Bending question

Man of Honour
Joined
12 Jul 2005
Posts
20,482
Location
Aberlour, NE Scotland
Thats a good bit of info that, thanks! I’ll be going with XSPC PETG, any issues with this particular brand of tubing? I know with soft tubing it can discolour over time dependant on fluid used.


XSPC PETG is on the list I linked to and is safe for Mayhems Pastel. I use Mizucool 14mm PETG tubing from Mizucool on Ebay. You get 5x 500mm lengths for just £12.99 and it's very nice stuff. I use Barrow 14mm compression fittings which I love as they have four O-rings and hold the tubing really tightly.
 
Soldato
Joined
22 May 2010
Posts
11,681
Location
Minibotpc
XSPC PETG is on the list I linked to and is safe for Mayhems Pastel. I use Mizucool 14mm PETG tubing from Mizucool on Ebay. You get 5x 500mm lengths for just £12.99 and it's very nice stuff. I use Barrow 14mm compression fittings which I love as they have four O-rings and hold the tubing really tightly.
Got my hardline kit ordered for delivery tomorrow, looking forward to having a bash at this! Really can't wait to get these bends done and then seeing it all come together, its the most satisfying part of any build i do!
 
Man of Honour
Joined
12 Jul 2005
Posts
20,482
Location
Aberlour, NE Scotland
I learnt that the hard way. Unpack XSPC bending kit, check. Make sure everything is there, check. Don't bother reading the instructions, check. Do the bend and then wonder why the hell the tubing is snagging the O-rings only to take the tubing back out and see bits of rubber in the fitting. Arse, so that's what the bit of sandpaper was for!! Good job each of the Barrow fittings comes with a spare pack of O-rings.
 
Soldato
Joined
26 Sep 2010
Posts
7,146
Location
Stoke-on-Trent
Take your time with the chamfering, Jay. In fact, be obsessive with it. If you're going PETG then you'll get nice straight cuts with the pipe cutter, but make sure you debur the inside of the tube as well as chamfering the outside. Then take sandpaper and smooth it out, but keeping the chamfer of course.

Sounds like a pain I know when you have a lot of tubes to do, but it's worth it. Oh, and wet the end of the tube and the o-ring with a bit of deionised/distilled water on teh end of your finger just to lube it up a touch.
 
Soldato
Joined
22 May 2010
Posts
11,681
Location
Minibotpc
I learnt that the hard way. Unpack XSPC bending kit, check. Make sure everything is there, check. Don't bother reading the instructions, check. Do the bend and then wonder why the hell the tubing is snagging the O-rings only to take the tubing back out and see bits of rubber in the fitting. Arse, so that's what the bit of sandpaper was for!! Good job each of the Barrow fittings comes with a spare pack of O-rings.

Take your time with the chamfering, Jay. In fact, be obsessive with it. If you're going PETG then you'll get nice straight cuts with the pipe cutter, but make sure you debur the inside of the tube as well as chamfering the outside. Then take sandpaper and smooth it out, but keeping the chamfer of course.

Sounds like a pain I know when you have a lot of tubes to do, but it's worth it. Oh, and wet the end of the tube and the o-ring with a bit of deionised/distilled water on teh end of your finger just to lube it up a touch.

I'm usually quite patient so i'll definitely take my time with this tomorrow (was supposed to get my kit today but it got delayed at OCUK -_-). I'll make sure to take all your points and tips, really quite nervous actually, more so with the measuring and making sure i get the bends at the right length especially on the multiple bends. Done a quick mock up of the loop in my head tonight so i know what i need to do tomorrow.

Quick question, can i reheat a bend to jig it abit if i fall short? Will it cause me any issues or anything i need to look out for doing this?
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
28 Dec 2017
Posts
8,385
Location
Beds
Quick question, can i reheat a bend to jig it abit if i fall short? Will it cause me any issues or anything i need to look out for doing this?
You can reheat and adjust bends but it can get harder to keep them neat and precise after several repeats. Also bear in mind it can be tricky to get the silicone insert back into a bent tube sometimes.

Honestly once you get all the bits set up and in hand, give it a go, you'll get a feel for it. Within the first couple of bends you'll start understanding how to adjust your technique.

It's worth getting your space nice and clear and putting everything close by. Paper towels or a towel for drying and splashes, heat gun, spare tube, bowl of soapy water etc.
 
Soldato
Joined
24 Aug 2013
Posts
4,549
Location
Lincolnshire
You can tweak them a few degrees as long as the insert is still installed, otherwise the tube will just kink.

Depending on the tightness of the bend it can be near on impossible to get the insert back in so it’s worth offering the tube up to check before removing.

Most of it is just trial and error and usually you can use your mistakes as rough templates if the bends are a bit off.
 
Soldato
Joined
22 May 2010
Posts
11,681
Location
Minibotpc
You can reheat and adjust bends but it can get harder to keep them neat and precise after several repeats. Also bear in mind it can be tricky to get the silicone insert back into a bent tube sometimes.

Honestly once you get all the bits set up and in hand, give it a go, you'll get a feel for it. Within the first couple of bends you'll start understanding how to adjust your technique.

It's worth getting your space nice and clear and putting everything close by. Paper towels or a towel for drying and splashes, heat gun, spare tube, bowl of soapy water etc.
You can tweak them a few degrees as long as the insert is still installed, otherwise the tube will just kink.

Depending on the tightness of the bend it can be near on impossible to get the insert back in so it’s worth offering the tube up to check before removing.

Most of it is just trial and error and usually you can use your mistakes as rough templates if the bends are a bit off.


So today went okayish... not perfect but for a first attempt it was okay...

First off i set the fire alarm off, didn't realise how much heat the heat gun gave off and yes it scared the life out of me haha! Then my first bend went to heaven and never came back... i over heated the tubing (held it too close to the heat gun) and it bubbled up a little bit but enough for me to discard it and try again. 2nd bend went perfect but i made an error... i bent it the wrong friggin way!! so i tried to salvage it by bending it the otherway and you guessed it, it kinked slightly formed a bump where it was stretched previously. By this time i was running out of tubing as i only ordered 1m (i know stupid of me, i felt abit unprepared and disorganised tbh). 3rd and 4th bends were bang on and by this time i had got the hang of it, heat control and got the feel for it. Going to order more PETG and get the rest of the bends done and redo one of them as i think its just horrible to look at.. Had to use some transparent soft tubing to finish it off temporarily as i ran out of bloody tubing. whole point of hardline is for straight and perfect bends for that clean look and i don't feel like i've done it justice at all. Guess its Friday 13th :o

pO2BOQS.jpg
 
Soldato
Joined
24 Aug 2013
Posts
4,549
Location
Lincolnshire
Not looking too shabby :).

All just trial and error. My first attempt resulted in a bubbled tube as well. Just have to hold it further away and heat for longer. 30s-1minute.

Once you do a few bends you will get used to how it softens and when to bend etc. You can also try heating on a larger area which will give you smoother sharp bends.

And yes you will need plenty of tubing! One of the reasons I went back to soft tubing as couldn’t be bothered with all the faff when replacing tubes :p
 
Soldato
Joined
22 May 2010
Posts
11,681
Location
Minibotpc
Not looking too shabby :).

All just trial and error. My first attempt resulted in a bubbled tube as well. Just have to hold it further away and heat for longer. 30s-1minute.

Once you do a few bends you will get used to how it softens and when to bend etc. You can also try heating on a larger area which will give you smoother sharp bends.

And yes you will need plenty of tubing! One of the reasons I went back to soft tubing as couldn’t be bothered with all the faff when replacing tubes :p

Yeah i watched a few youtube videos prior to attempting it but i totally misjudged the amount of heat i was putting into it. Holding it higher is definitely the way to go. I ordered a few more fittings and angled adapters yesterday. Gonna wait till i get my watercooled GPU to finish the build off. Should have it done before xmas but you never know haha :p
 
Soldato
Joined
22 Apr 2008
Posts
3,866
Location
Bryn Celyn Wales
So today went okayish... not perfect but for a first attempt it was okay...

First off i set the fire alarm off, didn't realise how much heat the heat gun gave off and yes it scared the life out of me haha! Then my first bend went to heaven and never came back... i over heated the tubing (held it too close to the heat gun) and it bubbled up a little bit but enough for me to discard it and try again. 2nd bend went perfect but i made an error... i bent it the wrong friggin way!! so i tried to salvage it by bending it the otherway and you guessed it, it kinked slightly formed a bump where it was stretched previously. By this time i was running out of tubing as i only ordered 1m (i know stupid of me, i felt abit unprepared and disorganised tbh). 3rd and 4th bends were bang on and by this time i had got the hang of it, heat control and got the feel for it. Going to order more PETG and get the rest of the bends done and redo one of them as i think its just horrible to look at.. Had to use some transparent soft tubing to finish it off temporarily as i ran out of bloody tubing. whole point of hardline is for straight and perfect bends for that clean look and i don't feel like i've done it justice at all. Guess its Friday 13th :o

pO2BOQS.jpg
Looks bob on to me, sweet. I've got to start mine soon so I'll probably make all the same mistakes rofl
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Oct 2004
Posts
13,059
Location
Nottingham
I to will be doing this in the summer, the thermaltake level 20 HT snow edition arrived yesterday so plenty of room for some elaborate piping, how feasible is a coil?
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom