Phobya Balancer 250 black nickel Reservior Review

Phobya Balancer 250 black nickel Review
by Dark Mantis

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I have just received the Phobya Balancer 250 black nickel version for review and testing. The reservoir comes well packaged in the by now familiar and usual Phobya cardboard box with company decals and colour scheme that everyone will recognise. Inside the device is very well padded against damage during transit by soft plastic foam that holds the tube centrally in the box.

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Once opened up there are three seperate packages included in the main box. The first is the tubular reservoir itself followed by a plastic bag which holds the two M4 x 16mm allen headed bolts finished in black nickel and two matching nuts,and there are three black nickel finish 1/4" BSPP blanks. In the third bag there are the two black plasic pipe holders to enable permanent fixing of the device. That makes up the total packaging contents.

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Upon unwrapping the main plexiglas tube of the reservoir I was met with a very classy looking component and my immediate impression was of a quality device. After all the "bling" of the

previous reservoirs I have reviewed in the past this makes a nice change. As well as looks there is a substantial difference in weight. This reservoir is just over half a kilo before being

filled with any liquid. It has a maximum capacity of 275ml. The actual weight is 590 gms without fittings etc which will all add to it.

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The polished black nickel ends and fittings certainly give it an air of luxury. I will try fittings of different finishes just to see what the overall effect is and you can see these photos at the end of the review.

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Now for some sizes. Without fittings it is 250mm overall length with an outside diameter of 50mm. The clear perspex tube is 215mm and the mounts can be situated anywhere along it's length. The black nickel top is 17.5mm deep in total of which 8.5mm is the unthreaded top portion. The top is the same diameter as the rest of the tube with a single 1/4" BSPP port fitted centrally. The black nickel base section is again 50mm diameter but somewhat taller. It incorporates 36.5mm of bottom unit of which 27.5mm is the unthreaded portion. There are two 1/4" BSPP ports on the very bottom and two the same but on one side with a 60 degree angle offset between them. Inside of the base unit there is a vertical plate with three longtitudinal slots cut in it. This is to help stop vortexing and cut down on the amount of bubbles that are returned to the cooling loop.It is situated in between the in and out ports on each side or base.

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The metal parts are all made from solid brass that has been elctroplated with black nickel and highly polished afterwards. They screw onto the plexiglas tube and seal with a 2.5mm thick O-ring. This is the same top and bottom. The internal diameter of the tube is 40mm. This makes the wall 5mm thick which is fairly substantial and is not going to break easilly. The quality of the plexiglas seems to be very high as it is crystal clear and without any visible blemishes.

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The only way to add any "bling" would be to use a clear end cap with a 5mm hole inset to allow a coloured LED to be fixed. To be honest I really don't feel that anything is required but it is an option if you so wished.

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This is an extremely well designed and manufactured reservoir of the tubular variety that literally screams class from the outset. The proportions are perfect and it is big enough to be effective without taking up an inordinate amount of space. Even the price is reasonable. I really can't fault it and as such give it the top mark of 10/10!

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Supplier : CandC Central: http://www.candccentral.co.uk/ Price: £27.56

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