Ghetto reservior mod...

M

Morry T

[H] Enthusiast Editor
Joined
Jun 14, 2001
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128
This is an idea I've been kicking around for a while and finally got down to implementing since I got sick of how small my current reservior is.

So here's what I did
- took a metal kitchen flour jar
- drilled a hole in the top part of the lid and the side for 3/8 in barbs
- drilled big and small holes in the lower part of lid for water release, for a pseudo shower effect
- used jb-weld to fix barbs in place
- caulked channel in lid to seal halves (don't know if i needed to or not, but better safe then sorry)

The pics attached are the entire thing with it hooked up and running, a standalone pic of the reservior itself with vertical and horizontal rulers for size comparison, and a close up of the lid. The water intake on top is offset from the escape holes in order to cut the velocity of the water coming in in order to reduce turbulence and air bubbles.

It passed the 24hr leak teak run without exploding, spewing water all over my office, or falling apart, so I'd call that good to go. Now just to integrate it in to my system...
containerj.jpg

resmeasured.jpg

lidb.jpg
 
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I'd polish that metal before you call it done, and congrats on passing that leak test, I think it would look really good.
I plan to use a large pickle jar for mine...lol
 
That can be easily addressed by using a mix of distilled water and corrosion inhibiter. My own watercooling cocktail consists of 1 liter of distilled water, 4 capfuls of Redline Water Wetter, and a capful of iodine to keep the biologicals in check. Been using the above recipe for years w/o any corrosion or biological issues :)
 
by iodine, do you mean a real tincture of iodine? or something like providone iodine (betadine)? i have used betadine before in the same way with good success, but be aware that the iodine breaks down within the first few days. its a good way to kill off the initial contaminates, but wont protect long term if anything gets introduced in the system later.

also the nonoxynol-9 which is usually in providone iodine cuts surface tension of the water, which could be good or bad. it allows water to trap more air in suspension, which decreases the thermal transfer efficiency of the water. but as long as your reservoir is full and your pump isnt sucking in some air bubbles, it should allow any other air in the system an easier time to escape and water to more freely flow thru waterblocks and the radiator. it would also lubricate the bearing in your pump which is good.

water wetter is also a surfactant which would do the same thing, though i dont care for the other chemicals in it. i used it before but didnt like what it left behind. everyone has their own methods though.

to the OP- thats a pretty cool resevoir. just goes to show that you can make one out of just about anything. is this going to be an external res? or how do you plan on mounting it?
 
Thanx Ghost appreciate the feedback. As far as the reservior itself, it is an internal reservior that actually fits snuggly at the bottom of my HAF-932 in between the PSU and the HD cage, so I got really lucky in that respect.
If I ever get an additional ATI video card for crossfire, then I'll have to think of different placement :D
 
Is that a glass jar? What bit did you use to drill it?

I think a piece of PVC would be cheaper and safer, but glass is see through which is cool. Finding stock of quality clear cylinders can be tricky and pricey. Also points for something different and not copied.
 
Its a stainless steel flour jar with an acrylic lid. Used the carbide coated bits, for drilling everything from plastic to metal, luckily the container walls are not too thick. Drilling through the acrylic was the biggest pain due to its tendency to crack :)
 
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