Creative res ideas

[sporktar]

The loop I'm working on for my desktop is going to have an external rad/pump/res enclosure, however i can't really find any res options that appeal to me. I feel like the cylinder style res has been done to death, so i was hoping to do a DIY solution instead for something a bit more unique. I've come up with a few ideas so far, but I'm not really deadset on any of them.

• Glass bottle: I have drilled holes in glass before with diamond dremel bits for other projects, so a led illuminated whiskey or beer bottle could be neat. The main concern i have is the structural integrity. Bottles are generally made to be disposable and not very rugged, and glue/sealant would have to be used, as you can't really tap threads in glass. I would also like to have more than 2 holes tapped for other inlets/outlets, and if you've ever tried to drill glass you know one mistake can ruin the entire project.
• plastic container: Something like this or a bucket would allow for extremely easy system filling and bleeding, but the walls are still too thin to tap, so some sort of glue or sealant would still need to be used to secure the barbs. It's also not very aesthetically pleasing at all...
• custom acrylic res: This would be pretty awesome, as i could design a res that perfectly fits my enclosure, properly tap the threads for barbs, and include a creative design such as a waterfall or cutout pattern. Only issue is i don't believe I have the tools necessary to make cuts straight enough for acrylic welding. I'd imagine tools that would work would be quite pricey as well.

Does anyone else have experience with this sort of thing? I'd like to hear some creative input and ideas from you guys.

 

[Conumdrum]

All been done. You can buy custome tubes and ends in many different ways for an acrylic rez. You can get them with UV tubes all twisty inside. Forget the name. Waterfall rezzes? Yep, been done.

In summary, try something out. No harm in trying. Folks been watercooling for over a decade across the planet. Google could be a good start for pictures, or here, there is a HUGE picture thread.

Have fun!

 

[sporktar]

All been done. You can buy custome tubes and ends in many different ways for an acrylic rez. You can get them with UV tubes all twisty inside. Forget the name. Waterfall rezzes? Yep, been done.

In summary, try something out. No harm in trying. Folks been watercooling for over a decade across the planet. Google could be a good start for pictures, or here, there is a HUGE picture thread.

Have fun!

I've seen the custom tube res designs with uv swirly things, but generally they are really expensive for what they are, and everyone and their mom with a custom loop seems to have some variation on this. I want do do something more original. I've tried google in the past, and found some cool ideas (skull shaped vodka bottle, waterfalls, janky buckets/tupperware), i sort of made this thread in hopes that someone had some fresh ideas that i hadn't thought of or seen yet.

If anyone has any experience with acrylic welding, or a ballpark estimate on how much the tools would cost to correctly take on that sort of project that may be my best bet. I have a few ideas bouncing around in my head.

 

[Otter]

Some glass bottles are made to last. You can get heavy glass beer bottles from brewing suppliers. They still sell and even deliver milk in reusable bottles here and there. And you might find some interesting soda bottles from the days when they were reused instead of recycled. Some of the decorative cut glass decanters, bottles, and jars are pretty heavy, and the patterned glass ought to do interesting things with light.

Canning jars are pretty strong too, and you could bring your lines in through the lid instead of drilling the jar. For metal lids, check the galvanic series, but I think you'll be okay.

Or you could use clear PVC pipe. I'm not sure if it would yellow over time or not. I've never tried it, but I've read it can be heat bent like regular PVC. Just be careful not to scorch it because that will probably make it not clear, and more importantly, will release carcinogenic fumes. It should be safe enough to work with if you're careful and have good ventilation, welding gloves, and a clear head, though.

 

[sporktar]

Some glass bottles are made to last. You can get heavy glass beer bottles from brewing suppliers. They still sell and even deliver milk in reusable bottles here and there. And you might find some interesting soda bottles from the days when they were reused instead of recycled. Some of the decorative cut glass decanters, bottles, and jars are pretty heavy, and the patterned glass ought to do interesting things with light.

Canning jars are pretty strong too, and you could bring your lines in through the lid instead of drilling the jar. For metal lids, check the galvanic series, but I think you'll be okay.

Or you could use clear PVC pipe. I'm not sure if it would yellow over time or not. I've never tried it, but I've read it can be heat bent like regular PVC. Just be careful not to scorch it because that will probably make it not clear, and more importantly, will release carcinogenic fumes. It should be safe enough to work with if you're careful and have good ventilation, welding gloves, and a clear head, though.

I've looked into clear pvc in the past for my last build. unfortunately everything i could find was food grade, and expensive enough to make me seek out other options. Maybe i will look into that again now that my budget is a little bit higher.

Older re-usable bottles is a great idea, especially something with decorative cuts/patterns. I live in a very "hipster/vintage" town with a lot of antique and thrift stores, so maybe sometime in the next few weeks i will check out those places to see if they have anything interesting with patterned glass, as i do intend on mounting some leds somewhere on the base of the res.

 

[oldiron]

I've looked into clear pvc in the past for my last build. unfortunately everything i could find was food grade, and expensive enough to make me seek out other options. Maybe i will look into that again now that my budget is a little bit higher.

Older re-usable bottles is a great idea, especially something with decorative cuts/patterns. I live in a very "hipster/vintage" town with a lot of antique and thrift stores, so maybe sometime in the next few weeks i will check out those places to see if they have anything interesting with patterned glass, as i do intend on mounting some leds somewhere on the base of the res.

Not knowing what your tool inventory is its hard to say what you need tool wise for acrylic. I make alot of acrylic covers and inserts and consoles ect, I cut everything on a band saw with guide, have a right angle sander that straightens up any edges, then file and sand and lots of patience. I bend it using a homemade bender i made from a hairdryer and a cpl pieces of plywood scrap I had. Actually works very well and lots of variations out there on the net you can look up.
copper is a material thats fairly easy to work with....soft so easily bent or formed/hammered. Fairly easy to seal joints and fittings as its just soldier and no real special tools.
The possibilities are almost endless as damn near anything thats a vessel can be used. Or you could go another route and use a standard res and cover it with something that stealths it or makes it look like something else.

 

[tachi1247]

You could probably find someone to 3D print you something pretty cool and you could set your own wall thickness such that you could easily tap it for barbs...

You could basically create whatever you wantin that scenario.

Do they make clear printer filament? I realize it probably wouldn't be glass clear, but if it was frosted you could probably set up some leds to make it light up.

 

[Dr. McCoy]

I use a drinking container I got from Wal-Mart years ago and it's held up since 09 as is.
The top has a large opening so adding coolant is a snap and with the outlet being at the bottom makes it work as it should and I added a shutoff valve for maintenace purposes. All I did with the return line was simply drop it's end into the opening at the top.
I got some plumbing PVC and worked the outlet so the pieces could be inserted and glued in place, had to slightly enlarge the opening with sandpaper for these pieces to fit and to rough up the inside of the opening for the glue to get a good hold once it set. The glue used was Oatley blue rain or shine, it's really good stuff to use for this purpose.
EDIT:
You'll wind up sanding the PVC piece way more than the res opening for good reason but simply roughing it up is all you'd need to do for the opening, the PVC piece will have to be sanded until it fits tightly.
After doing that and gluing it in, had a slight seep leak but standing the res on end and letting a very small amount of glue pond up around the piece inside fixed that once it had dried.
I know you can't see all of it but here's a pic that shows some of it at least, maybe enough for you to refer to.

 

[sporktar]

You could probably find someone to 3D print you something pretty cool and you could set your own wall thickness such that you could easily tap it for barbs...

You could basically create whatever you wantin that scenario.

Do they make clear printer filament? I realize it probably wouldn't be glass clear, but if it was frosted you could probably set up some leds to make it light up.

That's actually a fantastic idea. My old university has a 3d printer, and i just found out that one of my local libraries has a makerbot available for public use. My girlfriend and i are going to check it out to see what model they have, and what we can do with it. I'll have to look into clear filament, but a semi-clear red would be ideal for this project.

I use a drinking container I got from Wal-Mart years ago and it's held up since 09 as is.
The top has a large opening so adding coolant is a snap and with the outlet being at the bottom makes it work as it should and I added a shutoff valve for maintenace purposes. All I did with the return line was simply drop it's end into the opening at the top.
I got some plumbing PVC and worked the outlet so the pieces could be inserted and glued in place, had to slightly enlarge the opening with sandpaper for these pieces to fit and to rough up the inside of the opening for the glue to get a good hold once it set. The glue used was Oatley blue rain or shine, it's really good stuff to use for this purpose.
EDIT:
You'll wind up sanding the PVC piece way more than the res opening for good reason but simply roughing it up is all you'd need to do for the opening, the PVC piece will have to be sanded until it fits tightly.
After doing that and gluing it in, had a slight seep leak but standing the res on end and letting a very small amount of glue pond up around the piece inside fixed that once it had dried.
I know you can't see all of it but here's a pic that shows some of it at least, maybe enough for you to refer to.
-snip-

That's a pretty slick diy rig, i like the large water capacity, and ease of filling is great. I've also struggled with leak issues on my diy res in my first loop. Both on barbs and the lid itself

Leak testing. The bottom barb leaked even with a rubber grommet, so a LOT of silicone glue was used.


After fittings it ended up costing more than the swifttech res i ended up replacing it with, but it was a cool project. Please excuse the dyed coolant, i was young and naive.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Can I ask which Swiftech reservoir?

 

[sporktar]

Can I ask which Swiftech reservoir?

The Swifttech Micro Res v2

 

[tachi1247]

That's actually a fantastic idea. My old university has a 3d printer, and i just found out that one of my local libraries has a makerbot available for public use. My girlfriend and i are going to check it out to see what model they have, and what we can do with it. I'll have to look into clear filament, but a semi-clear red would be ideal for this project.

No problem. I did a quick search and didn't see any transparent red, but they do make transparent (clear) filament and it does come out with a frosted look to it so you could probably add a red LED to the mix to get your desired effect.

 

[Lochekey]

I have some assorted glass blanks in a bunch of different shapes at home. I can post some pics when I get and if you like one I can ship it out for you.

 

[Lochekey]

Here is a quick picture of some of them. I have some other assorted shapes as well. I always thought it would be fun to turn one into a res with a led up inside like a filament. It would then look like a working light bulb on your desk.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Interesting. For a second I thought they were bongs.

 

[Lochekey]

Interesting. For a second I thought they were bongs.

Nope just blanks, could be repurposed into whatever though. Just as a size reference the big one on the left is 5 inches in diameter.

 

[dyckah]

Interesting. For a second I thought they were bongs.

lol, i thought they were sex toys at first

 

[GTXJackBauer]