How difficult to do first custom loop with glass?

[Shai Hulud]

I might be getting too ambitious but how hard would it be to do a custom loop with glass, for a first time water cooler with otherwise high(ish) technical skill? Case Lian Li 011D XL silver. Full specs below.

 

This is my first loop, but I've watched videos on scoring the glass and since you buy it pre bent it doesn't look hard at all, especially if using a distro plate like this front plate by EKWB. The only thing that might not perfectly line up is the bitspower monoblock but I assume I can just use some right angle rotaries to connect the CPU out to VRM in amd then VRM out is about where the CPU out would be on some blocks (vertically at least), and then its a straight shot to the distro plate.

 

Or as a beginner am I going to run into issues I can't even think of yet? I would like to use an opaque fluid or maybe a UV green so glass is attractive for not losing color. And no need to bend it (though bending PETG doesn't look that hard), though I hear its advisable to do PETG first to get the correct lengths to score on the glass?

 

Basic loop plan is 45 to 60mm rad on bottom, 40mm rad on top (distro accommodates up to 60/45 top/bottom), basically just following the port guidelines in EKWB installation manual. So I would need at least 8 right angle glass tubes, couple straight ones, lots of regular compression fittings and at least 2 right angle fittings. 

 

OR use straight tubes and tons of right angle fittings. Probably the former.

 

Not sure what size tube to get. I was previously torn between 10/14 petg and 12/16, I think I like the larger look but I'm not sure if the larger fitting circumference makes it more difficult to use the distro plates ports as some of the GPU inlet/outlets look pretty close together.

 

It's the OD that matters for fittings, right? So like 12/16 petg and 11/16 glass would work with same fittings yes?

 

Am I overlooking anything? Should I stick to PETG? Pluses / minuses of glass? General advice?

 

https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-quantum-reflection-pc-o11d-xl-d5-pwm-d-rgb-plexi

 

 

 

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[Skiiwee29]

Glass is probably the hardest of the materials to work with for a custom loop. I would recommend against it personally. 

[Cyracus]

difficulty, 9/10

[KnightSirius]

I don't think you're being overambitious. With the proper research, planning, and careful attention; I don't see any reason you can't do it.
It is certainly one the most difficult materials as was mentioned already but if you want to put the time in it can be done.

It's not like when you go to do it you only have one chance and if you screw it up everything explodes, maybe you'll ruin the glass you ordered and you need to reorder more and try again. Worst case you can just switch to PETG at any time as the parts you'll be using should work for both as long as they sizing is the same. As long as you follow the rules of leak testing your hardware itself should never be in danger.

As for the benefits, glass is great, it's (as far as I understand) very similar in strength to PETG, glycol based fluids won't damage it, and it's scratch resistant. It also looks the best due to it's clarity, which won't degrade over time unless you have build up.

I say if you have the time and want a project to work on why not try it.
 

[Bombastinator]

6 minutes ago, KnightSirius said:

I don't think you're being overambitious. With the proper research, planning, and careful attention; I don't see any reason you can't do it.
It is certainly one the most difficult materials as was mentioned already but if you want to put the time in it can be done.

It's not like when you go to do it you only have one chance and if you screw it up everything explodes, maybe you'll ruin the glass you ordered and you need to reorder more and try again. Worst case you can just switch to PETG at any time as the parts you'll be using should work for both as long as they sizing is the same. As long as you follow the rules of leak testing your hardware itself should never be in danger.

As for the benefits, glass is great, it's (as far as I understand) very similar in strength to PETG, glycol based fluids won't damage it, and it's scratch resistant. It also looks the best due to it's clarity, which won't degrade over time unless you have build up.

I say if you have the time and want a project to work on why not try it.
 

Not everything explodes.  Just the piece you dropped.  It’s not specifically more difficult than plastic, it’s just a ton less forgiving of even the tiniest error.  My experience with glass pipe isn’t computers it’s acid resistant drains. 

 The issues with glass are that the cuts on it must be absolutely square because there’s no filing or shaping later, the runs must be absolutely dead on because a half a mm off and you’re hosed. You can’t “just push it a little bit”.  It’s not “this will be more annoying” it’s “just no.”  I would say copper is easier than glass, because while it’s a pain to shape it can still be shaped, and if you drop something it doesn’t break. I did see a prebuilt with special movable connectors that interested me a lot because it would put some error tolerance into glass it sorely needs.  The old old school way to deal with glass is to use packing for joints because you can absorb a little error with packing. Stuff was linseed oil and stone dust. Gets hard but it takes 8 years to do it. 

[B4Quattro]

Hi, if you have a local glass manufacturer in your area, you might get the tubes really cheap, even angled ones. I would recommend using petg first as a template and then cut the glass. I used the same tool as jayztwocents did, but without the drill. You can do some small adjustments with a diamond cutting wheel if needed, just be careful with the glass dust.

Imho glass looks the best and you don't get problems with any coolant you would normally use in a pc.

[KnightSirius]

1 hour ago, Bombastinator said:

 The issues with glass are that the cuts on it must be absolutely square because there’s no filing or shaping later, the runs must be absolutely dead on because a half a mm off and you’re hosed. You can’t “just push it a little bit”.

Yep exactly, the reason it's so difficult is because you have to score and snap the pieces. Meaning you need length to snap them off so you need the measurements perfect for the first cut cause you can't snap off a tiny piece or file it down because it's will just chip and ruin the look and function of the glass.

If I recall the recommended method is to do your runs in PETG first make sure it's a perfect length and fit and then do the final cut on the glass. This should work in theory anyways assuming you transfer the measurements perfectly.

[bowrilla]

It takes more precision to work with it, more money because you need more fittings (usually) and more tubing, if you want to debur (you should) then you need a) a lot of heat and/or b) wet sanding. The dust from glass is dangerous so use a breathing protection and only wet sand (ideall even under water). USE EYE PROTECTION! Forget doing your own bends - that takes a lot more skill than anything you could just learn in a few days or weeks.

 

The benefits of borosilicate glass is the better clarity and chemical resistibility - and the bragging rights. Thing is though: most people will not be able to tell the difference between PETG or acryllic and they won't see the difference in comparison to borosilicate glass unless maybe all 3 materials are right next to each other. 

 

I tought about it but found that acryllic is good enough for me for a lot less hassle and money.

[Shai Hulud]

13 hours ago, KnightSirius said:

Yep exactly, the reason it's so difficult is because you have to score and snap the pieces. Meaning you need length to snap them off so you need the measurements perfect for the first cut cause you can't snap off a tiny piece or file it down because it's will just chip and ruin the look and function of the glass.

If I recall the recommended method is to do your runs in PETG first make sure it's a perfect length and fit and then do the final cut on the glass. This should work in theory anyways assuming you transfer the measurements perfectly.

Can you not file down the length (slightly) putting the glass in a drill and spinning it against a file? Jayztwocents made it look pretty easy anyway. I also have a dremel and diamond cutting wheel which is how bit tech does it. I dont have a blowtorch but if I needed one they're pretty cheap.

 

I understand actually working with glass like bending it is extremely difficult but if I buy 90 degree pieces and use a front distro plate I shouldn't need any bends, just scoring / breaking it and filing the ends smooth, right? 

[Shai Hulud]

Also I saw this other video from jayztwocents

 

 He ditches glass because the primochill 13mm PETG fits but the 13mm glass does not.

 

But...I *think* this is just because Primochill 13mm tubing is not actually 13mm, it is 3/8" x 5/8" for an OD of 12.7mm, not 13mm, hence the Primochill 3/8x5/8 fits but the 13mm glass does not.

 

If I bought exactly 16mm (or 13mm or w/e exactly matches the fittings) I would not run into this issue...I would think?

[Bombastinator]

24 minutes ago, Shai Hulud said:

Also I saw this other video from jayztwocents

 

 He ditches glass because the primochill 13mm PETG fits but the 13mm glass does not.

 

But...I *think* this is just because Primochill 13mm tubing is not actually 13mm, it is 3/8" x 5/8" for an OD of 12.7mm, not 13mm, hence the Primochill 3/8x5/8 fits but the 13mm glass does not.

 

If I bought exactly 16mm (or 13mm or w/e exactly matches the fittings) I would not run into this issue...I would think?

This is a major issue with all fittings these days.  A lot of us equipment got sent to China that was “English” measurements. The money used to be in English units but isn’t anymore, so rather than actually do new tooling a lot of companies are saying “well it’s close.  Let’s just call it that”. The result is a lot of stuff listed as metric isnt.  This is a reverse of a few years ago when a lot of stuff listed as English was actually metric.  It has become almost random.  You’ve got to micrometer just about everything.  The problem is that it IS really really close.  Too close to see or for a sloppy measurement. Just not close enough.  I’m getting the impression that this thing is going to be made in glass anyway, since the number of people telling you not to do it in glass is pretty much 100% but you’re still talking about it. 

Edited November 2, 2020 by Bombastinator

[Shai Hulud]

18 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

This is a major issue with all fittings these days.  A lot of us equipment got sent to China that was “English” measurements. The money used to be in English units but isn’t anymore, so rather than actually do new tooling a lot of companies are saying “well it’s close.  Let’s just call it that”. The result is a lot of stuff listed as metric isnt.  This is a reverse of a few years ago when a lot of stuff listed as English was actually metric.  It has become almost random.  You’ve got to micrometer just about everything.  The problem is that it IS really really close.  Too close to see or for a sloppy measurement. Just not close enough.  I’m getting the impression that this thing is going to be made in glass anyway, since the number of people telling you not to do it in glass is pretty much 100% but you’re still talking about it. 

Haha no I am just thinking about it and I appreciate the warnings I'm just trying to check if there's ways around these hurdles. Believe me I'm not dismissing anything but I appreciate specific reasons not to use glass vs "it's really hard".

 

I get a little overambitious planning things sometimes I just want all the information, but I'd guess there's still > 70% chance I use PETG (or maybe acrylic).

 

Actually the best idea is probably to do PETG and run that a while and if all goes well and I'm able to just do right angle bends, maybe replace with glass in the future (if I'm unhappy with the PETG).

 

The only reason I'm turned off PETG is I'm afraid coolant will leach plastics and it will look crappy, which let's face it looks are the whole point of this or I'd just do soft tubing and no distro plate. Maybe that can be avoided with some coolants, I don't know much about it and the claims from manufacturers are so varied.

 

For the record though I was planning to buy Barrow fittings, are you saying Barrow (a Chinese company) uses imperial measurements and rounds to metric? And if I do glass I'll buy from an actual glass manufacturer not a watercooling company so I'd hope their measurements would be correct...

[KnightSirius]

1 hour ago, Shai Hulud said:

Can you not file down the length (slightly) putting the glass in a drill and spinning it against a file? Jayztwocents made it look pretty easy anyway. I also have a dremel and diamond cutting wheel which is how bit tech does it. I dont have a blowtorch but if I needed one they're pretty cheap.

 

I understand actually working with glass like bending it is extremely difficult but if I buy 90 degree pieces and use a front distro plate I shouldn't need any bends, just scoring / breaking it and filing the ends smooth, right? 

Take everything I say with a grain of salt, I'm not an expert and haven't done any of this myself. It's also been years since I watched Jay do glass haha, I expect if he was filing down it was just to clean up the ends after the break. If you're trying to take off more than say 5mm of material I'd reckon you're going to be far more likely to chip the glass, could be wrong though maybe wet sanding and other methods don't carry much risk of that happening.

Also yes precisely, bending glass is very difficult. However, just doing straight runs with fitting to make the turns is much easier, you just score, snap and smooth the ends and as long as your measurements are correct you're golden.

[bowrilla]

1 hour ago, Shai Hulud said:

Can you not file down the length (slightly) putting the glass in a drill and spinning it against a file? Jayztwocents made it look pretty easy anyway. I also have a dremel and diamond cutting wheel which is how bit tech does it. I dont have a blowtorch but if I needed one they're pretty cheap.

 

I understand actually working with glass like bending it is extremely difficult but if I buy 90 degree pieces and use a front distro plate I shouldn't need any bends, just scoring / breaking it and filing the ends smooth, right? 

That dust is dangerous. Wear a mask and wet sand it! Just google Silicosis to know that you should definitely avoid that dust.

 

And that's only a real option for like a few mm. With glass you just need to be precise. 

 

Personally I'd say it's not worth the extra hassle.

[Shai Hulud]

4 minutes ago, bowrilla said:

That dust is dangerous. Wear a mask and wet sand it! Just google Silicosis to know that you should definitely avoid that dust.

 

And that's only a real option for like a few mm. With glass you just need to be precise. 

 

Personally I'd say it's not worth the extra hassle.

Would doing this in the garage wearing safety goggles and N95 mask be sufficient or

 

A) do you need like an active full face respirator

 

B) is there persistent danger from glass dust in garage? If so I'd think just clean it up with a shop vacuum? 

 

I'm definitely leaning towards "not worth the extra hassle" now. Though I'm pretty sure I could do it, nothing described so far seems beyond my skill, but probably better to err on side of caution for the moment.

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, Shai Hulud said:

Haha no I am just thinking about it and I appreciate the warnings I'm just trying to check if there's ways around these hurdles. Believe me I'm not dismissing anything but I appreciate specific reasons not to use glass vs "it's really hard".

 

I get a little overambitious planning things sometimes I just want all the information, but I'd guess there's still > 70% chance I use PETG (or maybe acrylic).

 

Actually the best idea is probably to do PETG and run that a while and if all goes well and I'm able to just do right angle bends, maybe replace with glass in the future (if I'm unhappy with the PETG).

 

The only reason I'm turned off PETG is I'm afraid coolant will leach plastics and it will look crappy, which let's face it looks are the whole point of this or I'd just do soft tubing and no distro plate. Maybe that can be avoided with some coolants, I don't know much about it and the claims from manufacturers are so varied.

 

For the record though I was planning to buy Barrow fittings, are you saying Barrow (a Chinese company) uses imperial measurements and rounds to metric? And if I do glass I'll buy from an actual glass manufacturer not a watercooling company so I'd hope their measurements would be correct...

I dunno what they do.  I also dunno where they get their stuff.  To make it more fun there’s all kinds of counterfeiting so if the company has a good rep because they have good stuff someone els may counterfeit them.  Gotta have a micrometer.

[bowrilla]

47 minutes ago, Shai Hulud said:

Would doing this in the garage wearing safety goggles and N95 mask be sufficient or

 

A) do you need like an active full face respirator

 

B) is there persistent danger from glass dust in garage? If so I'd think just clean it up with a shop vacuum? 

 

I'm definitely leaning towards "not worth the extra hassle" now. Though I'm pretty sure I could do it, nothing described so far seems beyond my skill, but probably better to err on side of caution for the moment.

You don't need a full face mask but you need to protect your eyes from both dust and potential shards (especially if you start grinding it with machines as there could be shards flying around). You need to make sure, that the dust won't get into your lungs. An N95 mask is probably enough (not an expert on this) but better safe than sorry (for yourself). You should get rid of the dust afterwards as well. Ideally you would wet sand it, that way the dust will be minimized. You could try sanding it under water as well (so very wet sanding). But with these kind of sand papers you will not sand away much at a time. It will take a while to remove several mm of material. I would avoid sanding alltogether

 

The benefits from borosilicate glass tubing are:

1. clearest possible material
2. great chemical resistivity
3. bragging rights

Are you sure you can really spot the difference? I'm pretty sure you won't be. With acrylic you still get good clarity and good chemical resistivity with common premixes and concentrates - it's a lot easier though. You will loose the additional bragging rights though. 

 

See also der8auer's series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmLmsz7pbAc and also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYLe_D4EJ-8

 

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, Shai Hulud said:

Haha no I am just thinking about it and I appreciate the warnings I'm just trying to check if there's ways around these hurdles. Believe me I'm not dismissing anything but I appreciate specific reasons not to use glass vs "it's really hard".

 

I get a little overambitious planning things sometimes I just want all the information, but I'd guess there's still > 70% chance I use PETG (or maybe acrylic).

 

Actually the best idea is probably to do PETG and run that a while and if all goes well and I'm able to just do right angle bends, maybe replace with glass in the future (if I'm unhappy with the PETG).

 

The only reason I'm turned off PETG is I'm afraid coolant will leach plastics and it will look crappy, which let's face it looks are the whole point of this or I'd just do soft tubing and no distro plate. Maybe that can be avoided with some coolants, I don't know much about it and the claims from manufacturers are so varied.

 

For the record though I was planning to buy Barrow fittings, are you saying Barrow (a Chinese company) uses imperial measurements and rounds to metric? And if I do glass I'll buy from an actual glass manufacturer not a watercooling company so I'd hope their measurements would be correct...

The issue with glass is not all glass bends, or can even be heated.  There’s a particular type that can.  Used to be the only kind Pyrex sold but not for many years.  It’s a type of glass that’s actually pretty old.  The deal is it doesn’t expand when it heats so you can heat it.  Most glass will just break if it gets heated at all unevenly.  Kinda weird since the stuff is red hot when it is cast.  You can heat it in an oven because the heat is even.  Stuff has to get really really hot to bend though.  The easy way is a special tip for an oxy/acetylene torch that has a bunch of holes pointing in.   I’ve seen a few people do it with a rosebud or even a straight tip at fairs and stuff. They’re generally making art glass though.  Also none of em were young.  I suspect it’s harder than it looks.  You need laboratory glass bending.  Used to be a very highly paid specialized field. 

[Bombastinator]

15 minutes ago, bowrilla said:

You don't need a full face mask but you need to protect your eyes from both dust and potential shards (especially if you start grinding it with machines as there could be shards flying around). You need to make sure, that the dust won't get into your lungs. An N95 mask is probably enough (not an expert on this) but better safe than sorry (for yourself). You should get rid of the dust afterwards as well. Ideally you would wet sand it, that way the dust will be minimized. You could try sanding it under water as well (so very wet sanding). But with these kind of sand papers you will not sand away much at a time. It will take a while to remove several mm of material. I would avoid sanding alltogether

 

The benefits from borosilicate glass tubing are:

1. clearest possible material
2. great chemical resistivity
3. bragging rights

Are you sure you can really spot the difference? I'm pretty sure you won't be. With acrylic you still get good clarity and good chemical resistivity with common premixes and concentrates - it's a lot easier though. You will loose the additional bragging rights though. 

 

See also der8auer's series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmLmsz7pbAc and also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYLe_D4EJ-8

 

I can speak to the mask bit.  Anything rated for asbestos will work guaranteed.  You might be able to get away with a standard fine dust rating.  The code color in construction for asbestos cartridges used to be hot pink but someone learned that hot pink mask cartridges sold for more so they started making crap hot pink ones.  so you also have to look for the niosh rating. Should be printed on it.

[Shai Hulud]

1 hour ago, bowrilla said:

You don't need a full face mask but you need to protect your eyes from both dust and potential shards (especially if you start grinding it with machines as there could be shards flying around). You need to make sure, that the dust won't get into your lungs. An N95 mask is probably enough (not an expert on this) but better safe than sorry (for yourself). You should get rid of the dust afterwards as well. Ideally you would wet sand it, that way the dust will be minimized. You could try sanding it under water as well (so very wet sanding). But with these kind of sand papers you will not sand away much at a time. It will take a while to remove several mm of material. I would avoid sanding alltogether

 

The benefits from borosilicate glass tubing are:

1. clearest possible material
2. great chemical resistivity
3. bragging rights

Are you sure you can really spot the difference? I'm pretty sure you won't be. With acrylic you still get good clarity and good chemical resistivity with common premixes and concentrates - it's a lot easier though. You will loose the additional bragging rights though. 

 

See also der8auer's series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmLmsz7pbAc and also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYLe_D4EJ-8

 

I don't care about bragging rights, but one of the glass tubing videos I watched the guy (who uses no facial protection, maybe not best source) compares his acrylic tube to the glass and it looks very, very noticeable. Granted he'd been running that tubing 5 years.

 

The main thing that attracts me about glass (aside from the optical clarity) is once installed it should last basically forever...I think?

 

 

[bowrilla]

8 hours ago, Shai Hulud said:

I don't care about bragging rights, but one of the glass tubing videos I watched the guy (who uses no facial protection, maybe not best source) compares his acrylic tube to the glass and it looks very, very noticeable. Granted he'd been running that tubing 5 years.

 

The main thing that attracts me about glass (aside from the optical clarity) is once installed it should last basically forever...I think?

 

 

He was showing 5 year old acryllic tubing with many scratches. Yes, you will probably have to replace the acryllic tubing before you'd need to change anything on a glass tubing rig but ... how long do you have your rig untouched with no components changed? 5 years is usually when enthusiasts change out stuff that latest. If you don't run coloured or even opaque fluids and your radiators are prepped thoroughly there won't be much discolouration of your tubing as long as you service your loop regularly (as in at least once a year). 

 

Der8auer spent ~400€ just on glass tubing so ... go ahead but be aware of the extra costs. 

[Shai Hulud]

23 minutes ago, bowrilla said:

He was showing 5 year old acryllic tubing with many scratches. Yes, you will probably have to replace the acryllic tubing before you'd need to change anything on a glass tubing rig but ... how long do you have your rig untouched with no components changed? 5 years is usually when enthusiasts change out stuff that latest. If you don't run coloured or even opaque fluids and your radiators are prepped thoroughly there won't be much discolouration of your tubing as long as you service your loop regularly (as in at least once a year). 

 

Der8auer spent ~400€ just on glass tubing so ... go ahead but be aware of the extra costs. 

Why so expensive? Would something like this not work? Chinese generic glass < 1 dollar per meter. Pyrex about 2 dollars a meter. Haven't found cheap angled glass yet...

 

https://www.mountainglass.com/Import-Heavy-Wall-16mm-x-2-5mm-56

 

 

[bowrilla]

4 minutes ago, Shai Hulud said:

Why so expensive? Would something like this not work? Chinese generic glass < 1 dollar per meter. Pyrex about 2 dollars a meter. Haven't found cheap angled glass yet...

 

https://www.mountainglass.com/Import-Heavy-Wall-16mm-x-2-5mm-56

 

 

Don't know. The lab grade glass is borosilicate glass. It's the scratch and chemical resistant stuff. That stuff is expensive. Alphacool and Mayhems have that stuff and they have prebend tubes as well. With this noname brand stuff from China you have no idea wether it is manufactured to metric or imperial dimensions (not all 12/14/16mm tubes are made the same) and wether it will fit your fittings (because they can be either metric or imperial - there are rounding errors involved and with hard tubing this makes a difference). 

 

Once you add coolant (maybe even a coloured one) and close your case with a TG side panel (maybe even a tinted one?) you will not be able to tell the difference unless your get very close. Yes, you might need to replace some tubing every other year but it will be less hassle, less complications, less health risk, less costs for like 90% of the perfect result.

[Shai Hulud]

1 hour ago, bowrilla said:

Don't know. The lab grade glass is borosilicate glass. It's the scratch and chemical resistant stuff. That stuff is expensive. Alphacool and Mayhems have that stuff and they have prebend tubes as well. With this noname brand stuff from China you have no idea wether it is manufactured to metric or imperial dimensions (not all 12/14/16mm tubes are made the same) and wether it will fit your fittings (because they can be either metric or imperial - there are rounding errors involved and with hard tubing this makes a difference). 

 

Once you add coolant (maybe even a coloured one) and close your case with a TG side panel (maybe even a tinted one?) you will not be able to tell the difference unless your get very close. Yes, you might need to replace some tubing every other year but it will be less hassle, less complications, less health risk, less costs for like 90% of the perfect result.

It's all borosilicate glass. Idk how accurate the specifications are but I'd guess probably just as good or better than mayhems / alphacool / etc..? I assume it's just super marked up because enthusiasts pay way more than things are worth especially in niche markets.

 

I'm pretty convinced against glass though. Can't find inexpensive right angle pieces, don't want to use a zillion fittings, just seems not worth it for now

 

Would you recommend acrylic or PETG? Is optical clarity significantly better with acrylic? Worth the extra bending difficulty? Though...prebent acrylic is actually pretty cheap and readily available

[bowrilla]

5 minutes ago, Shai Hulud said:

It's all borosilicate glass. Idk how accurate the specifications are but I'd guess probably just as good or better than mayhems / alphacool / etc..? I assume it's just super marked up because enthusiasts pay way more than things are worth especially in niche markets.

 

I'm pretty convinced against glass though. Can't find inexpensive right angle pieces, don't want to use a zillion fittings, just seems not worth it for now

 

Would you recommend acrylic or PETG? Is optical clarity significantly better with acrylic? Worth the extra bending difficulty? Though...prebent acrylic is actually pretty cheap and readily available

No idea with the other borosilicate glass offerings. I did a quick research and the regular lab equipment shops are definitely not (significantly) cheaper than the watercooling stuff.

 

The bending is not the complicated part (well, higher temps and a bit of a smaller temperature windows), it's harder to cut it. That's the main thing with acryllic. You can use some cheapo pipe cutter with PETG. I'd go with acryllic for the better chemical compatibility with basically all coolants available. But with biocides or clear coollants PETG should not be a big problem. Once you'd close the side panel you won't see much of a difference imho.

 

Same issue with metric vs imperial applies to acryllic and PETG though. It needs to fit your fittings. If it doesn't it may leak.