SEBAR
New member
Hello all, I have not posted in a little while so I thought I would share my most recent project with you. This is a step by step how to guide.
I was experimenting with making my own reservoir to mount inside my 350D build because the limited space inside the case will not allow me to run a tube reservoir and run a long video card.
Version 1
Here is a video of the performance test I did for the reservoir.
In my haste to finish I welded the reservoir together without lining the ports straight up and down so I am starting over.
Version 2
First off will tell you about some of the changes I am making to the design.
1. The original design had 3mm thick acrylic for the front and back pieces. I was able to drill and tap holes in the 3mm acrylic but there is not much material there. I am upgrading the front piece to 3/8 in thick acrylic.
2. I need to add some type of baffles inside the reservoir to prevent any vortex and and to help settle the turbulence.
3. I will increase the internal space of the reservoir. The initial reservoir held a maximum of 225 ml of water.
Now lets begin.
PART 1
First trace out the circle for the front piece.
Then find the center of your circle.
Next cut out the circle, I am using a 9 inch band saw with a 18 PTI metal cutting blade.
Then drill 1/4 inch hole in the center of your circle and install a drill attachment bit.
Next sand the edge smooth. start with a course grit sand paper to get rid of the saw marks. When all the saw marks are gone work your way through progressively finer sand paper. I used 400, 800. 1000, 1500 and finally 2000.
Next cut the body section. I am using a 4 inch acrylic tube that I am cutting at 1 5/8 inches.
Sand the edges to remove any saw marks with a course grit sand paper. I am using 150 and 220.
Polish the internal wall of the body section.
Next we go back to the top section and locate where we will drill the ports and drill 1/4 inch pilot holes.
Drill and Tap the holes for the three ports. I am using an 15/32 drill bit for plastic and running a G1/4 tap through the holes.
The next step is to weld the two pieces together. I am using weld-on 4.
This is it for PART 1. In PART 2 I will be cutting and prepping the back piece and trying to figure out how to add baffles to the internal chamber.
I hope you liked this build log so far, comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Part II
Now it is time to cut the back piece and to figure out how I will add some sort of baffle to reduce the turbulence inside the res.
I cut the basic shape of the back piece using the band saw.
Then I had to decide on a baffle design.
I had a couple ideas and actually built a couple of them.
I will be making a res with the zigzag design.
I cut the baffle pieces.
Made a jig to help line the two baffle section evenly.
Taped the baffle in place to help with the weling process and applied the weld-on 4.
Now I am all finished up with the internal zigzag pattern baffle.
Next I will finish the back piece and weld the two sections together so I can do a leak check and see how it performs.
Okay, now it is time to finish this little project up. I traced out the outline of the backplate on the 3/8 in thick acrylic and cut it with the band saw.
Then I sanded and polished the edges.
And finally welded to two half's together.
I have already started leak testing the finished res and everything looks good so far. I will also make video showing the finished reservoir and a performance test.
Thanks for checking out my custom reservoir project.
I was experimenting with making my own reservoir to mount inside my 350D build because the limited space inside the case will not allow me to run a tube reservoir and run a long video card.
Version 1
Here is a video of the performance test I did for the reservoir.
In my haste to finish I welded the reservoir together without lining the ports straight up and down so I am starting over.
Version 2
First off will tell you about some of the changes I am making to the design.
1. The original design had 3mm thick acrylic for the front and back pieces. I was able to drill and tap holes in the 3mm acrylic but there is not much material there. I am upgrading the front piece to 3/8 in thick acrylic.
2. I need to add some type of baffles inside the reservoir to prevent any vortex and and to help settle the turbulence.
3. I will increase the internal space of the reservoir. The initial reservoir held a maximum of 225 ml of water.
Now lets begin.
PART 1
First trace out the circle for the front piece.
Then find the center of your circle.
Next cut out the circle, I am using a 9 inch band saw with a 18 PTI metal cutting blade.
Then drill 1/4 inch hole in the center of your circle and install a drill attachment bit.
Next sand the edge smooth. start with a course grit sand paper to get rid of the saw marks. When all the saw marks are gone work your way through progressively finer sand paper. I used 400, 800. 1000, 1500 and finally 2000.
Next cut the body section. I am using a 4 inch acrylic tube that I am cutting at 1 5/8 inches.
Sand the edges to remove any saw marks with a course grit sand paper. I am using 150 and 220.
Polish the internal wall of the body section.
Next we go back to the top section and locate where we will drill the ports and drill 1/4 inch pilot holes.
Drill and Tap the holes for the three ports. I am using an 15/32 drill bit for plastic and running a G1/4 tap through the holes.
The next step is to weld the two pieces together. I am using weld-on 4.
This is it for PART 1. In PART 2 I will be cutting and prepping the back piece and trying to figure out how to add baffles to the internal chamber.
I hope you liked this build log so far, comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Part II
Now it is time to cut the back piece and to figure out how I will add some sort of baffle to reduce the turbulence inside the res.
I cut the basic shape of the back piece using the band saw.
Then I had to decide on a baffle design.
I had a couple ideas and actually built a couple of them.
I will be making a res with the zigzag design.
I cut the baffle pieces.
Made a jig to help line the two baffle section evenly.
Taped the baffle in place to help with the weling process and applied the weld-on 4.
Now I am all finished up with the internal zigzag pattern baffle.
Next I will finish the back piece and weld the two sections together so I can do a leak check and see how it performs.
Okay, now it is time to finish this little project up. I traced out the outline of the backplate on the 3/8 in thick acrylic and cut it with the band saw.
Then I sanded and polished the edges.
And finally welded to two half's together.
I have already started leak testing the finished res and everything looks good so far. I will also make video showing the finished reservoir and a performance test.
Thanks for checking out my custom reservoir project.
Last edited by a moderator:
I do have good ideas 
