quick disconnects

Soldato
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22 Dec 2008
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Hey. I'm likely to be moving to i7 soon, and I don't think my internal radiators are going to cope. I'm looking at adding a triple externally, I'll make it some form of box. So I'll need two tubes and a power cable connecting it to my computer. Power I'm thinking of using 3.5mm headphone jacks to carry the 12V for the fans, soldering the fans onto one socket, and soldering a molex onto another. I'm fairly sure this will be fine.

Tubing is more difficult, as quick disconnects seem like a good idea but I don't know much about them. I use 8mm ID inside the computer, but in the interests of having the external far from the computer without excessive restriction I'm thinking of using 1/2" ID tubing externally. So first off, will 8mm to 1/2" to radiator to 1/2" to 8mm cause any problems, and will it actually be better than 8mm throughout?

Next up, quick disconnect fittings. I assume you pull firmly, they come apart, and a small amount of water hits the floor. I guess four would be ideal for the radiator, but two would suffice if I left tubes connected to one of the boxes. If I use these at the inlet and outlet of the radiator, how do I drain it when it's not attached to the system?

Say I use them beside the case, so bulkhead fittings to quick disconnects. Is it practical to remove the radiator, and connect a short length of tube with appropriate fittings across the two fittings? As a means of using the system without the external radiator, obviously at lower clock speeds.

Finally I suppose, how watertight are they? Can I have water going into a T junction, with a QD opposite the inlet and sending the water through 90 degrees without it leaking?

Sorry for so many, probably obvious questions. Cheers
 
8mm to 1/2 is a tad unusual and will result in a lower flow rate round the 1/2 loop and back to normal ish in the 8mm. As you buy the male and female koolance QC's separtatly it's possable to have a male 8mm barb and a femail 1/2 barb - handy for you :)
But personally stick with 8mm throughout

Four that I know of (used two personally)

Most restrictive to least
Zalman quick connectors (one free end is G1/4 the other is a 3/8 barb) these came as standard on my Zalman Res2
Koolance VL2
Eheim Double Tap Connector (best flow vs cost - but long)
Koolance VL3 (best balance size/looks vs restriction)
CPC quick connectors
Koolance VL4 (these are what I have not for internal use)

CPC and Koolance are not cheap - around £20 a set!

All lose a few ml of coolant, the VL4 lose more, to release them:
CPC and Zalman are button press and pull
Koolance are twist and pull
Eheim are shut off tap and pull.

Koolance do a quick release bulkhead.

And the short loop works well - It would be identical to the Zalman Reservator de-gas tube.
And remember you only need three sets of QC's if you have the bulkhead sets in line with flow.
Case > Male QC > Female QC > Rad > Male QC > Female QC > Case.
Female QC > tube > Male QC (can replace rad and connected QC's)

Not had a leak with either the zalman or koolance (tested the koolance with a D5@setting 5 without issue)
 
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I was thinking lower flow velocity through the 1/2" tubes, but through the radiator itself flow rate would be the same as using 8mm throughout? Volumetric flow rate constant throughout the loop. I could well be wrong there though

Fantastic post besides this part confusing me, thank you. £20 a pair is rather high, I may have to look into alternatives. Cheers again
 
Sorry - what I was trying to say was total flow remains the same - but speed of water in 1/2 is slower due to increased cross section
(lower flow velocity as you say)

And yes the high flow ones are expensive.
but if you have a long loop the Eheim ones may be the answer
 
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koolance quick disconnects are brilliant

smirnoff on these forums uses them and they do not impede flow rate at all
they are expensive but just what i would reccomend
 
Depends on the type - the VL2 would be substantial, especially with 1/2 - the VL3 less so.
Was the reason I had the VL4 shipped from the states when released - I'm abit fussy about flow restriction ;)
 
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