Rotatable fitting pieces - worth it?

[Vincero]

Hi,

Am about to embark on my first watercooling build - not looking to overclock (much ) but more for the lack of noise.

My question is more along the lines of fitting pieces / joints - there are some rotatable ones on the market. Are they worth the money?

This question comes based on the premise of not wanting barbs to unscrew with pipe movement - hopefully the rotation within the additional piece will stop such an event.

Has anyone used them for this purpose - does it prevent unintended loosening of joints? Are they reliable (i.e. 3-5 years of normal use and suddenly not spraying out everywhere)? Am I being over-concerned?

My aim is to move the heat outside of the case so only have piping to the blocks internally and then have the pump/res and radiator(s) outside of the case (but still mounted to it).

In terms of heat generation I have a Phenom X6 1100T and a (single fan cooled) GTX 570 which has eventually driven me mad with the amount of noise it generates in big game action as the single fan has to go supersonic - it also doesn't help that the GPU exhaust air goes partly inside the case also.
I'm looking to have around 360mm equivalent radiator cooling in the loop so, keeping in mind I'm not looking to set an overclock record, I'm thinking I should be ok with that.

Have been looking at the OC kits - do they offer a reasonable component selection or is it a case of "they're nice for the money - but really aim higher"...?

 

[Avathar77]

Compression fittings!
yep they are working ok for most of the time. Remember to match both ID and OD.
I wouldn't have the loop running for 3-5 years though Usually there is something that needs doing every year or so(more frequently for some) - like a liquid change over or component change. I usually take that chance to completely redo the loop.

 

[Vincero]

Compression fittings!
yep they are working ok for most of the time. Remember to match both ID and OD.
I wouldn't have the loop running for 3-5 years though Usually there is something that needs doing every year or so(more frequently for some) - like a liquid change over or component change. I usually take that chance to completely redo the loop.

Well, I didn't mean without any movement / modification - but that's the point, after all that still be working ok?

Don't get me wrong - I will be paranoid about how well its working, and aim to be using biocide and anti-corrosion additives but I will not be making it an aim to 'fiddle' with it all that much.

To be honest, plan would be to upgrade before it would be a couple of years. Hopefully by then there would be something worth upgrading to - don't get me wrong I know the Phenom X6 is getting a bit old now but its still doing the business, and even moving to a new i5 as a minimum would facilitate so much new stuff there just isn't enough pay off for me.

 

[Disco_P]

Rotatable fittings are aimed at people who need to make sharp bends in their loops. It avoids having the hold the tube at an angle where is more likely to come off (it's still not likely to happen but still)

For example I used to have no angled fitting for the GPU at the bottom.



When I took the loop apart I saw how little the compression fitting had hold of so I added a 90° rotary to reduce strain on the loop.



You mentioned pipe movement. I honestly cannot fathom a scenario in which pipe movement would occur and be considered normal.

Personally I would spend the time to customise and choose all the parts for your own loop but the OcUK kits won't be a bad starting points.

 

[mods1965]

I would recommend you go compression fittings from the start. Well worth the money, look great and secure the tube well.
I use three Monsoon Rotary 90° and one Rotary 45° in my Parvum S2.0, because they are essential in this type of case which is restrictive and they makes the build look even better.
They also help with the position of the pump if you do not use a bay res etc.
Look at the water cooling gallery to see what people do to tackle placement of the components and you will notice that compression fittings are used 99% of the time.

 

[Vincero]

I would recommend you go compression fittings from the start. Well worth the money, look great and secure the tube well.
I use three Monsoon Rotary 90° and one Rotary 45° in my Parvum S2.0, because they are essential in this type of case which is restrictive and they makes the build look even better.
They also help with the position of the pump if you do not use a bay res etc.
Look at the water cooling gallery to see what people do to tackle placement of the components and you will notice that compression fittings are used 99% of the time.

My main concern is (or was) pipe movement causing the fitting to unscrew from the actual component its attached to (i.e. from the G 1/4 thread itself, not so much the fitting end itself leaking) - although it seems to be a mute point / non-concern to many, as few seem to bother with rotary fittings unless working at some angles.

In terms of kit, was looking as using the following Phobya kit as a starting point:
Phobya Pure Performance Kit 240LT
Comes with compression fittings and shouldn't look too weird mounted outside. Maybe expanding it with an alphacool / XSPC / EK GPU block and maybe another 120/240 rad depending on temps.... or not if it all goes pear shaped.

 

[Vincero]

You mentioned pipe movement. I honestly cannot fathom a scenario in which pipe movement would occur and be considered normal.

Personally I would spend the time to customise and choose all the parts for your own loop but the OcUK kits won't be a bad starting points.

My plan is to have radiator sitting on top of case mounted to a fan and shroud and then screwed to top of case. Piping would then run to res&pump (not sure where yet), then to CPU and GPU through pre-cut holes in back of case.

Was considering maybe using a t-piece after the pump outlet to make it easier to evacuate the system - any thoughts? Not really seen a huge amount of drain solutions on show.