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posted this in the water cooling forum, i didn't realize this forum was here, hopefully no one gets mad at me for sort of reposting this here... not gonna update the other thread, so it'll be off the water cooling forums main page soon i'm sure...
I got a old compaq case from my ex gf's mom, i've been looking for something to build my external water enclosure with... this case looks like the solution... it started out as this
i've shortened it by 5.5", and i'm going to use the 5.25" bays for my radiator(its slightly longer than the case, so i'm going to make the front the back)... i've chopped this case up, had to do a few pop rivets already for some added support... i'm going to put a shroud with 2 120mm fans up top of the case, riveted in place of course, and i'm going to put sides made of sheet metal on it, also riveted in place(wish i owned a welder, but can only afford so much, so pop rivets it is!)... also going to have a hinged door on the side of it, so i can access the reservoir etc, and i'm going to use a V shaped piece of sheet metal to direct the flow coming out of the radiator towards the sides, which i will cut out and put grills in... have a grill on top for the 2 120mm fans, and have grils on the side for air to escape... my reservoir has a pump in it, but i also have another pump, which is going to reside on the outside of the case, just under the radiator's fitting... connect those together and i'm in business. then i'll have the radiator's outlet go down the back of the case to a quick disconnect fitting on the back of my comp case, have that quick disconnect go to my water block, and have another quick disconnect going out of the comp case back up to the water cooling enclosure... then i'll have some sort of 90 degree angle fitting on the back of the case so that i don't have to bend tubing much... my goal here is to not bend the tubing at all, but instead use 90 degree angle fittings for my bends... part of that goal is for cleanliness inside the case, as well as air flow reasons... it'll allow me to organize as much as possible the insides of my case... i'm using a MCW-6000K block, which should ship from swiftech tomorrow... i gotta wait for more money to roll in to finish this up, but i'll be posting pics along the way... heres a mock up of the case with duct tape(i know its the classiest!!!) just to start it off with
and yes i realize nothing i'm doing is revolutionary, but i feel i should share it lol
more mock up pictures... i want to get it mocked up before i start much of the real work... its gonna come together pretty nicely i think... i still have to buy 2 120mm fans, a lot of sheet metal, and a lot more dremel bits... and some different sized pop rivets(smaller than the ones i currently have)... so without further ado
i'm also going to remove the metal from the 5.25" bays up to the tabs that are holding the radiator in place, to give it a bit of a cleaner look, also to facilitate the V shaped plate i plan on using to direct air out both sides of the case
made some more progress today, started working on the shell of the enclosure... i still need to get some sort of hinge and latching mechanism for the door, and i need to make the layout for the back of the case, lots of work ahead... i spent a ton of money today, on the tools and supplies i would need to finish this, but i still haven't bought everything... i've probly put as much into this enclosure now as i have my whole water cooling kit lol, but i think it will be worth it in the end, not to mention i have a whole lot more tools, and more tools is good! so heres some pics
i'm going to need to pull out the good ol file and clean up some edges, as well as trim the excess off the back of the case, and straighten out some lines in the panels, but its coming along very nicely.
more progress today, got the door on, tomorrow i'll hit up radio shack and pick up another 120mm fan and start making the shroud, and also mount the magnets that will hold the door closed... gonna put a cool little handle on the door too...
i also need to plan and cut out the holes on the side of the case for where i want the air flow to go
another update, probly talking to myself with all these posts but i feel the need to share hahaha... i made my v shaped deal to make the air go where i want it to, and i cut out one of the holes on the side of the case for the air to escape, but i ran out of cutting wheels so i wasn't able to finish cutting out the other hole... gonna hit up lowes tomorrow and get yet more stuff(and maybe check out with the same cute chick i keep going to hahaha)... also got the magnets and handle for the door put in... so on with the pics
used my trusty 2 pieces of wood and clamp to bend up that v shaped piece, worked great...
I got a old compaq case from my ex gf's mom, i've been looking for something to build my external water enclosure with... this case looks like the solution... it started out as this
i've shortened it by 5.5", and i'm going to use the 5.25" bays for my radiator(its slightly longer than the case, so i'm going to make the front the back)... i've chopped this case up, had to do a few pop rivets already for some added support... i'm going to put a shroud with 2 120mm fans up top of the case, riveted in place of course, and i'm going to put sides made of sheet metal on it, also riveted in place(wish i owned a welder, but can only afford so much, so pop rivets it is!)... also going to have a hinged door on the side of it, so i can access the reservoir etc, and i'm going to use a V shaped piece of sheet metal to direct the flow coming out of the radiator towards the sides, which i will cut out and put grills in... have a grill on top for the 2 120mm fans, and have grils on the side for air to escape... my reservoir has a pump in it, but i also have another pump, which is going to reside on the outside of the case, just under the radiator's fitting... connect those together and i'm in business. then i'll have the radiator's outlet go down the back of the case to a quick disconnect fitting on the back of my comp case, have that quick disconnect go to my water block, and have another quick disconnect going out of the comp case back up to the water cooling enclosure... then i'll have some sort of 90 degree angle fitting on the back of the case so that i don't have to bend tubing much... my goal here is to not bend the tubing at all, but instead use 90 degree angle fittings for my bends... part of that goal is for cleanliness inside the case, as well as air flow reasons... it'll allow me to organize as much as possible the insides of my case... i'm using a MCW-6000K block, which should ship from swiftech tomorrow... i gotta wait for more money to roll in to finish this up, but i'll be posting pics along the way... heres a mock up of the case with duct tape(i know its the classiest!!!) just to start it off with
and yes i realize nothing i'm doing is revolutionary, but i feel i should share it lol
more mock up pictures... i want to get it mocked up before i start much of the real work... its gonna come together pretty nicely i think... i still have to buy 2 120mm fans, a lot of sheet metal, and a lot more dremel bits... and some different sized pop rivets(smaller than the ones i currently have)... so without further ado
i'm also going to remove the metal from the 5.25" bays up to the tabs that are holding the radiator in place, to give it a bit of a cleaner look, also to facilitate the V shaped plate i plan on using to direct air out both sides of the case
made some more progress today, started working on the shell of the enclosure... i still need to get some sort of hinge and latching mechanism for the door, and i need to make the layout for the back of the case, lots of work ahead... i spent a ton of money today, on the tools and supplies i would need to finish this, but i still haven't bought everything... i've probly put as much into this enclosure now as i have my whole water cooling kit lol, but i think it will be worth it in the end, not to mention i have a whole lot more tools, and more tools is good! so heres some pics
i'm going to need to pull out the good ol file and clean up some edges, as well as trim the excess off the back of the case, and straighten out some lines in the panels, but its coming along very nicely.
more progress today, got the door on, tomorrow i'll hit up radio shack and pick up another 120mm fan and start making the shroud, and also mount the magnets that will hold the door closed... gonna put a cool little handle on the door too...
i also need to plan and cut out the holes on the side of the case for where i want the air flow to go
another update, probly talking to myself with all these posts but i feel the need to share hahaha... i made my v shaped deal to make the air go where i want it to, and i cut out one of the holes on the side of the case for the air to escape, but i ran out of cutting wheels so i wasn't able to finish cutting out the other hole... gonna hit up lowes tomorrow and get yet more stuff(and maybe check out with the same cute chick i keep going to hahaha)... also got the magnets and handle for the door put in... so on with the pics
used my trusty 2 pieces of wood and clamp to bend up that v shaped piece, worked great...