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Diggrr · 01-20-2004, 10:45 PM

I needed a better radiator than I could find to make a stealth (well nearly so) system for the Mrs.
She'll be getting an Antec Sonata soon, and watercooling but not overclocking is a must.

Well, I had this BlackIce version 1 sitting in my desk, and it'd been a while since I did something cool, so I desoldered the 5 endtanks and replaced them with what I feel is a much better solution than what's offered. I also "re-engineered" the tubes that were FAR too long inside those low-profile tanks it had.

I made a mold of wood, and covered it with silicone and let it harden. Then I overlayed wetted fiberglass cloth and layed on a piece of plastic baggie to smooth it out (removed when cured). Then I brushed on a layer of resin, wetsanded, and layed on two more successive layers of fiberglass after each had hardened.
The tanks are thinly siliconed down, then JBWeld was layed around the seams 'till level.
I soldered .090" brass plate to the tank lip to give it some strength around the 1/4" NPT X 1/2" barbs. Those too are backfilled with JBWeld after I tapped them and screwed in the barbs.
Then each tank was brushed and cured 6 more times with wetsanding in between assuring a waterproof and sturdy finish.

Over that, it's primed and spatter painted to give it a satin finish.

So whatcha think of my single-pass BlackIce?

01-20-2004, 10:45 PM	#1
Diggrr Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 5	What a BlackIce should look like I needed a better radiator than I could find to make a stealth (well nearly so) system for the Mrs. She'll be getting an Antec Sonata soon, and watercooling but not overclocking is a must. Well, I had this BlackIce version 1 sitting in my desk, and it'd been a while since I did something cool, so I desoldered the 5 endtanks and replaced them with what I feel is a much better solution than what's offered. I also "re-engineered" the tubes that were FAR too long inside those low-profile tanks it had. I made a mold of wood, and covered it with silicone and let it harden. Then I overlayed wetted fiberglass cloth and layed on a piece of plastic baggie to smooth it out (removed when cured). Then I brushed on a layer of resin, wetsanded, and layed on two more successive layers of fiberglass after each had hardened. The tanks are thinly siliconed down, then JBWeld was layed around the seams 'till level. I soldered .090" brass plate to the tank lip to give it some strength around the 1/4" NPT X 1/2" barbs. Those too are backfilled with JBWeld after I tapped them and screwed in the barbs. Then each tank was brushed and cured 6 more times with wetsanding in between assuring a waterproof and sturdy finish. Over that, it's primed and spatter painted to give it a satin finish. So whatcha think of my single-pass BlackIce?