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|kbn| · 07-18-2005, 08:13 PM

My 1/2" flow meter idea:

What would happen if you:

Take a wide 40mm fan - although a 10mm one might do. Take it apart and disconnect the coils so it wont turn by the power when it is connected. Waterproof the inside electonics.

Cut/Drill two holes in the side of the fan casing - allowing water in and out in the right places as with normal flow meters.

Cut out a 40mm fan-sized hole in a peice of plastic and sandwitch it between more plastic, bolted togeter, with oring seals. The three wires (ground, Vdd, sense) coming out a small hole in back, sealed with some sealant..

Might need to bend fins and remove unneeded fins, so that the fan turns properly and is not restrictive.

This should all be easy, but one problem: I expect some of the parts of the fan are not water freindly - the bearings? the permenant magnets, etc..
I think this can be worked around though.

I will try making one sometime, I should be able to make a leak-proof fan housing to test if this would work.

Also http://www.sixdesign.de/sflow.html is the first site I had seen that shows a non-commercial flow meter using led/photo transisor. Not sure if they sell them but some of the other things shown on that site are sold online.

07-18-2005, 08:13 PM	#132
\|kbn\| Cooling Savant Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: W. Sussex, UK Posts: 329	My 1/2" flow meter idea: What would happen if you: Take a wide 40mm fan - although a 10mm one might do. Take it apart and disconnect the coils so it wont turn by the power when it is connected. Waterproof the inside electonics. Cut/Drill two holes in the side of the fan casing - allowing water in and out in the right places as with normal flow meters. Cut out a 40mm fan-sized hole in a peice of plastic and sandwitch it between more plastic, bolted togeter, with oring seals. The three wires (ground, Vdd, sense) coming out a small hole in back, sealed with some sealant.. Might need to bend fins and remove unneeded fins, so that the fan turns properly and is not restrictive. This should all be easy, but one problem: I expect some of the parts of the fan are not water freindly - the bearings? the permenant magnets, etc.. I think this can be worked around though. I will try making one sometime, I should be able to make a leak-proof fan housing to test if this would work. Also http://www.sixdesign.de/sflow.html is the first site I had seen that shows a non-commercial flow meter using led/photo transisor. Not sure if they sell them but some of the other things shown on that site are sold online. __________________ Waterblocks Last edited by \|kbn\|; 07-18-2005 at 09:28 PM.