Rigid Watercooling

Caporegime
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Okay I have being reading up lots and I plan a new rigid watercool build and I think I have decided PETG over Acrylic but just want to check here first before ordering.

Is the consensus to go PETG?

If so, which size? Do i really need the 16/10 biggest tube or could I get away with smaller?

Which brand are best please?

And which fittings to go with that tube please?

FYI the loop is going to be two 420 rad, one 280 rad, d5 pump, Aquaero XT, Aquaero reservoir, Aquaero flow meter, 5820 heatkiller cpu block and atm the moment two full cover 290x. Will upgrade these to either one or two 1080, two 1070 or two 480 depending on how things go this month. Might even put the blocks on the Gigabyte x99 board while i am at it.

Many thanks in advance for your kind consideration and advice :)

Everything for the watercooling build is bought except the tube and fittings.

I would quite like to get the tube ordered soon so i can start making all the bends until i get the new gfx cards at the end of the month then it should be quite a quick build.
 
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Soldato
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So I went PETG in December last year, love it.

1. I don't know of (could be I just don't know) any reason to go acrylic over PETG other than availability and choice. For all intensive purposes PETG is the evolution, its stronger and doesnt shatter... Look up the Jayztwocents video comparing the two and watch him beat it with a hammer.

2. I used EK 16mm, no complaints to be honest but I think its in limited stock a lot but in my 1080 FTW order i've added some more as the price was really good at time of ordering for the 2 x 500mm pack

3. Using the EKHD fittings, they fit so well you literally struggle to pull them out even without the compression screwed down

In my eyes the size is mainly personal preference, minimal impact on cooling but probably less pump pressure required in a larger loop... But I just liked the look of the chunky tubing in my case over slim - be sure you get a very tight fitting bending insert though or you risk bad bends.

When the blocks are released for my pair of 1080's i'm looking forward to plumbing them in! For reference this is how the 16mm tubing looks, its clear tubing with blue fluid:

Photo%2022-05-2016%2012%2023%2048_zps4j70irkg.jpg

Photo%2022-05-2016%2012%2023%2006_zps0pzqos0x.jpg
 
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Soldato
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I used EKHD 16/12 fittings in my build and EK HD 16/12 tube.

PETG is a must as acrylic can fracture and crack easily if not heated correctly or too much force applied while installing into fitting. PETG looks no different either.

I would really reccommend getting the correct sized monsoon bending kit if you are going hardline aswell. Comes with all tools and such required to do the cutting and bending.

Pic of my build in sig if you are interested :)
 
Caporegime
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Nice rigs. I just wasnt sure if the 16mm was going to look too bulky, especially with the compression fittings.

Tyler_jrb and samsung whose petg pipe did you use please?
 
Soldato
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Nice rigs. I just wasnt sure if the 16mm was going to look too bulky, especially with the compression fittings.

Tyler_jrb and samsung whose petg pipe did you use please?

EK HD 16/12. If you have a large enough case it will look fine. If you have a smaller case then I'd be tempted to go smaller.

Actual compression fitting OD size is only a few MM Vs 12-16mm
 
Soldato
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Etho primo case so should be big enough :)

The case in my pic is a Noctis 450 so its only a Mid size... It looks fine, I personally feel the thin hardline looks a little odd.

Go big or go home... Well you probably will be at home but you know what I mean ;)
 
Soldato
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Thanks Maverick, I didnt know about the cutting thing.

Funnily enough I actually grabbed a dirt cheap adjustable pipe cutter (copper) in B&Q... Works a dream, no sawing = no bits to clean out and perfect cuts.

Highly recommended as it was about £4 for the mini pipe cutter...
 
Soldato
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Just for the balance, here are the arguments against PETG. I should point out that I've not used PETG but this is what I picked up when I was researching it.
1. PETG is easier to work with (lower melting point hence easier to bend) and tougher but apparently it starts to look dull or cloudy quite quickly leading to some people to redo their loop in acrylic. I'm not sure whether this could be as a result of point 2:
2. PETG does not like coolants containing ethylene glycol. There are a number of popular coolants that contain it including (off the top of my head) Mayhems XT1 (but not X1) and Koolance's.

Gotta play devil's advocate sometimes :D
 
Associate
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XT-1 (v4) with colours (we will soon implement clear as well) now has a protection system to prevent these issues with certain types of tubing stopping issues such as drying out and the like.

To try and explain this as simple as possible the new coolants have extras negative Ions introduced into the dyes / fluids (a barrier of sorts) to help prevent them causing issues. This is a Mayhems only technology and part of our commitment to advance liquid coolants.

How ever clouding of PETG will happen with most if not all coolants and that is due the the fact PETG suck up coolants just like normal flexible tubing does.
 
Soldato
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Greebo: those Monsoon fittings are the ones (I think) that require you to glue a collar to the end of the tube and then connect the fitting. I think the EK HDC's are probably easier and work very similarly to normal compression fittings. You have to chamfer the end of the tube so it doesn't damage the o-rings, push it in and then screw the metal collar over the top.
 
Associate
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Sorry to thread jack but doesn't really warrant a new thread.

I have yet to delve into watercooling, but when I do, I only plan to use hard tubing.

What I have a hard time grasping is how people can even make the correct bends. Surely one degree off and it doesn't fit? One mm short from the fitting and it's no good?
 
Soldato
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You've pretty much hit the nail on the head. You'll definitely require more tubing than you'd think for just this reason. There is a little wiggle room available but not much. You can get bending mandrels to make the bend and help judge the angle. Monsoon also do a measuring kit to help plan the distances and angles. You can also reheat to change the angle a bit but I don't think you get too many goes before it looks naff or has flattened too much.
 
Caporegime
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Greebo: those Monsoon fittings are the ones (I think) that require you to glue a collar to the end of the tube and then connect the fitting. I think the EK HDC's are probably easier and work very similarly to normal compression fittings. You have to chamfer the end of the tube so it doesn't damage the o-rings, push it in and then screw the metal collar over the top.

I used primochil tubing and fittings. I personally wouldn't bother with the monsoon fittings that need gluing.

Oh thanks for that, I didn't realise they needed gluing! Bugger that. Think I'll go with normal compression fittings then.
 
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