Reservior for Pump - watercooling.

[HaM]

Hello,
Right now I have an Ehiem 1250 pump for my water-cooling setup, and its currently set up in an inline system. So right now, i dont have a reservior. I want to add a reservior, but didnt know the best way of doing this. The pump is somewhat large, and i do have some space constraints in the bottom of my case. (Inwin Q500 case). I was thinking of either enclosing the pump and making it submersible, or having the pump suck water from a reservior. I really dont know what to buy or how to make much, i just know that i want a reservior. Any suggestions, pictures, building hints, etc are very helpful for me.

Thanks again...

Matt

[Hellraiser]

why do u jnow that u want a pump in or with a resovoir?

it takes up far to much space and makes the transport of the pc to a problem if u might get a leakage if, for e.g. , u want to go to a LAN party.

if your radiator is working good enough, which btw is 90 % the case because all radiators are oversized , then there is no need for a resovior.

i had one my self but i got rid of it :)

some pics.

http://members.onecenter.com/y3k/hellraiser/

[UncleD]

The benifit of a reservoir far exceeds the hassle. If you have little space, use something like a small dubro-tank. they're normally used for R/C-aircrafts as fuel tanks, and is easy moddable to take 1/2 og 3/8 fittings. you can have them in many sizes.

[muddocktor]

I'm planning to use a small plastic waterproof electrical box for my reservoir for the watercooled setup I'm getting for Christmas. I plan to go look for 1 today at the electrical supply companies in town. That way I can mount my fittings anywhere that I want to on the tank.

[Stephen Castles]

do this : get a 4x4x2 or 4x4x4 PVC electrical box, and put your fittings and fill cap on it, but dont put the pump in it. Instead, connect the retun water(into box) to one fitting, and the other line(out of box) to the inlet of the pump. Now, mount this pretty high up in the case, now filling and bleeding the system is a snap. the system will now bleed it self with out you messing with it. When filling, just pour some water in and gravity will bring it down to the pump, so the pump is now primed, just pulse the pump on and off enough to get the water though the system, while filling the res. at the same time. hope this helps.

[f155mph]

I just build one out of plexi-glass. I used 1/2" thick, but I think you can go with 3/8" to save some space. My res is 6x5.5x4.5, it kinda big, but I am getting a server case so I got the room for it. I am using a Maxi jet 1200 pump, which is really small that I am running in-line. If you just want to go the easy route just go buy a electrical box at Home Depot. If you are building one, just make sure you make one out of cardboard so you'll know how everything will fit so you don't waste your $$ on plexi cause they are not that cheap. My box cost me $25 but I mess up, if I didnt it would have cost $15. Just make sure you glue it with the right glue and seal it up with silicone.

:p

[Diggrr]

Hey Ham.

There's alot of things you can make your reservior out of..Plasitic boxes, PVC tubing, acrylic sheeting, radio control model gas tanks, tupperware containers. I've seen hundreds. Best bet is to pick what you think looks good, and fits well.
The only constraint in material is thickness. If you choose a thin wall material, be prepared with epoxies/sealants to seal and bond to the threads of the hose fittings. If you can find flange mount type fittings, great.
If the material is thicker, say 1/4 inch (6mm) or more, you can invest in a pipe tap to cut threads into the material. Use teflon tape or Marine Goop to seal them. I bought a 3/8 NPT tap for $6.75US. Buy one size that matches your fittings' threads.

As to design, refering to the picture, there's a couple of things I'd like to point out.
1. If you have both inlet and outlet below the water level, the container can be opened without being held above the rest of the water system (i.e. radiator, pump, block). This will stop it from flowing all over when opened.
2. Try not to put the inlet and outlet directly opposite each other. Air bubbles will flow from outlet into the inlet without being dispersed into the reservior.
3. Placing the outgoing side low in the reservior will allow the pump to fill more easily (when filling a dry system) and stay running if the water gets low for some reason.

Hope this helps, Happy Modding!

[HaM]

Thanks guys... all of your help is apriceated. I think im going to use an underground electrical box, with the inlet and outlet both on the same side, but with the inlet higher than the outlet (but both below water level). very similar to your sketch, Digrr. Im not really going for looks at the moment, i just know i want a fully functioning reservior. Ill make the trip to lowes today :)

Thanks again...

Matt

[Stephen Castles]

the thing that sucks is that home depot doesn't have a very wide selection of fittings, i need a 1/4 NPT to 1/2 in. barbed fitting, and they dont have it. Does Lowes or Ace Hardware have one of these ?

[HaM]

I dont know. If you tell me what NPT means, then ill look for you at Lowes when i go today :)

Matt

[Diggrr]

NPT=National Pipe Thread. Pipe threads taper slightly for a tight fit.

Pipe is measured on the inside diameter, tubing on both, and pvc on the outside diameter...confused?, I am.

Yes, Ace hardware here carries a much better assortment of fittings, and yes, they carry 1/4 to 1/2 here. Your mileage may vary cause they are independently owned, so they stock what the locals buy the most.

[Stephen Castles]

they are none in close proximity to my house, but i looked in the phone book, and the see a actual ACE hardare, then i see some other one listed under ace hardware, but they arent called ace.

[Stephen Castles]

heres a proposed setup i thought up for a res :

[Diggrr]

Looks cool. If the water outlets are just chunks of pvc, or glued in hose barbs, I'd use JB weld to glue them in. PVC cement is cruddy on this type of joint-It needs a large surface area with plenty of support. Sand the surfaces for good glue bond. If it's tapped hose barbs, then rock on.

[Stephen Castles]

it will tapped brass hose barbs, now you see what i need the 1/4 NPT to 1/2 barbed fittings for. I also need em for the radiator, and the block.

[Diggrr]

Cool. You got the radiator yet?

I had to use 1/2 NPT for my rad cause it really is a Ford copper heater core that had 5/8 tubes soldered in. (until my torch got em)

[Stephen Castles]

i have ford heater core also, it had 2 straight 5/8 tubes (that i sawed off) , i glued in 2 90 degree female 1/4 npt fittings, so it would fit in the case, and the fitting wont be in the way. I just need the fiting to go in there. 1/2 inch NPT is huge.

[Diggrr]

Yes it is, and I mis-spoke...I use 3/8 npt. The holes that held the old tubing were tapered inward, so I just soldered the 3/8 npt right into that taper. It fit good without letting the solder leak inside along the threads. It's also removable in case I get a wild hair and change tubing sizes.
I have 1/2 npt from my pump sitting in front of me, that's why the mistake.

[Stephen Castles]

i can just use a wrench to change my fittings. What ford heater core do you have ?

[Diggrr]

Taurus, for the 3.0 SHO. Pre '89 is copper from some distributors.
That car was a fast grocery getter. Too bad the struts, and drivetrain was trash. I liked seeing peoples' faces when a 4-door beats 'em.
I'd bought a new replacement heater core, looked under the dash to start puting it in, then went and bought stop leak instead. So this one never got used.

[Stephen Castles]

i looked up that core and it looks nice, i use a 1991 ford escort heater core i bought from Autozone for $30. It it is all copper. The escort was a trash car. You made the right move not to change the heater core, they are hard to change, especially in a ford.

[f155mph]

If you are looking for NPT taps you should go to you local hardware store. Home Depot and Lowes don't sell these thing. Total BS if you as me. I paid $15 for my 1/2 NPT tap. If you measure it, it is more like 3/4 of an inch. Another thing is that you can also mount the return barb on top of the res, as long as the exit barb is below water level.

Good Luck
:p

[Diggrr]

I had a project box res in my second system, with the inlet on the top. It was in the bottom of the case...the pump, rad and waterblock were above it. (the pump was in a drive cage above it)
When I'd shut the system off, the air backfilled the tubing, and waterblock, and when I took the lid off...water everywhere.
Moving the inlet to under the waterlevel stopped this.

I advise to put both below the waterlevel cause I don't now his case, or where all the parts will be. Sure you could put it in the lid, and it'll work fine, but this way it's safe however his setup is, and everybody's happy.

You're right about the tap, I found it at the local hardware too. "DoIt Hardware"-franchise name. I don't often shop there, but they got decent prices.

[Stephen Castles]

i just went to Ace hardware today, a guy helped my out, i got all the fittings i needed, he helped me find all the parts for my resivoir and it will be made exatcly as my picture shows.

[Billvill]

You might want to take a look at this in that it is in an Inwin case.

That is a 6x6 resivour which is nothing more than an outdoor electrical junction bax avaliable at Home depot.

[Stephen Castles]

i have seen em before, i even considered one, but they are too bulky unless you put your pump in it.

[ButcherUK]

Stephen, in your diagram you have pump and rad fittings, you should have pump and cpu fittings if you follow the res -> pump -> rad -> cpu -> res order. :)

[Stephen Castles]

doesn't make much difference too me.

[ButcherUK]

Guess it depends on your pump, my eheim 1048 adds about 0.5-1C to the water temp (tested with just it and the rad fan on).

[Stephen Castles]

well, i got my resivior made out of PVC. Since i wanted to get this system running, and i'm short on cash, i made a water block out of PVC and copper also. I'll call it the "ghetto-block". anyways, here it is :

[Diggrr]

Hey great!

Try it out yet, or still waiting for the glue to set up?

I'd recommend running it outside the computer for at least 24 hours just to make sure you won't have any leaks. Better safe than sorry.

[ButcherUK]

That's more ghetto than mine which is copper scraps soldered and epoxied till watertight then I somehow managed to hack a clip together for it and mount it.

[Stephen Castles]

in the morning i can use it, the glue isn't fully cured yet. i am just gonna use bucket of water and a radiator, and maybe throw some ice in there for fun. i didn't cut any corners when i made it so your's in much more ghetto than mine, the drawing in paint doesn't do mine any good, it actually looks good when you see it, i will try to get a real pic of it soon.

[ButcherUK]

mine is temp till I get a dd maze2 sometime in jan.

[Stephen Castles]

mine is temp till i build mine or get a maze2. This one is Geforce 2 worthy so if i build an all copper block, this one has a home still:D

[Stephen Castles]

ok, it's morning now, in a few hours i'll have this thing running to bench test it. I'll even dump ice in the water to see how low this block will get me.

[Stephen Castles]

alright, got it running. Just in a test setup right now, but i'm using the machine to type this message. MBM 5 is saying 27c at the moment(this temp probe reads a little high), but i have 2 trays of ice in the water, and the fan on the radiator off. My mobo is messed up and only does 1.83 vcore, but i'll try to over clock. i felt the copper base of the block and it is icy cold.