Jerry Can Computer

I picked up an old Pentium II system from college a while back but it had no case :(. So me and my bro were looking

around for something quick and easy to put it in when we thought of an old petrol can. I know it has probably been

done before but it does make a strong and relatively simple case. The strange thing is that although petrol cans

look big you cant actually fit a huge amount of computer parts in them. Specially this computer as it had a nasty

big riser card with the power connectors and IDE connectors etc on it which took up a lot of room. We decided that

it would be best if all the leads etc came out of the bottom in order to keep the shape of the can relatively

intact. Fitting everything else in was a bit of a struggle but we managed it :). This is the result of two days on

and off work although there is still a bit to do.


We started with one cleanish petrol can e8.50 from army surplus.
http://www.cs.ucc.ie/~jt6/JC01thumb.JPG



Its got a nice big cap comes in useful later :)
http://www.cs.ucc.ie/~jt6/JC02thumb.JPG


We needed some way of getting the bits in (not through the cap :D) so we cut it in half with an angle grinder.

This would enable it to be folded open for easy access to the insides.
http://www.cs.ucc.ie/~jt6/JC03thumb.JPG


Here it is cut open. Nice and clean inside but not very flat which means that everything will be difficult to

mount.
http://www.cs.ucc.ie/~jt6/JC04thumb.JPG


This is the plywood mount for the mobo. This will be stuck on with impact glue which is probably the handiest

method considering we didn't want to drill too many holes in the can.
http://www.cs.ucc.ie/~jt6/JC05thumb.JPG


Here you can see the hinges to enable the case to be opened.
http://www.cs.ucc.ie/~jt6/JC06thumb.JPG


The hinges enable very good access to the inside. It enabled us to mount some components on the right hand side

and some on the left. This made it relativley easy to squeeze everything in.
http://www.cs.ucc.ie/~jt6/JC07thumb.JPG


The PSU mounted on the opposite side to the motherboard. It was tricky enough because of the strange shape of the

can in the corners. We had to make up an aluminium brace to hold it in place. The bottom of the can had to be cut

to enable room for the fan exhaust and the power lead.
http://www.cs.ucc.ie/~jt6/JC08thumb.JPG


The two hard drives. Space for these was quite limited and there was really only one place they could go so we

made up a plywood mounting plate for them which is bolted on to the can with some of the hinge bolts.
http://www.cs.ucc.ie/~jt6/JC09thumb.JPG


The motherboard HDDs and PSU in place. The bottom of the can had to be cut yet again to allow access to the

motherboard I/O. But it all fits in nicely with just enough room for the case to close. Annoyingly the PSU leads

will have to be extended for them to reach when the case is closed :(. The CDROM drive is going to be mounted just

to the right of the PSU in this picture. It will be on its side when the case is upright. I don't think we will

bother with a permanent FDD ot's too tricky to fit and considering this will be networked it probably wont be used

much.
http://www.cs.ucc.ie/~jt6/JC10thumb.JPG


Here you can see how we mounted the CPU fan. It makes good use of the large cap and is much neater than cutting a

nasty great hole in the top. Also that is a blue LED fan so the opening will glow blue in use :D.
http://www.cs.ucc.ie/~jt6/JC11thumb.JPG



So far so good. Still a nice bit of finishing etc to do on it. Hopefully the cap will be wired up so that when you

open it the computer comes on and when you close it the computer turns off :) Need to fit the CDROM drive opening

and give the whole thing legs so that it will clear the power leads etc when sitting upright.

Nice work Turkster :thumbsup: looking good.

Rockin' :D

Thanks guys :). I'm working for a few days but will post some more pictures after the weekend.

We made up a switch to operate with the lid of the can. The proper switch was mounted on a little circuit board with front panel usb etc so we couldnt get it near the cap. The switch makes a passing contact as you open the lid and again as you close it. The computer is ones of those that asks to be switched off rather than doing it itself so this should work well enough. Anyway the button is easily accessible if you couldnt be bothered closing the cap :p.

http://www.cs.ucc.ie/~jt6/JC13thumb.JPG



Here's the switch inside the can. It looks a it agricultural but does the job :p.

http://www.cs.ucc.ie/~jt6/JC12thumb.JPG



The slot for the CDROM drive. It is tricky enough to make a CD tray cover to match the hole though :(.

http://www.cs.ucc.ie/~jt6/JC14thumb.JPG



Just noticed from the photos that the can looks a bit tatty but it seems to look better in real life. It looks realistically rugged with a few scratches, burns and a bit of rust. Just like a real petrol can :D And like a real petrol can it is pretty strong and has a good firm carry handle. At least you dont need to worry about scratching it.

That is pretty damn good looking. Nice work mate.
What you gonna use it for or was it just for a decent mod?

Well I dont know at the moment :p
Probably a firewall when I go back to Cork. It seems fitting as a firewall :D.
Anyway it is up and running although I havent decided what OS to put on it yet. It might get used as a music network client for a month or so if I could be bothered running UTP cables near our Hi Fi :(

Will post pics of the finished thing tomorrow :)

Nice job, I was considering a simular project myself using an old (de-pressurised) gas canister but it jsut seems like too much work (with the round-ness of it and stuff...)

Falcon