Glass reservoirs & tube?

TechMinerUK · 21 May 2016 at 13:51

Hi, I have recently been looking into a new watercooling loop and noticed that there is a distinct lack of glass reservoirs as most manufacturers seem to use Acrylic. I have only seen the XSPC photon series, Aquacomputer Aqualis and one really expensive EK version. Does anyone have any experience with these and if so would you recommend it?

Also, has anyone had any experience working with Mayhems new glass tube, if so how is it to work with and is it any better or worse than acrylic and would you recommend using it?

As always, any help is greatly appreciated

TechMinerUK · 21 May 2016 at 19:24

Thanks everyone, it looks like glass might be suitable for my next build then although I'll be going with the Aqualis as I want a easy to use top fill port

I may need to invest in a glass tube cutter though as on the Mayhems channel they make it look very easy to just snap after going round with the cutter

TechMinerUK · 21 May 2016 at 19:46

Cenedd said:
That or apparently a diamond Dremel disc is also good. I've also seen it done with just a file to scribe a line round it. Just some alternatives in case they're of help.

I suppose the dremel disc would remove the need to sand but with my luck I'd probably smash the damn thing

TechMinerUK · 21 May 2016 at 20:09

zia said:
My xspc 170 has a top inlet and bottom outlet no major issues.yes filling is slow but not annoying.
zia

But the top inlet can't be used as part of the closed loop

Cenedd said:
No fun without an element of danger, right?

True but I'd rather avoid the "glass in hand/eyes/body" experience as it is a bit of an inconvenience

TechMinerUK · 21 May 2016 at 20:48

zia said:
Who says?
Zia

Well I can't argue with that, didn't realise the top was an inlet

TechMinerUK · 21 May 2016 at 21:07

Cenedd said:
Might be that Bitspower do a fitting with an M20 thread - I think that's what's common on res fill ports.

I never even realised they had different fittings for the fill port (I can't see why), I just assumed they were all G1/4 threads

TechMinerUK · 22 May 2016 at 08:15

davido_labido said:
The top CAN be used as an inlet I have done it numerous times. Here are two with the top used as an inlet...

Ah, so it will work with the adapter then but it will just be a pain to bleed

Cenedd said:
XSPC are a good example. Their acrylic res' (the ones I've used in the past) have a larger fill port with a plastic screw in cover that's supposed to be opened with a coin. I think Bitspower have come up with a fitting to open up new possibilities like Zia's.

I think I'll just stick to the Aqualis as the two ports on the top and no need for the adapter will save a lot of issues

TechMinerUK · 22 May 2016 at 11:33

Fluke said:
I have spent yesterday swapping all my Monsoon PETG tubing and fittings for Mayhems glass tubes and Barrow fittings.
I had read that quite a few people struggled to get a clean cut using the score and break method. I went for the 16mm tubing that has a thick wall and found cutting it very easy using wet tile cutter fitted with a diamond saw blade. I got a nice clean cut, that required very little sanding.
I did try using a Dremel with a diamond glass cutting blade on it, but without setting up a jig with a water drip, found it very slow going.
I need to buy a couple more fitting to finish the job, but am very happy with the results so far and don't think I would go back to acrylic or PETG as glass seems to give a cleaner look.
BTW - I am also looking for a glass reservoir to go on my EK pump, it needs to have screw fittings each end.

Thanks for providing the comprehensive feedback on glass tubing, I'll probably be going with the 12/10 tubing (Purely for aesthetics) but from your post I'm guessing a good glass cutter (One with dual wheels for me) is needed to get a good cut that isn't all over the place. Also did you sand down the glass and chamfer the edges or does it not really matter

TechMinerUK · 22 May 2016 at 16:43

Fluke said:
Pictures of my work in progress. The fluid in the tubes are where I topped up the rad, as I thought it might have a leak. The close up of the glass tube was taken after being cut, and a quick rub over some wet and dry smooths it out as shown in the second picture.

Thanks for the guide and the images, I've got to say that the system looks great. Also thanks for the bit showing the sanded tube as it looks like it is necessary. Can't wait to have a go at glass tubing

TechMinerUK · 22 May 2016 at 18:24

Is it me or is the video broken? Took the link anyway and watched it on Youtube, thanks for uploading it as it seems to cut pretty easily (Albeit with a table saw) so at least theres hope if I get one of those dual wheel cutter thingys

Cenedd said:
Just be aware that the Mayhems glass isn't 12/10 (although I think someone else does that size. EK or Alphacool) it's about 7mm ID so could be restrictive - at least in my head. I posted up the OD and IDs according to Mayhems support on the OCUK product review.

Hmm, I was planning on using the EK-HDC fittings so that could be an issue although I think they do 16mm fittings as well. It should be the same to cut though right? :confused:

TechMinerUK · 23 May 2016 at 10:55

pastymuncher said:
Those tile cutters are fairly cheap at under £30 so not a bad investment if you are going to be doing this more than once.

I just bought some Vitrex tile nippers as they look like the ones he used in the video

Fluke said:
I managed to get the vid working, for those that are still interested.

Thank you, what were you using to wet the glass and how did you get a constant drip?

TechMinerUK · 23 May 2016 at 12:01

Fluke said:
The tile cutter has a built in tray that holds water wets the blade and tile, if you look closely you can see a fine mist of water coming off the blade as it spins.

I'll probably go for the score and snap method with sand paper for ease

TechMinerUK · 25 May 2016 at 09:16

Mayhems said:
Score and snap method is easy to do ii just dont think ppl are scoring it deep enough on the 16ml glass tubing we do. I personally have now scored and snapped in access of 200 peaces with only 2 brakes and i just used them peaces on other parts of the builds.
The dremil method works but its best to use a jig or V shame to move the glass around. Its also better for doing smaller peaces as score and snap doesn't work on to small a length.
Always chamfer and clean up the ends, We use a belt sander for this with wet and dry and please ware a mask when doing it.
There are many methods for glass cutting but for god sake dont use a drill to do it, if the glass is off balance you are going to cause some serious harm.
@Fluke Nice job bud.

I think I'll go with the score and snap method, roughly how much pressure would you recommend applying with the glass "nippers" as i don't want to smash the glass but like you say I also don't want to go too weak causing the score not to be deep enough

TechMinerUK · 25 May 2016 at 13:56

red eye said:
i got the aqulis before that I had a aqua cool plexi which cracked where the caps screw it also leaked were it had bits of plexi rod for LEDs, I also have an ek res pump combo can't fault it though it is a little scratched up. Also the glass is easy to clean but the aqulis does leak a bit, but only if you try to move it while it's bolted to the case.I would go for the aqulis over the three I had

Thanks for letting me know about your experience, do you have any idea why it leaked when it was moved whilst fixed as I would have thought that there would have been o-rings/gaskets to prevent that :confused:

TechMinerUK · 25 May 2016 at 15:04

Mayhems said:
Tbh you do not need much pressure let the score do the work.

So just lightly run the scorers around the glass a few times then snap? Sounds too simple

TechMinerUK · 25 May 2016 at 16:13

Mayhems said:
thats all i do. Some times it easy to wet the glass in cold water before the snap.

Hmm, I have to see this myself so if my "nippers" come this week I'll get some glass to try them out

TechMinerUK · 26 May 2016 at 20:30

I'm back again as I'm just wondering about the ID of the tubing. Would 12/7 cause a large flow restriction over the 16/11 tubing? Just thinking as the 16/10 fittings will bump up the cost of the build quite considerably

TechMinerUK · 26 May 2016 at 20:45

Cenedd said:
In my head it was enough to ditch the 12/7 that I'd bought. You're not going to know for definite without trying both. G1/4 fittings are approximately 10mm ID for the channel through them so 7mm tubing will cause a restriction. How much it will affect temps will depend on a multitude of things. It could he negligible but I suspect it could be noticeable. If nothing else, it doesn't sit right in my head so I wouldn't be happy.

I suppose I'm better bitting the bullet and paying the extra for the bigger tubing and fittings

TechMinerUK · 1 Jun 2016 at 08:12

Another quick question, does anyone know which variant of the Aqualis reservoir I need to buy to get the nano coating and a top which can be used as an inlet but also comes with an air bleeding port as this seems to be a problem on a few models as they can use the top as an inlet but then how do you get air out of the system?

TechMinerUK · 1 Jun 2016 at 10:35

Cenedd said:
Nano coating is an option for most but it's specified separately - ie model A or Model A with nano coating.
Unhelpfully the product pictures often show a single top port when they usually have two or three. I know the 100ml and 150ml XT both have two top ports (one fitted with G1/4 pressure equalising membrane) and I believe the larger 450 and 880ml versions have 3 top ports, possibly 4. I'm not sure whether it's the same for the Eco models though.

What does the nano coating actually do, does it stop coolant forming droplets on the glass :confused: