Dual 120mm Fan Heatercore (a quick how-to)

Thanks for the help weapon--. Took you advice and ordered the '86 chevette core ($22 at Autozone, not too shabby) and plan on modding it like you did the bonneville core. DTek still has their 6x6 shrouds for sale and since I'm going to get their TC-4 block, might as well get it from the same place. Performance on the cheap, gotta love it:D
 
dammit, i have that core but no torch nor stuff to protect the whole core from heat. i just cut the tubes to uniform size and i was going to try to find an adapter...im afraid none exist, do they? can I just use a regular soldering iron to get it out, or a smaller torch?
 
that bonneville core looks ace.

i totally wish i can figure out a way to get one into any of my cases.

great work tho, and an excellent writeup!
 
Originally posted by PhReaK
any updates on a shroud construction?
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I am crankin' out 2 new ways to make a shroud - one is bad@$$ but definitely requires some tools and some skillz - the other one should be much easier and fairly inexpensive but it should still look kick@$$.

If you noticed all the "shoulds" in there, that is because the second method is still in the beginning stages of construction. so far it looks good. I will get the info up as soon as possible.

Originally posted by kronchev
dammit, i have that core but no torch nor stuff to protect the whole core from heat. i just cut the tubes to uniform size and i was going to try to find an adapter...im afraid none exist, do they? can I just use a regular soldering iron to get it out, or a smaller torch?
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kronchev -- if you go with too small of a torch, you are going to have to set next to the core all day long to get one of the fittings out of the bastage. try going to walmart or the like and getting the standard Berzomatic plumber's kit - it should contain a torch head, a cylinder of propane, some flux and a small roll of solder. they aren't much - maybe $20-$30 at most. The flame on that torch is very easy to control -- it is fairly narrow and you can aim it onto the point where the fitting meets the tank without lighting up the whole top tank. However, don't use that crap they call solder that is included with the kit - go to AutoZone and look for some 60/40 acid core solder for heatercores. easy to find - it has a pic of a heatercore on it. I used Harris Staybrite8 but it is fairly expensive and require quite a bit more heat to flow properly. that being said, the acid core solder from AutoZone handle it with no probs.

soldering iron won't have anything even close to the required heating capacity.

as far as the fire blanket I used is concerned - I used it because I had it handy. you don't have to have one to do the mod. Fill the core up with water so the core is about 95% full, wrap a soaking wet rag or two around the front of the core and then place some wet paper towels around the top tank. that should be more than enough...you can do the mod with none of that -- I did several of my first cores with nothing but the torch vs. the fittings and a pair of vice grips to yank the fitting out once it loosened up. all of those cores are still running fine.

in the alternative, fire a PM at me.

Originally posted by hardwired
that bonneville core looks ace.

i totally wish i can figure out a way to get one into any of my cases.

great work tho, and an excellent writeup!
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thanks. :)

how much room do you have available for a heatercore and what case are you using? I have played around with a ton of them. gimme some dimensions and I will try to come up with a dual 120 core that will fit.

coming soon:
I have some pics of a 6" x 6" core that I have been working on that is approaching industrial grade schweet but it is bought and paid for so I am gonna get permission from the owner before I post pics or other info on it. since he will prolly read this, it will be on its way to your door soon -- I am adding some final tweakage here and there. :D
 
I saw these a while back and thought I would post them in case anyone wants a dual 120mm fan setup but they don't have the time or the torch. they also have shrouds for duallies :)

preface note: I am in no way affiliated with the company in the following link. I have not bought one of their cores or their shrouds so I cannot make a statement as to their performance. Provided they perform on par with the usual dual 120 heater cores, they should be very good coolers.

http://www.voyeurmods.com/index.php?action=category&id=23&subid=26

dual 120 cores are $49.95
the shrouds are $19.95

The cores are the usual wavy-sided jobs with what appears to be a fairly good paint job. Other than that, they don't offer any overall dimensions (not to mention core dimensions or tank dimensions). so what kind of core is it made from?? :confused:
dunno.

I can't really tell much about the shroud other than they are made of clear acrylic, they have what appears to be about a 1/2" offset between the core and the fans and they are straight sided (I normally prefer a slight angle on the outer walls of the shroud).

someone buy one and see if they are worth $70. :D

moving right along...

the new shroud that I am working on is coming along nicely - it is made from 3 sheets of brass (one sheet makes up about 95% of the body of the shroud). pics soon.

the other one is still in the early build-stages -- still planning out some last minute details. it should be fairly easy to contruct. :)
 
slightly off topic (as this is a dual 120 thead... :) )

this is the new heater core I built for NewBlackDak's upcoming watercooling system:

nbdcore.jpg


6" x 6" x 2" core with flat sides (brass) and 1/2" fittings.

and before anyone asks....no, it ain't from a chevette. :p
 
Originally posted by weapon--
slightly off topic (as this is a dual 120 thead... :) )

this is the new heater core I built for NewBlackDak's upcoming watercooling system:

nbdcore.jpg


6" x 6" x 2" core with flat sides (brass) and 1/2" fittings.

and before anyone asks....no, it ain't from a chevette. :p
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WELL?! what's it from?
 
'66-72 Ford F Series truck w/o AC or '69-77 Bronco w/o AC

it is a bit of a bastage to get from stock condition to the way it looks above but the 6x6x2 along with the top tanks that were on this particular core lured me into modding it. :)
 
Brass construction? It'd be an interesting core since it's perfectly square... Hmmm...

How much are those costing from a local Auto store right now? I've noticed that the price for chevette heatercores have gone up in the past few months... Mine was $17 online, but now it's 22-26$! If i can pick up one of those for cheap... count me in >:D

<-- goes off to look right now...
 
Originally posted by diredesire
Brass construction? It'd be an interesting core since it's perfectly square... Hmmm...

How much are those costing from a local Auto store right now? I've noticed that the price for chevette heatercores have gone up in the past few months... Mine was $17 online, but now it's 22-26$! If i can pick up one of those for cheap... count me in >:D

<-- goes off to look right now...
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nah - it isn't brass construction, it has copper tanks and sides. the flat brass side plates were weapon additions. I soldered them onto the sides of the core to get rid of the wavy-sided look which has started irritating the h311 out of me lately for some reason. :confused:

anyway, the damn chevette cores have gotten way overpriced in the last few months. they used to be very reasonable but now some shops try to gouge you for as much as $28 for one of the bastages. I suppose the normal demand for them + the demand from the watercooling market is to blame for the price jacking.

as for the one pictured above, the tanks are not that difficult to deal with -- you use the torch to remove the tube on the left (if the core is facing you, then you use a dremel to trim the one on the right down to where it only sticks out of the right side about 1/4" inch. To cap it, get a copper pipe cap (1/2") and trim it down to about 1/2 its original length. Then smooth out the tube and the inside of the copper cap you have created with a little dremel action. Flux the outside of the tube and the inside of the cap, pre-tin both and then heat 'em up and slide the cap over the tube. while it is still warm, add a little more solder.

almost done. :)

drill a hole in the front of the tank for a 3/8" NPT tap, tap it with the 3/8" tap, screw the fitting into place (after fluxing the threads and the tank a little) and then add a little more solder to make it bulletproof.

for the other fitting, just tap it, screw in the fitting and add a little solder.

yeah...I know it sounds like a big PITA but it really isn't that bad.

JB weld would likely work in place of the torch/solder on most of that just like it works on other core mods. I, however, have a slight pyromania problem so whenever there is an opportunity for the torch to be pulled down from the shelf, it gets put into action. Besides, I like the sound of "rated to 14,000psi" which is what is written on the side of the Harris StayBrite8 box. :D

pics of the shroud that is a royal, time-consuming PITA to construct coming soon... ;)
 
I can't wait to get that thing!!
My XP2600+M got here today, and It's a good stepping!!

Will give it a spin tonight on air.
 
how much does one of those cores run? I've never torched before, and i dont think a heatercore would be my first test piece (if ya know what i mean)...
 
Originally posted by diredesire
how much does one of those cores run? I've never torched before, and i dont think a heatercore would be my first test piece (if ya know what i mean)...
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call and check with your local autozone, o'reily's or advance auto parts on the price as there is usually some difference in price depending on your location. that being said, it should be less than the jacking they will try to give you for a chevette core.
 
This is slightly more square vs. a chevette heatercore, right? Tanks are the same size? I might pick up one just for kicks... i have my JB welded chevette right now, but i dropped it from a 2.5' drop yesterday :rolleyes: i'm a genius i know... no leaks, but it's pretty beat up... these things are SOFT.
 
Originally posted by diredesire
This is slightly more square vs. a chevette heatercore, right? Tanks are the same size? I might pick up one just for kicks... i have my JB welded chevette right now, but i dropped it from a 2.5' drop yesterday :rolleyes: i'm a genius i know... no leaks, but it's pretty beat up... these things are SOFT.
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yeah - if you tank the tanks off of one of them, you realize just how thin they really are -- they are like fricken 26-28 gauge thin.

that is part of the reason I am always tempted to add side plates to them - the core is even weaker than the tanks. 22 gauge side plates soldered to the sides of the core and the edges of the tanks makes them a little tougher. Still, to really beef them up, you'd have to add side plates all the way up the sides to roughly even with the top and bottom of the tanks and then add flats across the tanks to attach the side plates to one another. Basically, you'd have to box the whole damn thing inside another layer of stronger metal.

of course, once they are mounted in a case, they are fine. then the side plates becomes an entirely for looks addition. :)
 
damn the heatercore market for having too many options that look good. :D

I just found another core that I need to test out. It is large enough for dual 120s but slightly shorter than the 77 bonneville core so it might be able to sqeeze into a few more cases - other dimensions are about the same. I will try to pick one up and get it modded by this weekend.

I also found a single pass heater core that needs some attention *adding that to the list*

the PITA-build shroud is just about finished - pics on that soon.

the easier-to-build shroud took a nose dive on the first attempt but I have reworked the plan so it should work in round 2. I used material that was too damn thin the first time around and it fricken warped....ever try mounting a box fan to a curved surface and get an airtight seal? lol.
 
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