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Building an external enclosure...

T

TMaxx6

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 10, 2002
Messages
301
I plan on building an external enclosure to fit my watercooling system is...I will have a dual 120mm radiator, pump, and a resivoir contained inside. I hate working with metal, so I'm thinking of making the enclosure out of acrylic glass, which would probably look better anyways.

When I'm cutting the acrylic...what should I use to do it? I hear using a Dremel tool will warp it, because the cutting attachment is turning too fast, thus creating too much heat while cutting it.

What do I need for venitlation? Obviously there will be two holes for the radiator's fans to use, but do I need additional holes in the side for venitlation? Koolance's EXOS and EXOS 2 have holes in the side, but are they required? Also, should I pull air from outside in the enclosure, or pull air from in the enclosure outside?

Is there any way to convert the the fans to 120V AC through some type of power adapter? Having a couple molex connectors hanging out the back would look shitty...having it all wired to a single 120V AC line would be more convienent.

Thanks.

edit: I also see that the EXOS systems don't use a shroud...could I get away with not using a shroud, or a very small one? I don't want to have a huge enclosure.
 
Ok, it looks like AC to DC inverters are a little too much money for me.

Any suggestions on how to make the power connectors for the fans look tidy?
 
Another question...I notice how EXOS systems use smaller tubing. Would I be able to fit .5" tubing through a PCI expansion slot?
 
Could be nice to see an all acrylic incased WC-system.
I don't mind working with metals so I made this setup
Just cut the acrylic with a "table-saw"
And always pull the air through the enclosure.So no heated air will remain in the enclosure.


Grtz
 
Cutting plexi is easy with a bandsaw. Get a fairly coarse tooth and take it easy as the problems start when the stuff heats up. Keeping a bucket of water around to dip the part in as you go works for me.
 
I think it would look nice if you had sleeved molex wires coming out of the external WC case, instead of some single hanging wires just make a fat ass sleeved cable and stuff all the wires in it. IMO that would be pretty cool. But thats just me.
 
I don't have access to a tablesaw or a bandsaw, unfortunately...would a hacksaw work (although it would be much slower)? I realize the cuts wouldn't be as nice, but I could sand it down.
 
yes, a hacksaw with an appropriate blade would work just fine.

rather than running DC fans with a converter, i would just go out hunting at an army surplus store or an electronic supply store, as they both often have a bunch of medium to large AC fans.
 
DFI Daishi said:
yes, a hacksaw with an appropriate blade would work just fine.

rather than running DC fans with a converter, i would just go out hunting at an army surplus store or an electronic supply store, as they both often have a bunch of medium to large AC fans.
Click to expand...

I assume I could quiet the fans with an inline resistor or something (I don't know shit about electronics :( ), if noise was infact a problem?

edit: Ok, Sunon makes some 120mm AC fans..but they're nearly $20 each. :eek:

edit2: Or maybe I'll stop being a cheap bastard and buy a DC pump, and just wire everything together
 
the way of the cheap bastard can be very strong.

there are tonnes of companies that make AC fans, and at the nearby army surplus store i can get them in various sizes for a few bucks (CDN) each.

if the fans are too loud, an inline reisitor works just fine to slow them down, but you might also be able to use a household light dimmer.

an AC motor controller would be even better, but not as cheap/easy to get.
 
Do I really need shrouds? Some shrouds I've seen are pretty large (they add like 4" between the radiator and the fan)...could I get away with a smaller one, or possible no shroud at all?
 
running with no shroud at all will kill your airflow. something like a 1 cm (10mm) thick shroud made out of a thick sheet of plastic would work fine. depending on pricing, two 5mm thick sheets might be cheaper.
 
A 4" shroud is pretty huge, but get a shroud, or make one yourself, as those with lots of experience will tell you, shrouds increase a rads effectiveness by up to 33% or something like that, as the air is beiong forced to go through the rads fins, and there arent any dead spots over the center of the fan.

Also, make sure to use 1/2" tubing, as it is free additional flow, which means better temperatures. Just look at the Exos 2, which now uses 3/8" instead of 1/4" to increase flow, and give better cooling.
 
ikellensbro said:
A 4" shroud is pretty huge, but get a shroud, or make one yourself, as those with lots of experience will tell you, shrouds increase a rads effectiveness by up to 33% or something like that, as the air is beiong forced to go through the rads fins, and there arent any dead spots over the center of the fan.

Also, make sure to use 1/2" tubing, as it is free additional flow, which means better temperatures. Just look at the Exos 2, which now uses 3/8" instead of 1/4" to increase flow, and give better cooling.
Click to expand...

But will 1/2" tubing fit through a PCI expansion slot? I don't think it will without bending it to hell.
 
it will fit if you remove the bit of metal between two adjacent PCI brackets. tinsnips to cut, and a file to smooth it off.
 
TMaxx6 said:
But will 1/2" tubing fit through a PCI expansion slot? I don't think it will without bending it to hell.
Click to expand...
Or just us 1/2 inch quick disconnects (with or without shut-offs) like these.

DSC00862.JPG

DSC00865.JPG

DSC00860.JPG

DSC00859.JPG
 
I'm thinking about making something (putting it on the front of the unit) to control the fans' speed...probably a PWM. Where could I find a guide to do so? I don't know a lot of electronics/constructing something like this..I've looked at a few guides, but I don't understand schematics for shit.
 
Bio haz.
Am I seeing right that you have another PC style powersupply in your external enclosure? If so, how did you get it to think it was on, just jumper the wires, or run it through a switch, or what?
 
This is a old AT style that I cut all the extra wire out of. It's been working this way for some tine now.

DSC00731.JPG
 
Ok, I just remembered I had an old 250 watt ATX powersupply, and I have a few questions (I plan on using it).

I noticed how Bio-Hazard hacked all of the old connectors out...I would like to do the same thing. When I remove all the wires from the motherboard connector (save the green wire and a ground wire to make it power on), how do I do it? They're soldered on to the PCB...do I rip them off, or desolder them?

I might remove the metal enclosure and mount it directly to the acrylic base. The power connector on the back is a three pronged one...positive, negative, and ground. I noticed that the green ground wire has a rounded end that is hooked to a post sticking out of the metal container of the power supply...do I need this for it to work? Obviously if I mounted it to the acrylic base, there wouldn't be any metal...so do I really need that ground wire?
 
TMaxx6 said:
Ok, I just remembered I had an old 250 watt ATX powersupply, and I have a few questions (I plan on using it).

I noticed how Bio-Hazard hacked all of the old connectors out...I would like to do the same thing. When I remove all the wires from the motherboard connector (save the green wire and a ground wire to make it power on), how do I do it? They're soldered on to the PCB...do I rip them off, or desolder them?

I might remove the metal enclosure and mount it directly to the acrylic base. The power connector on the back is a three pronged one...positive, negative, and ground. I noticed that the green ground wire has a rounded end that is hooked to a post sticking out of the metal container of the power supply...do I need this for it to work? Obviously if I mounted it to the acrylic base, there wouldn't be any metal...so do I really need that ground wire?
Click to expand...

Bump.
 
I've still been pondering creating my external enclosure. My only issue now is what to house it in. Any suggestions for something aluminum, or aluminum looking that wouldn't look huge next to my wavemaster?
 
Ghent915 said:
I've still been pondering creating my external enclosure. My only issue now is what to house it in. Any suggestions for something aluminum, or aluminum looking that wouldn't look huge next to my wavemaster?
Click to expand...

I can't think of anything you can use...you'll probably end up having to build something yourself.
 
I built one out of a couple of pieces of acrylic, I used some rotary tool to cut it. I sealed the "rad compartment" for maximum airflow through it. Works well.

DSCF1301.jpg



DSCF1279.jpg
 
sanjosebmx said:
I built one out of a couple of pieces of acrylic, I used some rotary tool to cut it. I sealed the "rad compartment" for maximum airflow through it. Works well.
Click to expand...

In the last picture, the top edhes of the acrylic looks a bit rough...is this from wear and tear of having your case on top, or is all acrylic like that (not shiny at the edges)?
 
That is what the edges of clear acrylic look like, sort of scratchy. I painted the inside of mine to give it the shiny look. If you buy black acrylic it will all look smooth and shiny.
 
sanjosebmx said:
That is what the edges of clear acrylic look like, sort of scratchy. I painted the inside of mine to give it the shiny look. If you buy black acrylic it will all look smooth and shiny.
Click to expand...
you can wet siand and then buff clear acryllic to get that shiney finish, but it's usually more work than it's worth.
 
Ok, so I have an old ATX PSU. I want to remove the metal casing and bolt the PCB directly to the enclosure. I'm plannong on keeping just the molex connectors, and removing the 20 pin motherboard adapter and wires (except the motherboard on and a ground wire). How can I do this?

Should I attempt to desolder all of the 20 pin wires from the PCB, or just rip them off?
 
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