how hard would it be to fit another barb on the far end of the pa630 do you think? i may need to run the rad upside down, with the barbs at the bottom so im thinking about connecting the other end to a fill port to make filling easier.
You would have to be very careful when you drill and tap that you dont break/cut any of the veins in the radiator. Why can't you bleed using the screw in the end?
Take a look at http://www.thermochill.com/guides/PA120-3.pdf Should be simple enough to drill and tap a hole for a G1/4" barb in the endtank... but bear in mind there is only 8mm of depth within the endtank, and the tubes take up around 2mm of that, so slice the thread of the barb right down to about 3mm, and bond it in place with a water-tight epoxy. If the thread is any longer it'll either: a) hit a tube end and fold it over and block off that tube b) stick too far into endtank and screw up the turbulence in there, which is part of the performance of the rad, and limit flow to the tubes directly opposite the fitting.
The construction of the thermochill should be quite similar to BIXs and other similar rads. I happened to have this mutilated radiator lurking on my table: The measurements are of course millimeters. The tubes are soft enough to be deformed by simply poking them so be careful. (Alu tubes with brass end-chambers! Additives are a requirement with this.)
cheers guys. thanks for the replies. really just wanted to know how tight for space id be, sounds do-able i think. i think i might just use a bulkhead fitting i have, and just build up layers of epoxy around it, so its not intruding into the chamber at all
You positive?? They should actually be brass tubes dip-coated in solder on that particular rad, which makes them LOOK entirely aluminium... heat a tube with a torch til the solder melts then knock it on a table - the solder should drop off and reveal brass underneath... Basically, the tubes are all dipped completely in solder so that they're completely coated, then the row of fins pressed alongside, next tube added alongside, all held in a jig, then it's all heated til the solder melts and bonds fins to tube... ie: it allows the entire core to be soldered at once, otherwise, if going row by row, the work you'd just done would unsolder itself as you start the next row.
That's quite some solder! It didn't start to melt before 450 celsius and even at 480 I failed to remove enough to see any brass. Then I tried to scratch it at the end. All I can see is aluminesque metal. Although I think it doesn't matter anymore. I'm more than confident that the layer of solder alone is enough to prevent any alu from touching the waterloop.
