Changing to Acrylic w/c

[heman]

Hi,
Thinking of trying acrylic tubing just for a change. Currently have a standard flexible tubing setup which has served me well and still does. Having never tried acrylic, few Q's:

1) Which size tubing in terms of ease of bending (I am aware that flow is not so important on the tube thickness)?
2) Does fixed tubing leak more easily as less flexibility? I assume this is dependent on how well the ends fit into the fittings.
3) Are there major differences pros/cons of the various acrylic fittings?
4) Apart from tubing size, any else to look out for in getting the acrylic fittings?

Any other advice would be appreciated.

 

[GiraffePencils]

1. I've used 13mm, it bends well, it's mostly getting the hang of the technique.

2. I've never had a flex tubing leak, but had 6 fixed tube leaks , These where all during instillation leak tests as they need to be very well aligned. a couple adjustments later and it's fine. Fixed tube doesn't like to move around too much though, prone to crack if jolted.

3. monsoon use an acrylic locking collar, it makes them very secure once installed, but you need more collars to reuse them.
push in fittings might sag if the run is long/the angle against mavity is sharp.
I have no experience of bitspower/primochill fittings.

4. monsoon fittings need glue/spare collars, apart from that i'd advise the compression variant over push in.

 

[heman]

Thanks for the reply. I imagine there is little margin for error in lining up acrylic. But hopefully the leaks only happened during testing and no more leaks after?

Re the moonsoon collars, I presume they are one time use only and like these here:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-288-MO
Are they for use with Moonsoon fittings only, or for any acrylic fitting?

What is the glue for?

Thanks

 

[GiraffePencils]

Thanks for the reply. I imagine there is little margin for error in lining up acrylic. But hopefully the leaks only happened during testing and no more leaks after?

Re the moonsoon collars, I presume they are one time use only and like these here:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-288-MO
Are they for use with Moonsoon fittings only, or for any acrylic fitting?

What is the glue for?

Thanks

Yeah no leaks after initial teething.

The collars are only for monsoon, they are how the fitting grips the tube, the collar is glued to the tubing.
That is what you need glue for, joining the tube and collar

 

[pacegod]

Get the monsoon bending kit, and take your time measuring where pipes are going.

Also if possible, get PETG tubing as its less brittle and heats up faster, I found it far ncier to work with than PMMA (think thats what the other is called). Its less likely to bubble if overheated and I found I could correct mistakes easier with it.

The only thing I do not like about Acrylic tubing, is being able to reposition things in my case if I need to, without having to drain my system.

 

[heman]

Yeah no leaks after initial teething.

The collars are only for monsoon, they are how the fitting grips the tube, the collar is glued to the tubing.
That is what you need glue for, joining the tube and collar

Ok, that makes sense, so the acrylic is not re-usable/deformable once this is done. I can imagine a secure fit however.

Get the monsoon bending kit, and take your time measuring where pipes are going.

Also if possible, get PETG tubing as its less brittle and heats up faster, I found it far ncier to work with than PMMA (think thats what the other is called). Its less likely to bubble if overheated and I found I could correct mistakes easier with it.

The only thing I do not like about Acrylic tubing, is being able to reposition things in my case if I need to, without having to drain my system.

Wow, different types of tubing as well, thanks for that. More to ponder about!