Water cooling questions: Hard Line fittings & Size, Tubing and Reservoirs

Scarletsboy

Scarletsboy

Scarletsboy

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Hi guys I am looking for peoples input and thoughts on this matter.

I am looking to do my first hard line build in a Thermaltake The tower 900.

So I have been looking at fitting and not sure which brand to go with for hard line tubing.

Background:
My current build is :
Corsair 750D Case, Intel I7-8700k OC to 5Gz, 32 GB Corsair RGB 3666Mhz Ram, EVGA 980ti SC+ running at 1500Mhz, ASUS Formula IX Motherboard, Corsair 850AX Power Supply,Samsung Evo960 M.2, Samsung Evo 960 SSD x 2 & 1 2TB Raptor Harddrive. Dell 27" 1440P Monitor. Monsoon Bay res with EK D5, EK fittings

The CPU,Motherboard and GPU are all water cooled

I will be moving all my main parts to the new case along with, 2 new Phoba 560mm Rads & Noctuca fans, plus 2 new Reservoirs & tubing (not sure which one yet see below)
I will be upgrading my GPU once the EVGA 2080ti Hydro copper comes out if performance and fail rate does not carry on.

So my 3 questions are:

1, What is the best fitting to use?

I have been looking at both Monsoon EV2 & EK HDC,

I like the look of the Monsoon, nice clean look and no lines, as well as the double O-ring used, is it true they keep the tubing more secure with less movement (wobble) than other fittings?.

EK fittings, I use EK fittings at the moment for my current soft tubing build. I have never had a leak, drip or problems for over 2 years of taking on and off apart from some marking from use but dont have the clean look of the Monsoon and do they use 1 or 2 o rings to keep the tube still ?

Or another brand all together?

Does size really matter in a case this size ? between 12/13mm and 16mm tube & fittings?

2, What type of Tubing to use?

I am also on the fence on what type of tubing to use,

I like the sound of PETG as its lower melting point and you have more flex in it but worried about pop off and deforming at temps over 60C

Acrylic worries me regarding splits and cracks when cutting, harder to heat up and bend and if I need to move the case about.

At present my water temps are around 35-40 after a long gaming spell.

3, What Reservoirs to use ?

I have 3 in mind, all to be mounted Vertical at the front of the case.
Thermaltake Pacific PR22-D5 Silent (Very similar to the Monsoon but has the internal tube return built in)
Monsoon MMRS 300mm using the Single Port End Cap with Dual Side Ports ( worried about water noise if not kept totally full all the time and having to blank off one port)
EK-XRES 140 Revo D5 RGB PWM with the following upgrades,EK-RES X3 - TUBE 400,
EK-RES X3 - Multiport TOP & Internal Tube 12/16 200mm


So any input would be great Thanks
 
Yea, that's what I use. I find the fittings really good in terms of fit and re-usability.

Here's a project log (see photos in spoiler) with a kind of PETG bending guide included.
https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/itx-custom-loop.18817860/

gpjoOhF.jpg


tht6f03.jpg
 
Ah @String, always makes me happy seeing that build pop up :)

To answer a few questions, soft tubing fittings don't have o-rings as the tubing compresses to make a seal.

Best to keep your tubing and fittings from the same brand. I've only used acrylic and while I found it ok to work with, I have the experience and tools already of working with metal, wood and plastics including acrylic. PETG seems "easier" and I think the only risk is pop-off. I think water temps will only ever reach 60+ if you have a catastrophic pump failure so just mitigate against that with an alarm or an automatic shutdown procedure.

Tubing size is purely aesthetic between 12mm and 16mm, bigger cases suit bigger tubing IMO. Likewise the res is largely an aesthetic choice as its ports will dictate your tubing layout to a degree.

I recommend drawing out your case layout then planning parts, then planning tubing runs. Can't hurt to get a tape measure and sketchbook out :)
 
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I have used both those fitttings, EK are pretty solid but yes the double seal EV2 for hardline makes for a firm fit and straight tube. That said I personally feel the quality of Monsoon products is low, they feel noticeably cheap and the EV2 for example very light in comparison to EKHD.

The tool which comes with the EV2 is also crap, bends very easily when tightening and word of warning the design of the screw down cap is bad as the sharp edges on the bit where said tool goes will cut in to the tubing and scratch it if not utterly perfectly straight.

This is my experience anyway, I’ve recently got a load of the new XSPC fittings in 14mm and they seem good quality.
 
LuckyBenski said:
Ah @String, always makes me happy seeing that build pop up :)

To answer a few questions, soft tubing fittings don't have o-rings as the tubing compresses to make a seal.

Best to keep your tubing and fittings from the same brand. I've only used acrylic and while I found it ok to work with, I have the experience and tools already of working with metal, wood and plastics including acrylic. PETG seems "easier" and I think the only risk is pop-off. I think water temps will only ever reach 60+ if you have a catastrophic pump failure so just mitigate against that with an alarm or an automatic shutdown procedure.

Tubing size is purely aesthetic between 12mm and 16mm, bigger cases suit bigger tubing IMO. Likewise the res is largely an aesthetic choice as its ports will dictate your tubing layout to a degree.

I recommend drawing out your case layout then planning parts, then planning tubing runs. Can't hurt to get a tape measure and sketchbook out :)
Click to expand...


Thank you, I know soft is all about the bard holding down, The more I read the more I think I be using EK fittings and PETG tubing but wanted to get some input before I do.

I am in the process of drawing the run and to see what I like but want to get the res and tubing to totally plan it depending on the res placement and in/out.

I have 2 water temp senors in my current loop and have the Asus hud up on my 2nd screen so I always keep an eye on my temps for board, cpu, GPU and water.

Thanks for your input
 
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Smffy said:
I have used both those fitttings, EK are pretty solid but yes the double seal EV2 for hardline makes for a firm fit and straight tube. That said I personally feel the quality of Monsoon products is low, they feel noticeably cheap and the EV2 for example very light in comparison to EKHD.

The tool which comes with the EV2 is also crap, bends very easily when tightening and word of warning the design of the screw down cap is bad as the sharp edges on the bit where said tool goes will cut in to the tubing and scratch it if not utterly perfectly straight.

This is my experience anyway, I’ve recently got a load of the new XSPC fittings in 14mm and they seem good quality.
Click to expand...

Awesome thank you for the feedback, always hard to gauge the quality and fit from pictures only and as you can only buy them in 6 and 12 no way to buy 1 to see what they are like.

The more I read and see peoples build the more I will be using EK fittings and tubing as this is an area I have some experience in using them for soft tubing.

I keep reading up and looking at forum post before I make a final decision
 
My current build is all EK HDC 12mm fittings, bar 4 awkward places where I've used the push-in HD fittings. Everything is nice and tight, no wobble and the build quality is great. That being said, I won't be using EK Nickel fittings again because they look brown when the light catches the knurling. It's a subtle and purely aesthetic thing and EK's HDCs come in all sorts of colours.
 
LePhuronn said:
My current build is all EK HDC 12mm fittings, bar 4 awkward places where I've used the push-in HD fittings. Everything is nice and tight, no wobble and the build quality is great. That being said, I won't be using EK Nickel fittings again because they look brown when the light catches the knurling. It's a subtle and purely aesthetic thing and EK's HDCs come in all sorts of colours.
Click to expand...
Classic nickel vs chrome. You don't know there's a difference until you see it, then you see it everywhere :p
 
LuckyBenski said:
Classic nickel vs chrome. You don't know there's a difference until you see it, then you see it everywhere :p
Click to expand...

Yup. On wide and flat surfaces like on EK's blocks and backplates it all looks nice and silver. When you look at the knurling on the fittings it looks like nicotine stains :( I didn't actually know until I bought everything, now I won't be using nickel again.
 
LePhuronn said:
My current build is all EK HDC 12mm fittings, bar 4 awkward places where I've used the push-in HD fittings. Everything is nice and tight, no wobble and the build quality is great. That being said, I won't be using EK Nickel fittings again because they look brown when the light catches the knurling. It's a subtle and purely aesthetic thing and EK's HDCs come in all sorts of colours.
Click to expand...

Many thanks I have ordered EK 1000mm long as well as 500 mm to go with the EK fitting. So I have ordered loads extra tubing to get the hang of it and have a play with.

I know it would not matter most of the time but reading all other companies info they all say only they own fittings will work. So as I am looking for a clean look with the tubing I went with the small size if I really dont like it I will change it but I do have a couple of areas where a 16/12 fitting would be very tight on the motherboard. So I have ordered loads extra to play with.

Thanks all for your input here.
 
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