Unique coolant reservoir - need some guidance on making it work?

[Slayd]

Hi all, new to the forums.

I'm working on a very custom system, in which I am intending to use a coffee pot as a coolant reservoir. I wanted to cut a hole in the glass of the pot, and use a bulkhead fitting to seal the hole and output to a 1/2" OD tube. I've gone to a few aquarium specialty stores, and they don't have any that small, so I went to a plumbing supply store and explained my project. He told me that since the coffee pot is curved, I would be very unlikely to get a good, watertight seal.

I haven't drilled into the coffee pot yet. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to make a good seal, in that situation?a Or would I be better off giving up on that idea and trying something else?

Thanks!

 

[Blaylock]

You could try Goop. Something else to be concerned about is how fragile/thin coffee pots generally are. You'll also want a sealed lid for it to keep the coolant from evaporating.

 

[attack]

Take a look at your coffee pot, it might be curved, but if you drill very precisely (try and use a drill press if able, or use a slightly smaller bit) and if you hit completely tangent you should be able to fit the grommet in and that should seal it. The trill will drill the hole to the diameter of the bit (if it's still) and the grommet will seal the size it's designed to. So as long as you do it carefully you should be fine...also is it a glass coffee pot or metal? glass your gonne have one hell of a time! but either way, put a very thing beed of silicone around the inside edge of the grommet before you put it in! post a pic when your done!

 

[Slayd]

Thanks for the replies!

I ordered some of the Goop stuff. I'll have to give it a shot, that might be just what I'm looking for.

It is a curved, glass coffee pot. I'll see if I can go pick up a grommet tomorrow - I think I can hopefully use both the grommet and some of the Goop to get the seal I need. Just need to make sure I'm careful about drilling the hole!

As far as sealing the lid - I only need this system to run for about a week. It's not a personal build, just a show piece - so do you think that would still be an issue? One of the goals (if feasible) for this project is to have the coolant flow from the tubing, to open air, into the coffee pot.

I can't talk too much about my project yet, but after it's all said and done I'll definitely post some pictures. It's been a fun, challenging build so far and I'm pretty proud of what I've got up till now

Thanks!

 

[Mandrake4565]

Post a picture of the coffee pot maybe we can help by seeing it.

 

[Lochekey]

If I remember correctly most coffee pots are made out of tempered glass so trying to drill that is not going to work and will likely result in the whole pot shattering.

 

[Blaylock]

When you drill it you're going to want to put tape on both sides of the glass. This will help keep the glass from shattering but im still doubtful it will survive. You might want to have a few on hand just in case. Also I would start with a small bit. And then work your way up incrementally.

 

[Slayd]

@Lochekey - very good point, I can't find what my specific coffee pot is so I'm going to have to play it safe and go back to the drawing board on this one.

I will probably go to my backup plan, and have it flow into the pot from above, and have a tube running down from the top to the bottom of the pot.

I'll still post pictures when it's done!

 

[Nebulous]

Does your project require the coffee pot to be glass? You can use an aluminum one with plastic liner inside. Easy to drill through and still have a good watertight seal. Unless you use a cube made of clear acrylic.

 

[bigtallanddopey]

If I remember correctly most coffee pots are made out of tempered glass so trying to drill that is not going to work and will likely result in the whole pot shattering.

+1 for this

Any tempered glass with holes in it such as pc case side windows have the holes cut in by whatever process before the glass is tempered. There is not a chance at all that you can cut into it if it is tempered.

If it isn’t tempered you will still have a very interesting time trying to get a hole in there.

 

[maxfly]

@Lochekey - very good point, I can't find what my specific coffee pot is so I'm going to have to play it safe and go back to the drawing board on this one.

I will probably go to my backup plan, and have it flow into the pot from above, and have a tube running down from the top to the bottom of the pot.

I'll still post pictures when it's done!

i want to know how this worked!? give us an update man!