anyone ever make a custom reservoir?
 

hi, reservoirs are very expensive for what they are made of. i've seen them as cheap as $25 and as much as $80. i find that crazy for a tube and 2 outlets. but that's just my general thinking of things. i always break them down to something simple although they might not be. so i'm thinking about making my own out of acrylic. like pour the acrylic into a mold and hollow it out and put to barbs in there and then make a cap for it. is that all a reservoir is? i haven't started on watercooling yet. but i've pretty much decided what i want for my mobile Athlon XP 2600+. i want a hyrdor L30 pump, maze4 cpu block, chevy pickup single pass heatercore, and some panaflo 120mm fans. i figure thats a very cost effective (cheap) set up that will get me decent cooling. well all i need. i'd like to save money where i can, i already have some acrylic and something that i can cast a rectangular reservoir in. so has anyone made their own? any specs, layouts, parts, pieces? thanks!

I made my own acrylic reservoir as well. The size is about 4" x 4" x 4". What is important is to screw the screw threads on the piece of Acrylic. 3 screw threads need to be drilled in my case. Their thread size is: 2 x 1/4" and 1 x 3/4" (it is the size of water inlet of Iwaki MD-20RZM pump). I got my friend to do it for me for the smaller ones. But, I need to pay for about 40 HKD for the large one as taps itself is really expensive in HK due to the large size. BTW. the cost of making this custom reservoir is about 90 HKD or ~ USD11.54. It is quite decent at least I feel that. :D

I made a res. out of acrylic sheet quite easily, and it looks pretty good. I cut 6 pieces out of a big sheet of acrylic, drilled two holes in one of the sides, tapped(threaded) the holes, glued the 6 sheets together, screwed in hose barbs and presto - done.

Total Cost(CAD):
Acrylic: 5-10
3/8" NPT Tap: 13
Acrylic Solvent: 8
Barbs: 5
============
~$35CAD = 25-30 USD

And that's including the tap(for making the threads) and the glue - the cost of the tiny amount of glue I used is probably 10 cents, and I've used the $13 tap for 15-20 holes so ~1.30 for the tap usage and you're looking at 10USD for materials and a couple more bucks for tools if you use them for a couple projects.


[EDIT: I excluded tools I assume everyone has like a 37/64 drill bit a hacksaw, and some sandpaper for making sure those edges are super-square]

It is pretty cheap for the 3/8" NPT Tap in Canada

I guess - I had a bit of trouble finding one, eventually got one at a tools only store - as opposed to a hardware store - but yeah not a bad price really.

my res is custom made. acrilyc here too.

Yes, I make my own reservoirs as well. I prefer not to use Plexiglas (acrylic) as it can easily crack and may be attacked by some additives (Water Wetter in particular).

Details can be found here... http://www.overclockers.com/tips1089/

here A reservoir is not needed at all in a watercooling setup. All you need is an effective way to trap remaining air bells in the loop and a manner to compensate for volume changes due to temp differences.
My truly conviction is that the best solution is something between a reservoir and a T-line, this is why I made my "airtrap". See here.

CD :)

I can't find any information mentioned from the website you provide that the acrylic may be attacked by Water Wetter. Have I missed any things. :confused:

I'm sorry but chemically Water Wetter DOES NOT attack acrylic, I have heard this rumor so many times it makes me sick.

Yes after time you get an odd effect on acrylic when using water, this has GENERALLY nothing to do with additives. But that's just a fact, replace it after 2 to 3 years, you shouldn't have this probablem before that.

The problem with acrylic resovoirs is the bad manufacturing (too much stress causes it to crack or other mistakes in the design / production) and teflon tapes, that generally causes leaks.

well actually, i was thinking now, that i can just buy one of these Nalgene bottles at school and put 2 barbs in them. they're basically made out of a material like Lexan. it's almost unshatterable. we've dropped them off the 3rd floor of our dorms (filled w/ water) and it didn't crack or anything. if i could be careful and drill it and put in some barbs, i think that would make a great, cheap reservoir and they come in great colors as well.

Turbokeu, that's almost exactly along the lines of i what i wanted to make. how much did it cost you for parts? and i'm assuming you mount that w/ the pipe fittings facing down correct? great idea.

Are you SURE about that??? I personally do not use Plexiglas reservoirs but I know several people who do, one of which is an experienced water cooler who has built many custom reservoirs. He is the one that first alerted me to the potential problem with acrylic (Plexiglas) and WW.

I am guessing (until I can get confirmation) that the Di and Tri Isopropyl Alcohol Ethers that are used in Water Wetter to increase the boiling point and suppress the freezing point of water may be leaching out the plastisizers in the acrylic plastic over time.

Sorry, I was referring to details about building reservoirs... :) I didn't mention anything about the potential acrylic - WW problem in that article. It has never been a big concern to me since I don't use acrylic reservoirs.

Yes...
My airtrap costs me about 15US$ on parts.

In an early stage of my project:
http://users.skynet.be/turbokeu/myco...0/pict0191.jpg

http://users.skynet.be/turbokeu/myco...0/pict0106.jpg

CD :)

Hey i recognize that PC from your website! I like your work :) .


Yes I am sure Water Wetter does damage the resovoirs, some people said distilled water did, that's not true either. Water over time does though...

Instead of using a tap to put a sliver of thread in the bottle you could better use a bulhead fitting. They were about US$5 for a 3/4" outside thread, 1/2" inside thread. You would only have to make a circular hole in the bottle. Just make sure it fits through the neck of the bottle.

Best thing to catch the bubbles is to rout the water through the bottle though.

i presume you mean a bulkhead fitting.... presumably these need a flat surface?

Oops ..yes. Bulkhead. A flat surface is needed. A slight curve would be ok though if the bottle is flexible.

Robotech: That looks like a methlab.. ;)

bang goes my idea of an "absolut" res then......

I think i'm gonna do a absolute res but cut the bottle in half @ a laser shop and adhere it to the side of a case and call the case Absolute zero =)

why a flat survace? wont be easy, but you could seal it with siliconewont be the first time someone put a sealed fitting on a curved surface.

not talking a sharp curve or nothing.

I would definitly be EXTREMELY careful, and proceed to test it for a few weeks to see if any leaks develop. pressurizing it a bit would be good too to give it a stress test.

I used a 2in diamter clear PVC tube with end caps. I drilled two holes, added barbs and that was that. Cost me about 8 bucks.

See my sig: easy stuff!

curious, but I dont really feel like remaking my resevior after 2-3years. what else can you use besides acrylic plexiglass?

lexan someone said? is this good? where do you get sheets of lexan?

also, what do you use to seal the sides together? silicone sealant? anything specific?

on a more difficult question. Im thinking complicated.

I want the top to be sealed but removable. so Im thinking if I had half inch walls, I could drill a hole, and set a threaded plug into them. then put a gasket around the top, and use thumb screws to screw the top down onto the box... just an idea, any thoughts?