HELP! crack in reservior!

[pepe123]

ok i have two 80mm koolance reseviors monted on the top of my pc.they have been sitting with out anything in them for a couple of months. my video card broke and i set my pc aside for awhile.i pulled it getting ready to buy a new card and i look at the resiviors and hey have crakes in them. i filled up with water and it doesnt leak. i cant feel the cracks either. i looked fo new koolance 80mm res to replace them but i dont think they sell them anymore. do u guys think with the pc running and the water heating up they will crack all the way? i knocke on them with my fingers andf they feel sturdy.. help please

[Oneslowz28]

Its called crazing. It comes from a solvent being used to wipe the acrylic reservoir clean. Any contact with alcohol or any other solvent will cause it. They will leak once the water warms and the acrylic expands. Best to toss them in the trash and pick up a new res. If you like round ones Danger Den sells some.

[pepe123]

yep i trided cleaning them with rubbing alcohol. damn it! well its not that i prefer round ones its that thats all that fits now cuz i have alot in the case. doe any1 know of anywhere that sells these. koolance 80mm resiviors?

[x88x]

Not off the top of my head. If you post pics of the case, maybe we can suggest an alternative.

[pepe123]

ok im think these Bitspower Water Tank Z-Multi 80 might work but they dont have a hole on the side to connect two together.
anyone have one?http://i1038.photobucket.com/albums/a465/pepe1223/downsize2.jpg

http://i1038.photobucket.com/albums/a465/pepe1223/downsize.jpg

[interceptor1985]

you could also look around to find some other container you could modify to work as reservoirs I don't think they really need to be those expensive water cooling reservoirs if you have lots of imagination;)

[blueonblack]

On a side note (for next time), naphtha (lighter fluid) is safe for acrylic, and will clean most anything off of it. I used it extensively on the all-acrylic mod I made and had no trouble whatsoever.

[Konrad]

Its called crazing. It comes from a solvent being used to wipe the acrylic reservoir clean. Any contact with alcohol or any other solvent will cause it. They will leak once the water warms and the acrylic expands.
Too late to fix this reservoir (or any other crazed synthetic). All sorts of special adhesives and lotions are sold that promise to fix this problem (it is a real issue with aquariums and vehicle canopies) but the general internet consensus is that these do not really work.

Although this (http://cool.conservation-us.org/byform/mailing-lists/cdl/1996/1253.html) link suggests an annealing method for new parts which might help them resist crazing. Following up a bit more I found that manufacturer datasheets do indeed contain specific information (required times and temps) for this annealing process (they also add data about rates of impurity gas-out, apparently another cause of crazing) ... I think anyone with a decent toaster oven, er, I mean a temperature-controlled reflow soldering station could anneal reservoir-sized parts quite easily. Controls won't be factory-perfect so results won't be factory-perfect but perhaps it's worth the effort, eh?

[pepe123]

ya i f'ed up.thers goes $100. well dose any one know of a short round wide resevoir?

[Konrad]

well dose any one know of a short round wide resevoir?
Glass jars ... available in countless shapes and sizes and colours and usually free (although you have to pay for their contents). Cutting and drilling can be difficult, especially with heat-tempered or shock-resistant glass. And they're heavier than most plastics. And they have a lifespan of mere centuries compared to the non-biodegradable geologic aeons of most synthetic polymers.

But they're generally far more durable than transparent thermoplastics* of equivalent thickness and they're always 100% flame retardant and immune to corrosives and solvents and - with care and patience and hardened tool bits - they can be modded to accept any fittings you choose. You can crack or shatter a thick glass jar with a hammerblow (which would do worse to plastics**), but you'll never craze it with a little rubbing.

I don't see the appeal in buying a $25-$80 clear plastic water container. Aquafina only charges 5 cents for a bigger one. Maybe I just don't have the right attitude, lol***. Personally I think a computer full of bubbling beer bottles would be excellent. Not least because I'd have to consume the beer before I could use them.

(Then again, maybe there's a serious technical reason why modders often prefer plastic. If there is, I don't know it.)

* Transparent thermoplastics - acrylics, polycarbonates, styrenes, PETGs, PVCs, butadienes/butyrates (Lexan, Lustran, Bayer, and Plexi brands)
** Borosilicated (Pyrex brand) glass is actually capable of withstanding much greater impact forces than even the densest transparent thermoplastic. Armored (bullet resistant) windows are made of glass, not plastic.
*** If you're nuts about plastic then you can always get the best of both worlds. Have a solid glass container sheeted on one or both surfaces with plastic film, like the safety glass on an automotive windscreen.

[blueonblack]

The Danger Den fillport reservoir (http://www.dangerden.com/store/fillport-reservoir.html) is short, cylindrical and cheap.

[pepe123]

ok now i have another question and i dint want to start another thread. will the maze 5 water bnlock fit on this card XFX HD-467X-ZDF2. it fit on my xfx 8600 gts