plastic res

[walkerIV]

Does anybody know what is the best kind of plastic to use for a reservoir? And what kind of adhesive to use? JB weld or something from aquarium shop i imagine?
hmm...

Cheers.

[I.M.O.G.]

dont think it matters much. one of my roomates made a filter for his sal****er fishtank (edit: <---- thats really funny, i never noticed sal****er had the word t.wat in it, i actually didnt even remember that was a word haha) out of plexi that would have cost him a good amount of money to buy. the plexi's cost was minimal and he just used something from the aquarium store to hold it all together. it held more than a gallon of water and hung off hte back of his tank, so it was strong also. this is not a resevoir of course, but it worked the same way. when i get my "funds appropriated" (when im no longer a broke a.ss w.hore :)) and get my watercooling setup i plan to use this sort of resevoir with a lighted waterfall effect in my case window. it should work well.

[walkerIV]

heh
that was precisely my idea.
to use reservoir as a side window.
now i know a store downtown that sells sheets of plexi and acrylic by weight....

[frostmeister]

Plexiglass, acryllic, perspex, polystyrene, abs and most other plastics should be fine with watercooling setups, as long as you're not using an organic solvent like alcohol in your water. I'm currently making a reservoir out of acryllic/perspex tube. A foot long, 3 inches in diameter. Going to get a local plastics company to make polythene end caps and put o-rings on to seal it, then drill out a couple of holes in the base to put 1/2 inch BSP fittings in for inlet / outlet. I'll post it up when I'm done.

[walkerIV]

i wonder if i ask at the aquarium shop for something adhesive able to withstand water/antifreeze combo, would they call animal control ppl on me or just kick me out?:)

[frostmeister]

Tell them you're doing schrodinger's experiment and want to see if the cat is really in the box, lol :D
On a more serious note, I can say that silicone sealant won't stick to perspex (tried it) superglue works, but you'd have to get perfectly flat mating sides and stick it quick... Then it mists up the plastic near the join. Not good. I believe there are plenty of good plastic glues available at your local DIY store though. PVC adhesive might work, although I can't guarantee it.

[Nails]

2 Tips...

1) I used hot glue (you know the glue guns) to stick the plexiglass together.. gives you an instant and hot waterproof seal.

2) Go to home depot and check out the plexiglass in the back (they actually call it lucite here in Canada)... a sheet 2 x 3 feet costs around 23 $ CAD...
Then go ask an employee if they have any "Broken" plexiglass left.. they usually keep a few sheets around..

I picked up a sheet of lucite about 2 x 3 feet that was missing a piece about 2 x 4 inches in a corner on both sides for a grand total of $7 CAD...
The remaining piece is large enough for a full size case window mod x2 cases, 2 shrouds for a heatercore, and a reservoir..

[walkerIV]

Thanx for the info.
Did you actually do the shrouds?
A pic or something perhaps?

A surplus store downtown has all sorts of sheets plastics for like 5$ a pound. Do you have any idea how heavy that piece of yours was?

[CyberGuru]

I dont exactly know what it is, I think it may be silicon gel, but theres a line of stuff all the way around my bathtub that look waterproof, and might be strong enuff to hold a medium-large sized res together.

Im gonna also make my own res, so Any ideas on how Im going to make the holes for the water pipes and power (pump is submersed in the res) would be brill.

Thanks, Mark

[UnLoadeD]

I just made me a shroud outta plexi:
http://members.sigecom.net/unloaded/shroud1.jpg
http://members.sigecom.net/unloaded/shroud2.jpg

This was really my first test piece. Trying out my saw, clamps, glue... Results aren't bad size was a tad bit off so I attaached it with metal tape. Got a 2-3C emp drop btw 8) I use the capillary glue that melts/fuses the plexi joint together. The joints are very strong, I dunno about water proof yet, thats gonna be my next set of tests.

peace.
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[Toysrme]

Unloaded that looks really good.

-Toysrme

[walkerIV]

nice shred.
did you plan to glue it on originally?

[Ghastard]

If you're going to use plexi or another acrylic plastic, a very simple and effective way is to take some scrap pieces of the material you're using, and mix it into acetone. Acetone is nasty stuff, and will melt the plastic. Make sure the joints are pretty straight and flush, fit the pieces together with the acetone/plastic mix, and let it set up. The acetone will partially fuse both sides and eventually evaporate, leaving a fused joint made out of the same plastic! Looks great with clear plexi.

[frostmeister]

Nice tip Ghastard :) I was going to suggest the same sort of thing as I read down the posts before I saw your tip. I saw a programme a while back on an Indian guy collecting polystyrene water dispenser cups, and dissolving them in white spirits, to make a resin which he'd set into casts for lightweight artificial limbs. Worked a treat and was a great low cost way of making a resin or glue for plastics. If you put the plastic / solvent mix in a mould, I should think it'd be great stuff for making custom shaped case mods and mouldings - you could have some really mad shaped shrouds and reservoirs to custom designs with some decent moulds...

[UnLoadeD]

Originally posted by walkerIV
nice shred.
did you plan to glue it on originally?

I'm not sure what you mean. If you are talking about how i planned to attach it to the rad, no i wasn't gonna glue it i had planned on slipping it over the cooling area. i did measure it, but i didn't pay close attention to a few globs of solder on the sides of the core. these are what prevents me from slipping it in. i could maybe file them down flush, but this really being just a test run, i dont wanna risk a leak. this glue is a bit tricky to use but works like a charm. i'd say its a bit thinner than water and its applied with a syringe. once the pieces are clamped into position you apply a bit to the joint and its pulled in between fusing the mated surfaces. i bet for the whole thing i prolly used about 6 drops total. i also have some IPS WeldOn #16 which is thicker, kinda like model glue i think, but i havent tried it yet. i get all my supplies from www.usplastics.com or www.tapplastics.com i prefer US as its in ohio and i'm in indiana, i get ups ground the next day 8) tapp is on west coast if any of you guys are over there.

peace.
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