Hydra 52 upgrade for the DIY'ers

[andyman]

What is a guy to do with the old parts if you upgraded your old AI Sol Blue or AI Vega to Hydra 52? Stick it in its own heatsink.

I bought an AI sol blue originally, upgraded to Vega, and upgraded again to Hydra 52. So what to do with the vega? I could sell them or throw them away. OR I could just stick them into a new heat sink and have AI lights for my frag tank, or Fuge. I think I got 3 AI Vegas over my 20 gallon frag tank running at 28%. No fans needed!

FYI , the holes were all cut on a CNC machine. The holes were hand taped 4-40, and the covers are I think 6-32 (if you want to use the original fasteners). Still have to drill and tap the mounting screws (just 2). So far at 30% the heatsinks are warm and not hot. May not need a fan, but installing a fan isn't too difficult either. Just need to machine out a square and pressure fit a DC 12V fan.

 

[Psionicdragon]

hey Andy,

where did you get the heatsink from?

 

[andyman]

heatsinkusa , i got the 5.375" width x 12"

 

[sfsuphysics]

awesome.

There's some DIY work with the old Radion "upgrades" as well in the DIY forum. Someone was actually selling older parts some time back.

 

[ThreeMoneyJ]

That's a great idea. I just ordered my upgrade for my vegas, I may be messaging you with a bunch of questions soon.

 

[Gordan101]

great idea, do you have the measurements for the holes? i am tempted to get a 52 upgrade an put it on a standard heat sink

 

[andyman]

I'll post measurements later tonight. But FYI, a fan is required. It is actually a 5V fan. I suggest a 80mm x 80 mm x 15mm fan, 2 pins. Without the fan, it gets pretty hot. Also a CNC machine would be required to cut the square hole for the fan if you want it recessed into the heatsink.

 

[mattvisocky2003]

Any build thread? I have the gear from sol blues I want to use.