Hadez411
Well-Known Member
Hi all,
I noticed that a lot of the builds out there are being screwed, riveted and bolted together. Brazing aluminum is very easy as far as welding things goes and there are a ton of very well explained videos about how to do it. I've linked one below. You just need some brazing rods from a hardware store, a propane torch, brass brush and a metal clamp/vice.
The benefits are that it's stronger, there are fewer obstructions (less catching, easier to clean), the overall size is smaller and less aluminum is used. It conducts heat better and you can customize your U-channel heat sinks to have add-ons for more surface area. An idea I had was to use left over cut-offs to make little crosses where each cob was located, decreasing the distance heat has to travel before it reaches enough surface area to dissipate. That's something a lot of people don't factor in to their home made heat sinks. If your heat has to travel a long distance to reach the surface area it needs to dissipate, it's going to cool less efficiently than if the surface area is all nearby and in the direction of natural heat flow (up) as opposed to U-channel, which is sideways. Convection is important too, so I'm weighing the option of a series of 1/8" drilled holes in the U-channel. The better you make it, the higher powered cobs you can put on it, so to each their own.
I noticed that a lot of the builds out there are being screwed, riveted and bolted together. Brazing aluminum is very easy as far as welding things goes and there are a ton of very well explained videos about how to do it. I've linked one below. You just need some brazing rods from a hardware store, a propane torch, brass brush and a metal clamp/vice.
The benefits are that it's stronger, there are fewer obstructions (less catching, easier to clean), the overall size is smaller and less aluminum is used. It conducts heat better and you can customize your U-channel heat sinks to have add-ons for more surface area. An idea I had was to use left over cut-offs to make little crosses where each cob was located, decreasing the distance heat has to travel before it reaches enough surface area to dissipate. That's something a lot of people don't factor in to their home made heat sinks. If your heat has to travel a long distance to reach the surface area it needs to dissipate, it's going to cool less efficiently than if the surface area is all nearby and in the direction of natural heat flow (up) as opposed to U-channel, which is sideways. Convection is important too, so I'm weighing the option of a series of 1/8" drilled holes in the U-channel. The better you make it, the higher powered cobs you can put on it, so to each their own.
