Make a water block out of a heatsink for less than $20!

With CPUs and other computer components becoming hotter and more powerful faster and faster; traditional air cooling methods are no longer efficant enough to cool these components.  Another way to cool components is water cooling, but this can be very expensive, which is why, in this Instructable you will learn how to create your own highly efficant waterblock for $20 or less!  I made my waterblock to cool a 168 watt thermoelectric junction 

Step 1 Materials and tools

For this project you will need:
-a 120V plug-in drill
-some plexiglass or lexan sheets#
-a heatsink with wide spread fins
-JB weld#
-2 brass (or plastic) screw-in barbs#
-a hacksaw
-a thin sharpie*
-a centimeter ruler (this is a MUST I'm living in the U.S.A and even I'm using one; they're more accurate)*
-a large quick-clamp
-a piece of wood with a straight edge
-a utility knife with a sharp blade*
-various drillbits*
-vinal tubing to match the barbs*
-sandpaper*
-a file*
-SOS pad*
In total all of my materials were easily accessable from Lowes and costed $13.00
* item is not pictured
# item was bought
NOTE: plexiglass and lexan are not the same thing, lexan is stronger and more expensive, but when I say plexiglass I mean lexan.

Comments

[nesiory]

Awsome Build, going to use this im my system. :D

[egammoc]

i think it would be better if you see if a friend that has metal shop can make you a cheap waterblock for like 3 bucks out of scrap metal, then all you need is a metal filer to shine it up and give it a curve then itl look sweet. thats my plans to do, make one for my graphics card, northbridge, and processor

[snowluck2345]

skip the northbridge.

[snowluck2345]

or cast it yourself

[junits15]

Ya I don't know anybody that could do that, it would be nice though. I made a soda can water block.....maybe in the next billion years ill get around to posting a picture.

[mr. clean]

Thanks for the polishing idea, i polished a square aluminum spacer for use with a TEC, after polishing heat transfer was greatly improved!

[scientastic]

Leave the burrs-- more surface area to transfer heat to the liquid. That is, unless they seriously impede the flow of liquid.

[junits15]

I was just worried that one would come lose and lodge itself in the pump.

[scientastic]

Great point.

[beehard44]

i got an old heatsink with lots of space in between fins, i just pushed some airline tubing in there and attached it to the ballast of my aquarium lights for testing, used toothpaste as thermal compound (how ghetto can this be?) and tested it for 10 ins. So far so good, it's way more cooler than regular heatsink on the ballast.

[junits15]

Haha, i dont think ghetto can begin to describe it! lol, try some vaselene instaid of toothpaste. And Im kind of confused, what exactly did you do?

[zack247]

vaseline? toothpaste? would these work in a pc? specifically a pentium 4?

[junits15]

ya they should, but don't use toothpaste it wont work as well

[zack247]

sooo... vaseline?

[junits15]

yes vaseline

[zack247]

alright. i have a old pentium d heatsink i am gonna use for a waterblock, it has a big empty area in the middle of the heatsink, in the copper area. perfect for making a water block

[junits15]

you should make an instructable! or a slideshow!

[Scott_Tx]

Wow, I havent seen one of these in a long time.  Takes me back to the k6-2/pentium 2 era

[junits15]

 what do you mean?

[Scott_Tx]

I mean, that's how we used to make them back in the old days.

[junits15]

 ahh "back in the day" I've learned to respect "the day" :)

[Scott_Tx]

Yes, 10 years ago, yikes!
http://www.overclockers.com/scotts-25-water-cooled-system/

[junits15]

 hey that link is pretty neat! using PVC makes the project a TON cheaper!  

[Scott_Tx]

The only problem I had was there was electrochemical action going on between the brass nipples and the aluminum plate. It lasted till I got a new computer though.

[junits15]

 a galvanic reaction?  oooo that might happen to me with the aluminum heatsink  and the brass nipples.  what exactly happened?

[Scott_Tx]

It built up some dark gray film on the aluminum. It didnt leak or anything but I worried it might inhibit heat transfer to the water.

[junits15]

 jeez with the maze in mine it might be a nightmare to clean, i'm hoping eventually to make a full copper one out of a copper pipe end cap.  That should make for a nice instructable 

[Sykomonkey]

sweet... now if you can do up a "how to make a water pump for dirt cheap" next it would roxor.

[junits15]

haha welll...................
http://www.instructables.com/id/A-homemade-water-pump/ 
no realy an instructable but i forgot to take pctures :)

[quezz38]

i really like this idea and this instructable, i may have to try this on something... maybe high power, water cooled flashlights!  thanks.

[junits15]

Thanks I'm glad you liked it!

[kelseymh]

Very nice writeup!  I only have one complaint, speaking as a professional physicist who uses SI for everything -- a millimeter scale is not always more accurate than an inch ruler with 1/32" divisions.  And if you're doing precision work, you should be using a micrometer with at least 1/64" divisions anyway.

Okay, that's my only nit-pick.

[junits15]

Your right, the centemeter is not alway more accurite, but for most people (myself included) who dont have a micrometer, a centermeter ruler is best for this project. 

[karossii]

I was going to put the exact same thing... in and of itself, a centimeter is a more precise unit than an inch. But by that same token, the foot is more precise than a yard. It is not inherent in the standard used, but the size of the units used.

[mikeasaurus]

What's the output on the pump you used, and what's the heat/performance difference from the water vs air?

[junits15]

well I used this for the TEC and after applying the water block the cold side became covered in frost.  With any TEC the hot side must be cooled below 70 degrees celcius in order for the cold side to drop below freezing.  As for the pump I used a cheap 60 GPH submersible fountain pump that I bought from Lowes.  I have tried to cool the TEC by air with the same gamecube heatsink and the heatsink couldn't handle the temperature. I dont have a proper thermometer so I dont have any temps.

[rimar2000]

Very interesting.