Rotary Bitspower Fittings Won't Screw at all with EK PrimoChill PrimoFlex Advanced LRT Tubing?

[Mario Vale]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for helping with my concerns about fittings and sealing in a previous post.

I am now at the stage where I am connecting tubing to all of the fittings.

For the most part I am having no problems, but there are three connections I am having problems with.

The fitting in question is the Bitspower G 1/4" Matte Black Triple Rotary 90 Degree G 1/4 Male to IG 1/4" Female Fitting (edit: sorry wrong one) Bitspower G1/4 Matte Black Dual Rotary 45-Degree Compression Fitting-ID 1/2" OD 3/4" WC-241-BP.

This is being used with 3M EKWB PrimoChill PrimoFlex™ Advanced LRT™ 19,1 / 12,7 mm, Bloodshed Red Tube.

Any ideas on what I can do to get these on? From researching people have suggested things such as warming the tube up by rolling it through finger and thumb as well as dipping it in warm water for a short period of time but so far these are not proving to be working, but if these are really the only ways I will have to try them again. Someone even went as far as to cut a good portion of the barb off to allow more clearance.

I have managed to get one of the 45 degree fittings to fit on without a problem and it just went on smoothly first time, but there are a few more fittings that won't screw down at all.

Researching this has also indicated that this is a common problem due to the nature of the version of this barb where the tube is attached: it has three flanges to give a better seal and also a shorter length of threaded area in which to screw the collar on, so it is extremely difficult to even begin threading. Apparently just getting even one or two turns onto the threading is enough as long as the collar doesn't come off when pulled.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Brizzles]

What size fittings are you using with the tubing ?

The Bitspower fitting you mention is an adapter/extension - tubing does not fit direct to it.

 

[Mario Vale]

Oops, I put the wrong one down. Yes you are right that one doesn't have a direct connection, it has another fitting into it.

I meant to put this one Bitspower G1/4 Matte Black Dual Rotary 45-Degree Compression Fitting-ID 1/2" OD 3/4" (WC-241-BP), which I have edited into the original post. This one already has the compression fitting installed on it.

I managed to get them on earlier this evening and gave the collars a good tug to ensure they weren't going to come loose, however I don't feel that comfortable as they probably have one or two threads holding it in place, is this the best I can achieve with them?

 

[Brizzles]

Aslong as your tubing is fully on the barb part ( right to the base of the fitting ) you should be fine.

The compression part is a secondary level of security, and a couple of turns on the thread/finger tight will be ok.

It's annoying that everyone doesn't work to a standard size i.e metric or imperial, which can cause fractional differences in sizes which if you add to any machining tolerances can cause issues.

If you are not moving the rig to LANs' then tight tubing and the barb part will hold securely - That was the way i, and many others, watercooled many moons ago before compression fittings were available.

 

[Mario Vale]

Aslong as your tubing is fully on the barb part ( right to the base of the fitting ) you should be fine.

The compression part is a secondary level of security, and a couple of turns on the thread/finger tight will be ok.

It's annoying that everyone doesn't work to a standard size i.e metric or imperial, which can cause fractional differences in sizes which if you add to any machining tolerances can cause issues.

If you are not moving the rig to LANs' then tight tubing and the barb part will hold securely - That was the way i, and many others, watercooled many moons ago before compression fittings were available.

OK thanks. I don't intend on moving it more than 50 cm so it should be fine .

I successfully got it running earlier today and didn't get any leaks! Hooray!

 

[Brizzles]

I successfully got it running earlier today and didn't get any leaks! Hooray!

Good news