[PCCstudent]

I do not expect many to make a water cooling component test station like I am but I ask why is there such little interest in the fan,shroud/radiator mounting standoffs that I have offered? It is not like I will be making any money off them but they make mounting your components so clean and strong.I bought a 480 rad off the marketplace and everything was tied together with zip ties,this was not for me. I went out and had some custom standoffs made.Now you do not need 16 standoffs to securely mount things (8 would be fine).I think perhaps cost is the issue. I have not been able to drop the price below 9.00 each.I paid for all mine buy setting up a 3 station network for my local machine shop.This would be a perfect job for a guy with a small lathe (and get the cost down to 3-4.00 each.Any interest and i will post some pictures.

 

[kevingreenbmx]

 

[gumbie]

I'm keen for pics

 

[Agenesis]

What, you mean like rubber grommets? They already exist and they do an excellent job in reducing the resonance between the fans, radiator, and the caes.

 

[Triangle]

What do you mean by ' standoffs '???
Rubber grommet???

 

[Worple]

I have four RX360 rads in my case i use shrouds on all of them. Dont see how a standoff would help?

 

[PCCstudent]

Some of the pieces are at the machine shop (you cannot believe how hard it is to describe to someone what you want,at times even the drawing fails).I have these standoffs made up for both 38mm and 25mm fans,with and without the piece that keeps the fan from being so close to the radiator. I also had the standoffs that are used more for actual construction made in different lenghts.Since my test station is acrylic I needed and wanted something that was strong and looked good.I needed a system that could hold up under repeated assembley and disassembly (so I used inserts and sleeves in the acrylic).Well here is a picture of what I am talking about.Sure there are cheaper ways to get things mounted.

 

[Agenesis]

Since you're trying to sell them, what benefits do they offer over the good ol' screws? You seriously can't expect anyone to pay $36 + S/H to mount a single fan do you?

 

[Angrybutcher]

I see the pictures, but I'm really not understanding what the point is? Are they essentially custom screws with a solid section to keep a gap? $9 per screw is a bit hard to swallow unless you are in the market for something very custom.

 

[PCCstudent]

There are people who have a desire to make their rigs look as nice as possible and there are those that will be satisfied with a couple of bead sack ties, I cater to the former.A piece of all-thread loaded up with washers just does not add that "finishing touch".You put out thousands but start scrimping on nuts and bolts, go figure.

What I did present is the idea for someone with a lathe to take on the job of making these and get the price down to about 4.50 each.It is just too much work to make them much cheaper than that, unless you want to give your work away.You pay for precision and these standoffs are made to precise tolerences so as no spacing washers are needed.I was lucky in that I had what the machine shop needed and we were able to work out a trade, but the owner of this little 3 employee machine shop (he must have 1 million in equipment) would not make them for cash,cheaper.

 

[Greenback]

even with your pics I don't see the point of what they do, you have 2 fans on top of the rad then a big bit of metal sticking out above surely a screw is tidier

 

[Cygone]

I'll take a 100, precision using a lathe is just want im looking for, it will add that finishing touch that screws just cant show.

and for $900 thats a bargain

 

[kevingreenbmx]

Screws with a 5¢ aluminum or steel sleeve will do the same thing... Also, anyone looking to really step up thier game making things look clean and finished will not mount a rad externally like that...

It is cool, but I think the market for something like that is VERY limited. Specifically: you.

 

[PCCstudent]

One of the "fans" is just the outside housing.If you space your fans back from the radiator fins a bit the amount of fin area that has air blowing across it is increased.Spacing the fans back is an old trick to get more out of your cooling equipment. The larger threaded section is for mounting.As I stated you certainly do not need 16 standoffs to mount a 480 rad but you can't hang a 480 rad on a single 4 mm shaft (well not for long).I am comfortable with using 8 standoffs to hang the rad.Now if you want to go "push/pull" you are going to need 8 more but you do not need the thicker mounting section.Now if you want a fan grill you are going to want some nice looking hardware to mount it.Have you ever priced an aluminum fan grill for a 480 radiator? 65-95 would not be uncommon.I ask have you ever felt the weight from a 480 rad with a push/pull fan setup and a grill, easily15lbs.

If you did go push/pull you can have a short threaded section machined to accept the hardware to retain the grill.I do use external mounting a lot more than internal but I think that some of the newer radiators are offering smaller outside dimensions with very good heat disappation capabilities.This will make inside mounting easier and bring more cases into the group that is possible to use for water cooling.Some are just so tight inside I do not even want to try and fit a radiator (espically a 360 or a 480. There is more to it than just getting it in,once.I like to maintain a very large amount of servicability with my rigs.We have all been working on a car with a tight fit and have made the comment "I bet if the designer had to change this part he would have not made the fit so tight", well I try to carry this ability to be serviced over into my rigs. I am watercooling a 4U (that is a rack mount case) and a custom acrylic station and all the rads are mounted externaly.I want to give some of the newer equipment a bit of a tourture test and see how they do.

I guess putting out the money for a resivoir like in the picture (I bought 3) would be out of the question.Sure you can just make it so it works or you can appreciate the look and feel that comes with quality.The res.was from one of our OCN Artisians.

 

[kevingreenbmx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PCCstudent One of the "fans" is just the outside housing.If you space your fans back from the radiator fins a bit the amount of fin area that has air blowing across it is increased.Spacing the fans back is an old trick to get more out of your cooling equipment. The larger threaded section is for mounting.As I stated you certainly do not need 16 standoffs to mount a 480 rad but you can't hang a 480 rad on a single 4 mm shaft (well not for long).I am comfortable with using 8 standoffs to hang the rad.Now if you want to go "push/pull" you are going to need 8 more but you do not need the thicker mounting section.Now if you want a fan grill you are going to want some nice looking hardware to mount it.Have you ever priced an aluminum fan grill for a 480 radiator? 65-95 would not be uncommon.I ask have you ever felt the weight from a 480 rad with a push/pull fan setup and a grill, easily15lbs.

my point still stands. nice long zinc oxide coated black button head screws and a length of small metal tube gets you the exact same look for under $1 per screw...

 

[Greenback]

I'm with kevin there are many cheaper ways to do this with the same look and the money you save can go on better fittings or blocks

 

[Metaldude]

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardw...atalogId=10053

These come in a wide variety of sizes.

@OP, I do like your idea. Definitely a cleaner look overall, but the cost is prohibitive to all but a small niche market.

 

[PCCstudent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metaldude http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardw...atalogId=10053 These come in a wide variety of sizes. @OP, I do like your idea. Definitely a cleaner look overall, but the cost is prohibitive to all but a small niche market.

I did use the type of product you linked to in my first couple of rigs but the "tinker toy" look was something I just could not stomach.All along I have never disagreeded that the job could get partialy done at a lower cost but I like to apply the theme of "highest quality hardware" throughout my current builds (after the first few learning builds) and sleeves just don't cut it any more.Think of it as art,who can put a price on art?

 

[kevingreenbmx]

I agree with your philosophy, but I still say good quality bolts and sleeves look better. with them you do not have to worry about threaded ends sticking out anywhere or nuts for the threads.

 

[PCCstudent]

The long threaded ends are there for a reason, they are not something that is there by accident, remember I can have this section any lenght I want, it is custom made.The reason the threaded section is long is because I am dealing with 1' and 1/2' acrylic as my building material. If I was simply using 16 or 14 gague steel I would specify this end to be shorter when I gave the design parameters to the machinist. Think about it, spending all this money on standoffs, primairly for looks, but having a long uneeded threaded section sticking out. This kind of mistake would not be made.I counterbore the acrylic so only the amout I need sticks out,and no more.I am getting pretty good at judging how much to counterbore.One part that hurts my wallet is the price of the counterbore bit,it was 22.00.All cutting and drilling tools designed for acrylic carry a pretty hefty preminum when it comes to price.I think I paid over 50.00 for the tap to be used on the resiviors inlets and outlets (and then went and paid someone to make them,but at least I now have the correct tap if I ever need it).