Hardline Compression Fitting tightness

Paul0305

Paul0305

Paul0305

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Joined
21 Feb 2019
Posts
7
Hello all

Im new to the forum so first of all hello :)

I have had custom water cooling loops in my setup for a long time now but it has always been with soft tubing where I can clamp down the tubes to a really strong connection to my fittings.

Im in the process of building a nice new setup and I am wanting to make the move to hard line as its looks so much nicer.

I have decided to go with the Alphacool Eisazapfen 16mm compression fittings and as I am new to hard line tubing i bought a few test tubes to practice cutting and bending them. The final tubes I want to go with will also be Alpha cool as I thought it best to match manufacturer fittings with tubes but due to stock levels at the moment I purchased some Bitspower None Chamfer PETG 16mm tubes to mess about with.

The one thing I have noticed is that when I fit the tube into the compression fitting I wasnt expecting to be able to pull the tube out quite so easily. It takes a little bit of force but way less than I though it would.

So I wanted to ask, typically how strong do you find the fitting of your hardline tubing is? should it be quiet difficult to dislodge the tube? is it the case that because im trying to fit a bitspower tube to an alphacool compression fitting that there is enough of a sizing difference that im getting a less secure connection?

Thanks all
 
Sizing differences do happen hence your (correct) reasoning to stick to one brand.

As it goes, I used Eiszapfen 16mm for my first hardline build last year and they were incredibly hard to fit. I spent a few days chamfering, sanding, filing and wetting tubes. In the end I accepted they were just very tight and made sure I thoroughly rounded the edges of every tube. I used a chamfer tool, file and two grades of sandpaper. Then I always put water on the o-rings in the fitting plus on the tubing when installing. I tore one o-ring out of about 13 during test fitting.

I'm sure I can pull the tubing out with some effort but I'm confident it isn't going anywhere unless there's a problem! I'd be very interested to know how your Bitspower tubing fits - I want to try some new tubing and Alphacool don't make anything that I want.

FWIW my Alphacool frosted acrylic tubing measures 15.85mm at its thinnest, and occasionally a little more but never over 16mm. 15.85mm is 5/8".
 
Thanks everyone

I will put some more work into the bits power tubing round the edges down and see if it improves the strength of the connection
 
I use Mizucool 14mm tubing with 14mm Barrow fittings which have 4 O-rings and you cannot pull the tubing out of them. You should always wet O-rings for a smoother fit plus it helps to prevent damage to them.
 
thanks all, I spend a some time today properly rounding the ends of the test tubes I have and wetting the o-rings. the fit is SIGNIFICANTLY improved! its quiet possible I also wasn't properly fitting the tube into the base of the compression fitting properly as the tube has gone from pretty much falling out of the fitting to it now needing a fair bit of force to attempt to remove it.
 
I always use a torch and look inside the fitting before screwing down the cap to make sure it has seated all the way and is flat.

Compression fittings depending on the brand should take a serious amount of force to remove. The Ekwb ones I used were almost impossible.

The threaded cap should also be as tight as you can get them with your fingers.

If using petg I’d highly advise getting a copper tube cutter and chamfering tool, possibly a fine file to go with it which will make your life much easier. As well as every cut is perfectly level and accurate.

These are what I used to use when I had hard line.

Draper Expert 10580 Tubing Cutter https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0001K9O9W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_eKsDCbVYKC7W0
 
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