Making reservoir

CheeseBall · 01-30-2003, 12:04 AM

I am going to make a reservoir to fit in my lower harddrive holder. I am going to cut the plexyglass out with a.... "laser", and glue it together. Is 1/4" plexyglass too thin to connect barbs to? How should I go about connecting barbs? What kind of addhesive shoud I use? I am a newbie, first WCed setup, but I have access to machines and I have good knowledge of lathes/mills, some mastercam, and of course can opperate a small "laser".

One last thing. Should I put the in-line to the reservoir up top, then the out-line lower so the pump can site in the bottom of the reservoir?

dima y · 01-30-2003, 12:46 AM

i used 1/2 inch acrylic

SCompRacer · 01-30-2003, 12:56 AM

ISP Weld On #16 works great for a chemical bond. It won't fill big gaps so the cuts have to be smooth and straight. You should have that covered with the laser.

1/4" is thick enough for cutting threads into. I cut the threads with the tap and plexi under water to keep it cool. You can use vegatable oil as a lubricant too but it's messy to clean up.

I have used both brass and plastic fittings in plexiglas. I just use silicone sealer on the threads of either fitting now and just tighten the fittings finger tight. If you use thread tape, the sharp plexi threads can cut the teflon tape as you screw it in. Go too tight with the brass fittings and it can crack the plexi.

Depending on the size of your res and system flow, you could have a problem with turbulence even with staggering the fittings. Flow too close to the top can hit the side wall and churn up bubbles that get recycled through the system. A small baffle could help break up the flow.

CheeseBall · 01-30-2003, 01:11 AM

Thanks for the help. Where do you suggest I put the in/out lines then?

The res. will be about 6" deep, 4" wide, and 4.5" tall (I think all are close).

SCompRacer · 01-30-2003, 11:26 PM

Thats a decent size reservoir. I'd put the inlet up towards the top slightly below the planned level of the coolant and the outlet at the bottom.

01-30-2003, 12:46 AM	#2
dima y Cooling Savant Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: palo alto, CA Posts: 164	i made mine i used 1/2 inch acrylic

01-30-2003, 12:04 AM	#1
CheeseBall Cooling Savant Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Colorado Posts: 176	Making reservoir I am going to make a reservoir to fit in my lower harddrive holder. I am going to cut the plexyglass out with a.... "laser", and glue it together. Is 1/4" plexyglass too thin to connect barbs to? How should I go about connecting barbs? What kind of addhesive shoud I use? I am a newbie, first WCed setup, but I have access to machines and I have good knowledge of lathes/mills, some mastercam, and of course can opperate a small "laser". One last thing. Should I put the in-line to the reservoir up top, then the out-line lower so the pump can site in the bottom of the reservoir?

01-30-2003, 12:56 AM	#3
SCompRacer Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Illinois Posts: 94	ISP Weld On #16 works great for a chemical bond. It won't fill big gaps so the cuts have to be smooth and straight. You should have that covered with the laser. 1/4" is thick enough for cutting threads into. I cut the threads with the tap and plexi under water to keep it cool. You can use vegatable oil as a lubricant too but it's messy to clean up. I have used both brass and plastic fittings in plexiglas. I just use silicone sealer on the threads of either fitting now and just tighten the fittings finger tight. If you use thread tape, the sharp plexi threads can cut the teflon tape as you screw it in. Go too tight with the brass fittings and it can crack the plexi. Depending on the size of your res and system flow, you could have a problem with turbulence even with staggering the fittings. Flow too close to the top can hit the side wall and churn up bubbles that get recycled through the system. A small baffle could help break up the flow.

01-30-2003, 01:11 AM	#4
CheeseBall Cooling Savant Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Colorado Posts: 176	Thanks for the help. Where do you suggest I put the in/out lines then? The res. will be about 6" deep, 4" wide, and 4.5" tall (I think all are close).

01-30-2003, 11:26 PM	#5
SCompRacer Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Illinois Posts: 94	Thats a decent size reservoir. I'd put the inlet up towards the top slightly below the planned level of the coolant and the outlet at the bottom.

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