Hard tube fittings recommendations

[bigjimmyauk]

So i've picked up a couple of fittings for my first hard tube build after using soft tube for nearly 10 years, one thing i don't like is the locking ring on the 2 i got which seems purely aesthetic. it don't lock the tube in place and the tube can be removed ludicrously easily. i just feel any shift in the case will end up breaking the seal. can anyone recommend any fittings that have a better bite? I've seen some barrow ones that have a locking mechanism but apparently they are crazy hard to fit correctly. I just want something that maybe has a compression seal on the locking ring which bites the tube to hold it in place tighter.

thanks in advance!

 

[im4gine3]

Can i ask what fittings you have at the moment.. i.e. the 2 you are talking about?

I've heard good things about Barrow and Bykski hardline fittings but not used them before.
EK and Bitspower fittings are good and reliable. Primochill and Monsoon Chainguns are good too though not sure if those are still sold.

 

[bigjimmyauk]

Can i ask what fittings you have at the moment.. i.e. the 2 you are talking about?

I've heard good things about Barrow and Bykski hardline fittings but not used them before.
EK and Bitspower fittings are good and reliable. Primochill and Monsoon Chainguns are good too though not sure if those are still sold.

2 types of barrow both awful to be honest. The thing with soft tube I could literally lift my rig without fear of a pipe disconnect. If I even look at these fittings funny they come apart lol.

 

[im4gine3]

fair enough.

Either way i've not encountered any issues with any of the brands i listed above, so those are my recommendations

 

[CFC-420]

2 types of barrow both awful to be honest. The thing with soft tube I could literally lift my rig without fear of a pipe disconnect. If I even look at these fittings funny they come apart lol.

Barrow and Bykski are very well received and reputable brands in the water cooling "scene," and many people use them. They're allegedly just unbranded Bitspower or at least manufactured in the same place with the same quality.
You cannot compare soft tubing fittings or barb fittings, and hard tubing in terms of grip as soft tube takes ID and OD into consideration, and the collar makes an almost undetachable connection - They're not even close to the same. Normally, you can pull a hard tube away with a little bit of force.

Essentially your tube is held by the inner gasket and the O ring seal beneath the collar.

I am a massive fan of EK Torque fittings and have a tackle box full of Barrow, soft tube and hard tube fittings. They are outstanding and do the job perfectly.

 

[bigjimmyauk]

I've ordered a torque htc fitting to try. It seems they have a gasket on the collar which increases the force required to disconnect.

 

[LePhuronn]

You're not pushing the tube in far enough. I have both compression and push-fit Barrow hardline fittings here and I can't yank the tube out once the compression collar is screwed on.

 

[bigjimmyauk]

You're not pushing the tube in far enough. I have both compression and push-fit Barrow hardline fittings here and I can't yank the tube out once the compression collar is screwed on.

I beg to differ the tube is in all the way. Unless tube tolerance is different from manufacturer to manufacturer. Using ek 12/16, the HTC fitting arrived, its much better! A lot better fitment and can't pull the tube out as easily. I'm not the only one videos on YouTube suggest the same that the barrow are easy to disconnect

 

[pastymuncher]

I have Barrow 14mm fittings with 14mm Mizucool (rebranded Barrow tubing) hardline and they are a solid fit. The tube is tight to push in as the base of the fittings have 3x O rings plus there is a fourth in the collar. Once tightened up no amount of pulling will get them apart. I have had problems with soft tubing across different brands and sizes being out. For example, I had Mayhems 10/16mm soft tubing and Monsoon 10/16mm compression fittings and the fittings barely gripped the tubing at all making it very easy to pull out. I tried some generic 10/16mm fittings alongside XSPC 10/16mm fittings and they were nice and tight. This surprised me as the Monsoon fittings were by far the most expensive. Since then I have shifted to hardline and stick with the same manufacturer of fittings and tubing.

 

[bigjimmyauk]

I have Barrow 14mm fittings with 14mm Mizucool (rebranded Barrow tubing) hardline and they are a solid fit. The tube is tight to push in as the base of the fittings have 3x O rings plus there is a fourth in the collar. Once tightened up no amount of pulling will get them apart. I have had problems with soft tubing across different brands and sizes being out. For example, I had Mayhems 10/16mm soft tubing and Monsoon 10/16mm compression fittings and the fittings barely gripped the tubing at all making it very easy to pull out. I tried some generic 10/16mm fittings alongside XSPC 10/16mm fittings and they were nice and tight. This surprised me as the Monsoon fittings were by far the most expensive. Since then I have shifted to hardline and stick with the same manufacturer of fittings and tubing.

What barrow fittings are they mine only have dual orings

 

[MikeTimbers]

I beg to differ the tube is in all the way. Unless tube tolerance is different from manufacturer to manufacturer. Using ek 12/16, the HTC fitting arrived, its much better! A lot better fitment and can't pull the tube out as easily. I'm not the only one videos on YouTube suggest the same that the barrow are easy to disconnect

there is always a risk when using one manufacturer's fittings and another's tubing. e.g. EK claim 10/16 on their ZMT but it's really 9.5/15.9. If you buy 10/16 fittings form someone that actually is 10/16 you might have an issue whereas, EK's 10/16 fittings are also 9.5/15.9

 

[T.satou]

I have used Barrows mostly together with EK stuff. Mostly fittings.

But I lay them out in a way where the fittings I put on a CPU block and GPU block are EK's.

And the barrow one's on the Pump and Res that are on the other side of the case.

In an event that the barrow's leak, they leak on the floor of the case and not on the GPU's back plate.

But over the years I have had used barrows and to be honest, I had no issue with them.

And they are very cheap.

Just make sure that when you re-use them, always replace the O-rings.

 

[ttaskmaster]

Unless tube tolerance is different from manufacturer to manufacturer.

I believe this is very much the case. Most of the above fittings have good reputations, but you do still have to marry them with the right brand(s) of tubing.
I recall a JayzTwoCents video about a year ago on just this subject.

 

[D4N]

Did you put an O ring over the tube for the compression ring to actually bite against, or have you just got the 2 seals in the fitting?

I used Barrow fittings, and found them to be of a good quality. They did take a bit of a push to get them into the seals actually. I used bykski tube on the hard tube section in mine.

 

[pastymuncher]

What barrow fittings are they mine only have dual orings

Mine are these in black. Excellent quality and each fitting comes with it's own pack of spare O-rings. At the time I paid £2.58 per fitting.

 

[bigjimmyauk]

Mine are these in black. Excellent quality and each fitting comes with it's own pack of spare O-rings. At the time I paid £2.58 per fitting.

i actually like the look of these but no 12/16 and 4 years old they seem to be EOL

 

[pastymuncher]

Why give me a roll eyes? If you do that to everyone who tries to help you will run out of willing people soon enough. They actually come in 12/14/16mm and I found my 14mm ones still for sale on Ebay straight away. It looks like the "Choice" series has replaced them which also come in 12/14/16mm sizes. These seem to have a shallower body but still have a pair of O rings in the body and another in the collar so should still be a tight fit. You can get a 6 pack of 16mm on Ebay for £23.50.

 

[bigjimmyauk]

Why give me a roll eyes? If you do that to everyone who tries to help you will run out of willing people soon enough. They actually come in 12/14/16mm and I found my 14mm ones still for sale on Ebay straight away. It looks like the "Choice" series has replaced them which also come in 12/14/16mm sizes. These seem to have a shallower body but still have a pair of O rings in the body and another in the collar so should still be a tight fit. You can get a 6 pack of 16mm on Ebay for £23.50.

You having a bad Saturday lol. Roll eyes as in just my luck you can't get them anymore.

 

[pastymuncher]

Sorry, thought you were having a dig at me suggesting something that I didn't know was EOL. I hate the rolleyes emoji as it can be taken to mean a couple of different things. Usually on here it's having a dig at the person it's intended for. Yes I am having a rough time at the moment due to the side effects of my AZ jab. Got a blinding headache, feel sick as a pig, dizzy and on top of that I am knackered. Sorry for taking it the wrong way.

 

[bigjimmyauk]

Sorry, thought you were having a dig at me suggesting something that I didn't know was EOL. I hate the rolleyes emoji as it can be taken to mean a couple of different things. Usually on here it's having a dig at the person it's intended for. Yes I am having a rough time at the moment due to the side effects of my AZ jab. Got a blinding headache, feel sick as a pig, dizzy and on top of that I am knackered. Sorry for taking it the wrong way.

No worries at all, I was the same after mine. Was very ill for 3 days. Aches pains, headaches and very very sore legs.

It seems the barrow fitting I have looks identical to the barrow choice fittings on eBay exactly what is the difference between barrow and barrow choice? I might end up going 14mm at this rate as 16mm acrylic seems non existent unless I order direct from EK all local sources including rain forest etc are all out of stock