of cardboard as an insulator to keep the heat off your lap and still let the machine breath

framitz