Modding Making a custom reservoir

I'm planning on making my own reservoir for my current project, but I'm unsure of the best materials to use or methods of sealing it, so I was hoping someone with more experience in the matter could give me some advice.

This is a Sketchup model of the reservoir I want to make:




The criteria the res has to meet are as follows:

-Watertight (duh)
-Transparent
-Perfectly-sized

Obviously the res needs to be watertight, or it'd about as useful as an inflatable dartboard, it needs to be transparent so that my concept of seeing the liquid through the window on the side of the case works, and it needs to be perfectly-sized so that it can fit into my casemod.

I was thinking of making acrylic or plexi sheets for the faces of the reservoir, then assembling it like a box, but I'm not sure how I'd go about sealing the edges to make it watertight if I went with this method.
I considered using Silicone glue or similar, but I can imagine it looking quite messy and possibly not doing a good enough job, so I really don't know what to use there.
An option would be to create the shape by bending the acrylic/plexi into the necessary angles, to minimize the amount of seperate pieces I'd be sealing together, but I've never done any such bending before, and it doesn't eliminate the problem of sealing entirely.

Any advice would be grealty appreciated.

 

silicone would work its what thy use for fish tanks you could taper the edges aswell with a router to make better joints

 

silcone would look awful, and it's not very structurally sound. Tap Plastics sells a gel-based acrylic glue that would probably be your best bet. If you get a leak you can also just add a tiny bit on the hole. If you want to be cheap you can use PVC glue, but that would also look ugly.

I feel I should warn you right now, Figuring out the angles for those cuts will not be much fun...

 

silicone will be hardly noticeable if you use the right amount instead of just slopping it on

 

I'll try the silicone and see, but I can imagine it being messy.
I'm not too worried about the angles, as long as I take my time in measuring and planning, with the "measure twice, cut once" philosophy, I'll be fine

Thanks for the input

 

you will be much better if you do the slight inlay for the corners it will make it look a lot more professional

 

Yo,

For the sealing head for a local model shop and get some proper plastics glue. I got some stuff called mekpoly. It fused the plastic by chemical melting it then solidifying. bloody strong and bloody good.

As long as all the edges are straight and true you'll be fine.

 

I wish we had one of those around here... All the hobby shops in town now cater to old ladies who like stinky candles... I went to one yesterday that didn't have a modeling section!

 

That sounds great, thanks for the tip!

Now to find a model shop..

 

Cool idea, but if thats the radiator in the middle of it, wouldn't it heat the water up?

 

good point but if you have the reservoir going into the radiator I don't see how it could be a problem

 

I like the idea, I would use some of that plastics adhesive that melts it. but be careful once it is set it is set.
I have mocked things up before with silicon to make sure it fits then used the plastics adhesive. worked pretty well.

 

yeah, i suggest that chemically bonding crap. I've only used it a couple times but if you do it correctly its as strong as one piece of plastic --and it looks like it too.

Another option is using a strip heater and just bending pieces of plastic. it wouldnt give the tight corners your looking for, but you wouldnt have to worry about leakage. Course, you could only do this for some of the corners, not all.

 

Yes, it's very good stuff, and so long as you apply it in the correct amount you don't see any residue afterwards.

Don't leave the lid off the glue though or you'll be having crazy dreams and see green monkey-elephants

 

I don't think it'd heat the water up by any significant amount since there won't be any direct contact between the rad and the res.
I can't imagine a gap of air and a layer of acrylic being very thermally conductive, but even if it is, the effect should be negligible.
We won't know for sure until I try it, anyway

Thanks for the input, everyone! I'm going to look for that chemically-bonding glue this weekend

 

cool, good luck.
I'm watching the Project - Z1X log

 

Cheers, thanks for the support!

 

you need to slap some bulk heads in that res, just to help strenght it up. they dont reduce the flow that much either.


Also move the input and output holes further back because there will be alot of static water in that res, perfect places for things to grow in the loop. strongly suggest iodine to be put in the loop.

And as you are wanting a water tight res a chemical bond will be best, chemical melting it then solidifying making a dam strong joint!

I wouldn't suggest silcone as it expands and creeps, so the res would eventually leak!

i like it mate!

 

Great advice, thanks!

I'll make a few prototypes and do trial runs first. I'd rather not put bulkheads into the shape as I think they'd detract from the aesthetics of it, but I'll use them if I find I need to.

I'll be using FluidXP+ as the coolant, so I'm not too worried about biogrowth and stagnation.
I know, I know, FluidXP+ isn't as hardcore (or budget-conscious) as making up my own coolant, but it takes a lot of the hassle and risks out of the job for now.

Thanks for the advice and input!