Tubing?

[saab_gobbler]

Hi all! I'm getting the pieces together for my first loop & need some advice on which tubing brand to get. I bought a 3 meter box of alphatube, but then I read about plasticizer & I'm weary about using it in my loop (especially with the mayhems pastel red I'll be using). I've looked around the internet & I've seen a lot of conflicting reports about which tubes react or don't, so does anyone have any personal experience with different tubing brands?

 

Cheers!

[Enderman]

EK ZMT is the absolute best watercooling tubing

but its not transparent and only comes in 3/8" id 5/8" od

[Benji_w]

Hi all! I'm getting the pieces together for my first loop & need some advice on which tubing brand to get. I bought a 3 meter box of alphatube, but then I read about plasticizer & I'm weary about using it in my loop (especially with the mayhems pastel red I'll be using). I've looked around the internet & I've seen a lot of conflicting reports about which tubes react or don't, so does anyone have any personal experience with different tubing brands?

 

Cheers!

 

Acrylic hardline tubing. All pvc tubing will discolour over time. It's also more resistant to being dyed from red coolant/dye notice I said resistant not impervious.

[saab_gobbler]

EK ZMT is the absolute best watercooling tubing

but its not transparent and only comes in 3/8" id 5/8" od

 

Hmm, I am looking for transparent.

 

Acrylic hardline tubing. All pvc tubing will discolour over time. It's also more resistant to being dyed from red coolant/dye notice I said resistant not impervious.

 

I would loooove to do a hardline build, but I don't have the tools or money right now & It definitely wouldn't work with this setup (I'll post a build log once I actually get everything together, you'll see why   )

[Benji_w]

Hmm, I am looking for transparent.

 

 

I would loooove to do a hardline build, but I don't have the tools or money right now & It definitely wouldn't work with this setup (I'll post a build log once I actually get everything together, you'll see why   )

 

Fair enough, I have soft tubing and after all the hassle, wish I would of just gone for acrylic because I'm sick to death of the shit going green. I'm running de-ionized water and anti bacterial crap, the water comes out clear as water should. I was told by people who know a lot more than I do that it's just the nature of soft tubing. 

 

[Tangtawan]

Fair enough, I have soft tubing and after all the hassle, wish I would of just gone for acrylic because I'm sick to death of the shit going green. I'm running de-ionized water and anti bacterial crap, the water comes out clear as water should. I was told by people who know a lot more than I do that it's just the nature of soft tubing. 

 

 

how long did you run your loop before the tubes started to change color?

[OddsCrazyStuff]

I would loooove to do a hardline build, but I don't have the tools or money right now & It definitely wouldn't work with this setup (I'll post a build log once I actually get everything together, you'll see why   )

You only need a cheap heatgun, a pair of gloves that can handle some heat, the silicon insert and a saw.

That is the bare minimum for bending hardline tubing.

Plus hard tubing is about the same price, if not cheaper then soft tubing.

[saab_gobbler]

You only need a cheap heatgun, a pair of gloves that can handle some heat, the silicon insert and a saw.

That is the bare minimum for bending hardline tubing.

Plus hard tubing is about the same price, if not cheaper then soft tubing.

 

For sure! With my current setup though soft tubing is necessary; I'm doing an external rad (bleh, I know lol) & several lines need to be run outside the case & at tricky angles or tight spaces. It's also my first water-cooled build so I'm just getting my feet wet (hopefully not literally lol). For my next build I'll get a proper case & try hard-lining, for now though I need to find some tubes that won't gunk up my blocks 

[Benji_w]

how long did you run your loop before the tubes started to change color?

 

Few months, I tried to scrape it off but it didn't effect anything, the physical tubing is discolouring. It's primochill advanced LRT tubing btw. I had MasterKleer tubing that turned green in a few weeks.

[Benji_w]

For sure! With my current setup though soft tubing is necessary; I'm doing an external rad (bleh, I know lol) & several lines need to be run outside the case & at tricky angles or tight spaces. It's also my first water-cooled build so I'm just getting my feet wet (hopefully not literally lol). For my next build I'll get a proper case & try hard-lining, for now though I need to find some tubes that won't gunk up my blocks 

 

You can cheat, make a pedastal for your case, its still an external rad box, just under your original case. In all honesty it will probably look better too.

[saab_gobbler]

You can cheat, make a pedastal for your case, its still an external rad box, just under your original case. In all honesty it will probably look better too.

 

I've got it planned out to be top mounted, the res/pump (xspc photon 170 w/d5) is going to be mounted right on the front . The way my case is laid out really constrained what I could do, but I just took that as a challenge . I think it'll turn out looking pretty good, but man is it going to be tight lol

[Benji_w]

I've got it planned out to be top mounted, the res/pump (xspc photon 170 w/d5) is going to be mounted right on the front . The way my case is laid out really constrained what I could do, but I just took that as a challenge . I think it'll turn out looking pretty good, but man is it going to be tight lol

 

Got any renders or anything cos I'm really tired and have no idea what you're talking about lol

[saab_gobbler]

Got any renders or anything cos I'm really tired and have no idea what you're talking about lol

Hahaha, no worries   I'll try to get some pictures & do a quick mockup in the next couple of days. Already purchased the first batch of parts so I could measure what needed to be cut/drilled & where & what fittings would be best where.

 

What brand of tubing is yours? Doesn't look like any plasticizer build up, which is what I'm most worried about

[Benji_w]

Hahaha, no worries   I'll try to get some pictures & do a quick mockup in the next couple of days. Already purchased the first batch of parts so I could measure what needed to be cut/drilled & where & what fittings would be best where.

 

What brand of tubing is yours? Doesn't look like any plasticizer build up, which is what I'm most worried about

 

Primochill Advanced LRT, it will change colour on you in a few months time, it was clear when I first fitted it, but it only lasted a few weeks then started showing signs of discolouration.

[saab_gobbler]

Primochill Advanced LRT, it will change colour on you in a few months time, it was clear when I first fitted it, but it only lasted a few weeks then started showing signs of discolouration.

 

Awesome! Just looked into that specific tubing & was able to confirm that it shouldn't react with the mayhems pastel. I'm ok with a bit of dying/discoloration, I was more worried about the whole system getting gunked up with plasticizer because it's apparently really hard to clean out. Looks like I've found my tubes, thanks!  I'll be sure to post a link here when I start the build log with pictures & mock-ups & stuff. Should be a fun build, really looking forward to it!