Acrylic Tube Watercooling

mods1965 said:
If bends effect the cooling, I assume this applies to bends created via fittings as well as heating?
Click to expand...

Yep the article I read where the tested it was based on 90 degree fittings, acrylic didn't exist then but I assume there would be the same performance drop from those 90 degree bends. You don't have this issue with flexi pipes.

In general for best performance always best to avoid an extreme changes in direction.
 
A 90 degree bend is equivalent to a foot of tubing for pressure drop. 45 degree bends are no where near as bad, so it's a toss up between maybe slightly longer tubing and more direct shorter tube routings.
 
I took the plunge last week and haven't started yet. Ive gone with the monsoon bending kit (red) and xspc fittings and tubing. Fingers crossed.
 
What I'm struggling with at the moment is finding anywhere that has clear acrylic in stock in this country. Been waiting weeks for it to come back in stock here but it's not happening, it's looking like an order from overseas is going to have to be made.

But to offer my opinion on your question, I'd recommend acrylic to anyone. I'm am a little strange and enjoy building the computer more than I do actually playing games on it these days. I found it to be a lot of fun making the loop up using acrylic and it's not as difficult as some people make out. I spent two evenings after work doing mine using the monsoon bending kit and primochill acrylic.

Just measure it accurately, and I used a piece of mdf and taped some paper down to mark out the bends, using the mandrels in the monsoon kit it's really easy to lay them down onto your lines using the centre line for everything. Just screw them down, heat and bend.


I don't know if I was just lucky but I didn't have any disasters, if anything I think I got carried away with the aesthetics of the loop and made it less effective than it should be.


 
spikerules said:
I would rather have the 2-3c decrease in temps and a tidy build than the hose mess that can occur with non acrylic builds!
Click to expand...

The lovely builds on here have convinced me to give it a another go - think I expected results too soon last time, and did not take enough time with measuring and bending etc.

There are some stonking builds in here with acrylic - so I have a lot to live up too, oh well nothing like a challenge I suppose.

Mark
 
tipes said:
The lovely builds on here have convinced me to give it a another go - think I expected results too soon last time, and did not take enough time with measuring and bending etc.

There are some stonking builds in here with acrylic - so I have a lot to live up too, oh well nothing like a challenge I suppose.

Mark
Click to expand...

Have you got pics of your last acrylic build? Probably not as bad as you think!
 
Not wanting to hijack the thread but..

I'm thinking of doing a hardline build for my LAN rig, inside a corsair 250d but I will be using cheaper parts to start with and then swap them out at a later date. How hard is that to do? Obviously I'd have to drain the loop each time but I can't really get my head around how the tubing comes off? It's made to measure each fitting so surely you can't just pull it out once it's drained or it would break? Am I missing something really simple?

It'll be a long time build so if it's easier to wait for things like CPU, mobo etc rather than swapping out, I'd do that.

All the other info here has helped a lot though, thanks guys :D
 
savagesam117 said:
Not wanting to hijack the thread but..

I'm thinking of doing a hardline build for my LAN rig, inside a corsair 250d but I will be using cheaper parts to start with and then swap them out at a later date. How hard is that to do? Obviously I'd have to drain the loop each time but I can't really get my head around how the tubing comes off? It's made to measure each fitting so surely you can't just pull it out once it's drained or it would break? Am I missing something really simple?

It'll be a long time build so if it's easier to wait for things like CPU, mobo etc rather than swapping out, I'd do that.

All the other info here has helped a lot though, thanks guys :D
Click to expand...

It won't break. Use compression fittings and just unscrew them and take the Acrylic away. It doesn't snap and isn't permanant. There are YouTube videos etc explaining compression fittings, acrylic etc. I haven't found a cheap way of making an Acrylic build to be honest!
 
spikerules said:
It won't break. Use compression fittings and just unscrew them and take the Acrylic away. It doesn't snap and isn't permanant. There are YouTube videos etc explaining compression fittings, acrylic etc. I haven't found a cheap way of making an Acrylic build to be honest!
Click to expand...

Yeah I need to do some more research into it but I saw this and saved me making my own thread, which I came here to do :)

I had compression fittings on my flexy loop and they were a right pain!! And I'm never using XSPC again, the quality was shocking.

I'm not fussed about the cost of the loop, I want to go all out for that but the build will take me a while, buying bits each month and not rushing like before. I realised it wasn't cheap after my first loop but it was a good learning curve and I'm no longer scared of it :)
 
Question for those that have built these loops, whats the best way of having a drain point in the system?

With my flexible loop i just pull the bottom pipe to the rad and drain it all over a sink,. Obviously i wouldnt be able to do this with acrylic????
 
Greebo said:
Question for those that have built these loops, whats the best way of having a drain point in the system?

With my flexible loop i just pull the bottom pipe to the rad and drain it all over a sink,. Obviously i wouldnt be able to do this with acrylic????
Click to expand...

Would be a drain port, you'd have a t joint (or similar way to split the system) at the lowest point and then a lever valve and you'll be able to attach a bit of tube to it and then drain away, look at the build log 'back to water' and he's done a drain port that, looks really good.
 
Greebo said:
Question for those that have built these loops, whats the best way of having a drain point in the system?

With my flexible loop i just pull the bottom pipe to the rad and drain it all over a sink,. Obviously i wouldnt be able to do this with acrylic????
Click to expand...

Ideally you'd have a valve coming off a T of Q block at he lowest part of the system. So for me that would be the bottom radiator. Unfortunately as the bottom RAD is quite big even for a 900D I couldn't fit the valve and Q block, unless I left the back spare PSU case grill off. So if you look at my pic you'll see the outlet (bottom of res) with Q block going to the acrylic pipe and valve at the bottom which you can't quite see, whilst the other Q block connection is going to the flow meter.

Basically I have a spare acrylic piece that I made which bends off the valve once connected via compression fitting and that basically extends out of the case and down. I use it when I want to drain and take it away at all other times.

I will take some pics tomorrow if you want, although I'd not suggest doing it my way as the bottom rad basically still has fluid in it, which means you still have to tip he system.

savagesam117 said:
Yeah I need to do some more research into it but I saw this and saved me making my own thread, which I came here to do :)

I had compression fittings on my flexy loop and they were a right pain!! And I'm never using XSPC again, the quality was shocking.

I'm not fussed about the cost of the loop, I want to go all out for that but the build will take me a while, buying bits each month and not rushing like before. I realised it wasn't cheap after my first loop but it was a good learning curve and I'm no longer scared of it :)
Click to expand...

I'd suggest Primochill fittings and Acrylic. Top quality and better than the male to male 1/4 XSPC fittings I have in my system (only ones in stock at ocuk but VERY cheap). You can definitely tell the quality difference;) The Primochill Ghost compression fittings come with a handy little tool to tighten the fittings, but it is a bit flimsy so be careful not to break it!
 
Last edited:
spikerules said:
Have you got pics of your last acrylic build? Probably not as bad as you think!
Click to expand...

I think I have, but it certainly was not up to spec - that's why I went back to flexible hose, but I will try again. I cant find any primochill clear 4 packs for sale though - always out of stock here, grrrrrrr.

Mark
 
spikerules said:
Ideally you'd have a valve coming off a T of Q block at he lowest part of the system. So for me that would be the bottom radiator. Unfortunately as the bottom RAD is quite big even for a 900D I couldn't fit the valve and Q block, unless I left the back spare PSU case grill off. So if you look at my pic you'll see the outlet (bottom of res) with Q block going to the acrylic pipe and valve at the bottom which you can't quite see, whilst the other Q block connection is going to the flow meter.

Basically I have a spare acrylic piece that I made which bends off the valve once connected via compression fitting and that basically extends out of the case and down. I use it when I want to drain and take it away at all other times.

I will take some pics tomorrow if you want, although I'd not suggest doing it my way as the bottom rad basically still has fluid in it, which means you still have to tip he system.



I'd suggest Primochill fittings and Acrylic. Top quality and better than the male to male 1/4 XSPC fittings I have in my system (only ones in stock at ocuk but VERY cheap). You can definitely tell the quality difference;) The Primochill Ghost compression fittings come with a handy little tool to tighten the fittings, but it is a bit flimsy so be careful not to break it!
Click to expand...

Yeah - your right about the primochill tool - I am by no means ham-fisted, but the tool broke very soon, and then I found a problem with fitting as you could not tighten up the fitting so that it did not unscrew at the wrong place.

I have been in contact with primochill, and they are in the process of re designing the fittings at the moment - not sure when they will be available though.

Mark
 
spikerules said:
What exactly was not up to spec?
Click to expand...

You had to ask didn't you - I as hoping you wouldn't. Lol.
Truth is I was not happy with the finished look of the bend parts of tubes - this despite using the correct cord and mandrels. The bends were ok as such but the surface got spoiled somehow in the process, not sure if maybe I got the tubing too hot or not hot enough, but either way it did not meet my high standards, and expectations.

I also had trouble with the PrimoChill fittings and the tool broke very early on which meant I had no way of tightening the first part of the fitting so that the whole fitting started to unscrew instead of allowing you to just unscrew the bit that holds the tube - if you see what I mean.

I have been in contact with PrimoChill about the design of these fitting/tool, and apparently they are now re designing them - but not sure when they will release or go on sale. I must e mail them again to check on progress.

Sorry for the long post - but you did ask. Lol :)

Mark
 
I used the Primochill "Rigid Bender" which isn't quite as strange as it sounds.

I was surprised at how hard it was at first to get right, I switch tubing manufacturers and it resolved my issues immediately.

Although I think there are some slight over bends in my work, it came out really well

See here.

Pretty pleased with how it all came out to be honest.

Also for note, that's a 250D case; since I know someone was hoping to do a watercooled build in one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom