Clear Tubing - Does it always cloud?

R.P.L

R.P.L

R.P.L

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Joined
20 Mar 2012
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2,310
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London(ish)
Hi Guys,

So I'm thinking of building a loop using clear tubing. For coolant I was thinking something UV reactive, either clear or blue. However, I've read plenty about clear tubing clouding up, and I don't want the loop to look scabby after a few months.

So are there any ways to avoid this, or is it just what happens? I don't mind paying a premium for better tubing within reason, as long as it stays looking nice.
 
All tubing with plasticiser will leech and go cloudy eventually. Some brands will hold out better than others; in the past IIRC it was mainly Primochill LRT and Tygon that held out for the longest, but I am not certain what is the best ATM. I see a lot of Tygon clouding reports in forums nowadays, so unless you are buying the Tygon plasticiser free tubing I'd be slightly wary.
 
there s been a ferw of us experimenting with diferent tubing and it seems the results vary

personally i was masterkleer with mayhems blue untill recently , it started off fine for first couple months then went cloudy due to plastisciser

so i have now bought XSPC tubing its still waiting toi be installed so i cant give an opinion on it

however tygon make a plasticiser free tubing but its a lot more expensive so if i get probs with the xspc im going to try that .

i think some flids/dyes will stain tubing and some tubing gives up its pastisciser its a case of getting the best of both

and its an ongoing experiment as what seems to work with one doesnt suit all.

i used to in the original days of water cooling use clear rubber tubes with anti kink coils and never had any problems uintill using colored fluids . so its been a problemni n one type or aniother for a long time.

tbh im of the opinion its tubing manufacturers trying to produce cheap tubing which is flexible but still hold shape as the more plasticiser there is the more flexible i beeleive

im yet to try the Tygon 2001 Plasticizer Free Tubing
its about 3x the proce of most others from what i can find about £10 a meter but in all honesty thats not a lot for hopefully clear tubing time will tell

my system uses 9m of tubing so itll have to wait untill next month before i can justify any more pc costs as i havent even used the xspc stuff yet thats sittin in a box ..
 
Yeah I'd read about the Tygon plasticiser free stuff. I knew about 2001, but I've also just discovered E1000 'ultra soft' plasticiser free tubing. Anyone familiar with this? And if I went with plasticiser free tubing, would this eliminate the problem (Specifically regarding clouding, not staining)?

I've also seen some promising stuff about Clearflex60, and also some less positive reports.

Thanks for the responses anyway, I'd be very grateful for any more feedback, positive or negative!
 
never heard of the e1000 be good to llok at it tho as generally its pastisciser that makes it flexible so anything that is flexible that doesnt leach and stay shiney would of be the best...

tbh if iot costs me 10 quid a foot idm as long as its clear ..
 
clearflex (mayhems x1 red then tharsis red,) was fitted 20th may. cleaned loop last friday and changed to pastal red still nice and clear
 
Hmmm... it seems from what I've read since I started looking into this that for every brand, there's people who have had great experiences and other people who think it's rubbish. Balls :D
 
I have just noticed a verrrrry faint clouding on the clearflex.

However I am replacing it with masterkleer as the clearflex isn't stiff enough. It's too prone to kinking. Was ok in my 600t but not in the rv02.
 
mlwood37 said:
:) see my advise is "goooood" :) clearflex is good for the price but far from perfect but meh you cannot have your cake and eat it.
Click to expand...

Have you got any experience of tubing that doesn't cloud? As per my OP, I don't mind paying a premium.

TwsT said:
wc-031-xs has remained clear for me since i swapped out the tygon which went cloudy.
Click to expand...

How long have you had it in your system?
 
Well, I went with XSPC high flex clear in the end. I've read more good stuff and less bad stuff about it than the other brands.
 
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