advice/tips for installing tubing

[abe_1990]

hey guys, Ive got my watercooling parts and Im currently running them (not attached to my computer) to check for leaks/faulty parts.

One problem I struggled with was inserting the tubing over the barbs. Ive got 3/8in. ID X 5/8in. OD tubes, over 1/2in barbs. I used the method of heating the tubes up in hot water; it helped a bit, but I still struggled a lot.

Is there an easier way? Would it be safe to put the tubes in boiling water?

Also, which method of installing would you guys suggest?

1. attach all the water blocks (cpu + mobo) to the motherboard first, THEN attach the tubes? The difficulty I see with this, is I would probably get some drops of water onto the motherboard when I am heating the tubes up.

2. Attach all the tubing to all the water blocks first, then attach the water blocks to the motherboard. The problem with this way, is getting the correct length of tubing and also might be harder to mount the water blocks to the motherboard with tubings attached.

This is my first time water cooling, and Im not too sure which is the best way to go about things. Im hoping you guys with YEARS of experience can share some tips/advice.

abe

[tet5uo]

Usually I just mount it while stuff's on the board... but leak test with only power to your pump, to ensure any leaks are more an inconvenience than a catastophy.
Boiling water is the only way that I'd use for 3/8 over 1/2 inch, that's pretty darned tight, lol.

Just shake the end off good , the small drops go away quick when the tubing is so warm. If you boil the tip nicely it gets on alot easier... specially with the tight fit you're attempting.

I just keep a little electric kettle near and stick the tube into the boilin water that way, but it's usually only needed with undersized tubing or wierd fittings.. or those damned plastic 1/2 inch barbs on the mcp655's :P

[abe_1990]

Thanks, do you remember how to power the pump from the PSU while everything else is unplugged? I remember reading somewhere, you use a wire/paper clip and stick it in the 24pin plug?

Yeh I went with an undersized tubing because I really like the clean look. However, next time, Im definitely sticking with either compression barbs, or just using hose clamps. :ROTF:

[rehpyc]

you definitely need boiling water

paper clip in a green and black wire slot of the psu

[abe_1990]

just confirming...would it work with any of the black wire? dont want to blow up my PSU.

[hillywav]

yep, i do that with paper clip

[jigglylizard]

Green + black

black is ground

[Drumfunk]

Green + black

black is ground

or gray.

[aberchonbie]

would seem self explanatory but wanted to note that the on/off switch at the back of the psu will control whether you have power going to the pump or not after you've bridged the green/black wires.

to power ur pump without turning on ur comp:
1. disconnect all power cables going to any components (ie. people forgetting to take out the 8-pin cpu motherboard/cpu connector) (fans, pump, hd, optical drive are okay for the most part. i personally wouldnt risk gpu's, motherboard, cpu)
2. disconnect power cord going to psu
3. turn switch on psu to "off"
4. connect pump to molex connector
5. bridge the green/black wire
6. plug in power cord going to psu
7. turn switch on psu to "on"
to turn the psu on/off when it's bridged, toggle the on/off switch. use this method to fill up your loop/leak test

[jinsean]

since you already have your parts, you might want to consider my advice for your next build or tuneup of the system.

But here's my advice:

You could consider using an external power brick. I bought one for ~$10 @ jabtech and it's so useful and easy to use. You just plug it in to a normal outlet and it has a 4 pin molex connection for you to plug in fans and pumps and such.

I originally had a 7/16" ID tubing over 1/2" barbs setup. It was such a pain and hassle to deal w/ getting the tubing on & off that I eventually went w/ the path of least resistance and settled on 3/8" ID tubing over 3/8" barbs. This transition was over the course of 2 or 3 years. I realized I wanted to make maintenance of the system as easy as possible.

Just something to consider.

Good luck.

------- addendum --------------

I always installed the waterblocks onto the motherboard/video card, then I roughly estimated how much tubing I'd need for each connection point by lining up the tubing and cutting the appropriate length. Then w/ the tubing already cut to the length desired, heated the end of the tubing in boiling water and placed the tubing onto the WBs.

But like I mentioned above, this approach was such a pain to deal w/ after doing maintenance on my loop each year that it was one of the reasons, I switched everything out to 3/8" barbs and tubing. The other reason was tighter bend radius w/o kinking.

[rehpyc]

7/16" tubing over 1/2" barbs is rather simple to put on with use of hot water :shrug:

[halo112358]

Some PSUs won't power on without sufficient load - when I built my current loop I used a spare PSU for leak testing and couldn't get it started with just the pump. If that happens try plugging in an old hard-drive too, that should be enough load to get the PSU to start.

[tet5uo]

Some PSUs won't power on without sufficient load - when I built my current loop I used a spare PSU for leak testing and couldn't get it started with just the pump. If that happens try plugging in an old hard-drive too, that should be enough load to get the PSU to start.

Yeah they like some 5v load usually to start.

[abe_1990]

Thanks for the advice guys, hopefully I can install all the blocks onto the motherboard tonight/ tomorrow. Cant wait to get my comp running with watercooling; then I can have some fun with overclocking and benching.

Although...its gonna be fun struggling with the tubing. How long do you guys recommend submerging the tubing into boiling water? 10-20seconds? would leaving it for a longer period of time (45seconds - 1minute) make the tubing softer/easier to put on? Or would it somehow deform/ruin the tubes?

Thanks for the tip about about the PSU!

[rehpyc]

I only had to leave it in the pan for 10s~ and then quickly pushed it on. The easiest is to grip one half-circled edge of the barb with the tubing at an angle, holding your fingers 1.5"~ from the end of the tube, and then push towards the barb with a little wiggling and slight squeezing of the tubing. After the second one.. it didn't seem all that difficult.

[abe_1990]

thanks for that tip rehpyc, ill try that method.

I am a bit paranoid...but if i accidentally spill some water on my motherboard/graphics card, it will be fine as long as its all unplugged right? As long as the all the water is cleaned up/evaporated before i power it up, it will be fine?

cheers

[tet5uo]

Yes. I had this problem just this week. I am building a new system and an SLI fitting leaked all over.

mother board and video card soaked. Just make sure like I did that nothing was plugged in, then it goes from nightmare to inconvenience. Just wait a couple days to be sure everything is dty and nothing would be damaged. (use distilled water, it will leave no residue when evaporating)

[Martinm210]

I never tried the boiling water method, I just always use the pliers stretch method. I wrote this up quickly, should explain it well enough. With this...I can get 3/8" ID tubing on 5/8" barbs or 7/16" ID tubing on 3/4" barbs.

Hope this helps..:up:

[MagisD]

Huh same technique used in sleeveing. I have long tubeing runs planned so I still wouldn't have the balls for that.

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[jinsean]

7/16" tubing over 1/2" barbs is rather simple to put on with use of hot water :shrug:

Right, but getting them off is PITA :)

[jayhall0315]

Martin, no disrespect, but I would not use that method, and the reason is that the pliers permanently stretch the plastic (you are actually breaking carbon's covalent bonding), and it will not 'reshape' to fit very snug, often. With boiling distilled water, you are temporarily breaking some of the covalent hydrogen bonds in the plastic hydrocarbon structure of the plastic tubing. Once the tubing cools to ambient, it will 'tighten' to fit on the barb snugly.

Abe - if you want the easiest method, use porous tubing (like Clearflex) and go with say 1/2 inch ID over 1/2 barbs, with plastic clamps. The next, more tight method is to go with 7/16 ID tubing over 1/2 barbs. Never go with 3/8 ID tubing over a 1/2 barb. Way too hard to get on and off (with pliers or boiling water).

[Martinm210]

Martin, no disrespect, but I would not use that method, and the reason is that the pliers permanently stretch the plastic (you are actually breaking carbon's covalent bonding), and it will not 'reshape' to fit very snug, often. With boiling distilled water, you are temporarily breaking some of the covalent hydrogen bonds in the plastic hydrocarbon structure of the plastic tubing. Once the tubing cools to ambient, it will 'tighten' to fit on the barb snugly.

Abe - if you want the easiest method, use porous tubing (like Clearflex) and go with say 1/2 inch ID over 1/2 barbs, with plastic clamps. The next, more tight method is to go with 7/16 ID tubing over 1/2 barbs. Never go with 3/8 ID tubing over a 1/2 barb. Way too hard to get on and off (with pliers or boiling water).

Not in my experience.

I've used it for years and never had any trouble if you're careful. You don't want to over do it or use pliers that are too sharp, but it works really well. I'm sure it does permanently stretch the tubing, but so does any sort of stretching, and I've really had no problems. I'd rather do damage to my tubing than damage your motherboard traces fighting the tubing on a block.

Sure the method may be a bit gruff, but I think with some practice and care (slightly rounded tips to prevent scarring) it works just fine. My example was a bit extreme with the 3/8 on to a 5/8" barb, but it was just to show you that it's possible.

The only time I've ever had leaks is when using 1/2"ID tubing on 1/2" barbs. Now I refuse to use 1/2" ID tubing unless it has a worm drive clamp.

I also would never use 3/8" barbs for 3/8" tubing...I use 1/2" regardless. I've even gone 1/2" barbs with 3/8" ID tubing and ran without clamps for two years (Chipsets below). I stretched it just like this...works great! To top it off, you also get the benefit of lower fitting restriction, so why not just use 1/2".

http://www.martin.skinneelabs.com/img/Worklog12.jpg
I think there is a HUGE benefit to purposely mismatching the tubing/barb ID and stretch the tubing onto a larger barb. But that's just from my own personal experiences....I almost burned my house down using 1/2" tubing on 1/2" barbs using compression fittings!..:eek:

Yeah, it is a pain to get the tubing off...but I LIKE THAT..:)

I could care less about breaking a few carbon covalent bonds if it means saving my PC from water damage...or worse!..:D

[abe_1990]

thanks for the pliers trick martin! Ill definitely keep that in mind when trying to put them on.

However, I'm reconsidering using 3/8" tubing - it was just a real challenge getting them on, and definitely cant get them off without cutting the tubing. Although, I would say it would be the SAFEST method...definitely no chance of any leaks.

Im thinking of maybe going with 7/16" tubing. Are they easier to put on? And would I need to cut the tube to take them off? Although with 7/16" over 1/2" barbs, I would probably use plastic clamps to be safe.

What about 1/2" tubing over 1/2" barbs? Would using plastic clamps be enough, or would I need something like those steel worm drives?

[Captain_Harlock]

Getting 1/2" off 1/2" isnt hard at all, you just need to work it a bit. Getting 7/16 off 1/2" barbs gets a bit harder. In either case, I would not recommend reusing that end of the tube again. I always try to give an extra once to two inches in my tubes so that I can clip off the end after I rebuild a loop. I've never felt the original end will seal well enough once its been pulled off. But I used to use fatboy barbs. Some barbes are longer than others and that can make it much more difficult to remove the tube with the end intact. Also, you dont have to use clamps. You can use zip ties if you want. Just make sure that the pressure is even and not enough to cause the outer barb lip to cut into the tubing.

[SoulsCollective]

Vaseline is an invaluable aid in resolving all your "tight fit" problems ;)

[Church]

Using lubricant to ease putting on tubing? It won't result in something like "what easily is put on/easily comes off"? Though of course nothing worm clamps can't fix/keep in place :)

[slaveondope]

Put together my first true loop a few days ago and I cant imagine fitting 3/8 on 1/2 barbs. I used 7/16 on 1/2 and that was plenty fun. My hats off Martin:up:

Should one still be concerned about 7/16 coming off of 1/2 barb without clamps?

As snug as it was to get on Id hope not.

[Church]

Clamps never hurt. Even though chance of tubing comming off barb with smaller ID tubing on bigger barbs is less, it's there nevertheless.

[Jlebesis]

Hi guys,

Just thought I'd say hi on this forum..I'm a newbie to this site. I also installed my first full watercool system the other week. I have a Gigabyte EX-58 Extreme mobo, i7 950 @ 4.5Ghz Stable... and brought a Swiftech H20-220 watercool system..Except with all in one XSPC pump and reservoir that sits in the drive bays...very tidy! :)

My query is...What about a situation where the tubing needs to go to a smaller barb? Many of you will already be familiar with my board, I really wanted to watercool the already set-up north bridge, but the barbs are small. Approx 3/8ths (Im not very good with sizes yet! ) But the main hosing for the system is approximately 1/4 inch. My only other option is to refit the whole thing with smaller hosing, so that would accomodate the North Bridge, but that defeats the benefit of thicker hosing/higher flow, which I think is a great idea.

If anyone has found a way around this, I would greatly appreciate your feedback! :) I'm really happy with how I set up my first kit, and it looks awesome, but I'm the first to acknowledge I'm still somewhat of a noob to it! lol

Looking forward to hearing from you guys, Thanks heaps!

John

[Church]

Bigger internal diameter tubing then smaller barb? I'd never trust such connection to be safe and leakproof. Most waterblocks/rads and other LC components have standart G1/4 thread, and barbs are cheaper then compression fittings. Where is problem with buying right size fittings?

[Metroid]

Just be careful with 1/4" BSPP fittings as some of them have smaller black pressure rings and those are crap. Always use clamps and if necessary put loop stoppers just in case you would need to install another waterblock easily. Good luck.

[Jlebesis]

Bigger internal diameter tubing then smaller barb? I'd never trust such connection to be safe and leakproof. Most waterblocks/rads and other LC components have standart G1/4 thread, and barbs are cheaper then compression fittings. Where is problem with buying right size fittings?

Yeah that's exactly why I didnt even try, it's a much smaller barb on the waterblock, problem is, they are fixed on! :( Otherwise I'd have no hesitation in taking them off, and replacing them with the right size to match the rest of the system. So that's my dilemma. Also, I cant even seem to find any aftermarket waterblocks for this board. Grrrr

[Jlebesis]

Just be careful with 1/4" BSPP fittings as some of them have smaller black pressure rings and those are crap. Always use clamps and if necessary put loop stoppers just in case you would need to install another waterblock easily. Good luck.

I will...thanks for the heads up! :D

[CrazyNutz]

Uh, DO NOT use vaseline, it's petroleum based and can attack certain materials, some plastics, and rubber..

If your going to lube up your hose :ROTF: use glycerin, get it at any pharmacy.

[abe_1990]

Well...Im pretty sure Im gonna change my tubing from 3/8" to 7/16", just so its easier to fit. If I was to use those plastic ratchet clamps, what size do I go for?

tubing Im using is 7/16" ID 5/8 OD, barbs are 1/2" OD.

Do I use the clamps which are 5/8" in size? (http://www.gammods.com.au/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_91_215&products_id=1708)


clamps which are 1/2" in size (http://www.gammods.com.au/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_91_215&products_id=1054)?

or clamps in 3/4" in size (http://www.gammods.com.au/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_91_215&products_id=1700) ?

[MagisD]

Make an adaptors kit get a small amount of hose some 1/4 to 3/8 etc either fittings barb or comp. This would make this a high restriction block but tubeing size is only 1-2 degree difference between smallest and largest.

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[Church]

Jlebesis: then probably next cheapest solution - buying 2 small barbs of needed smaller size and apropriate piece of small ID tubing to be put only till / from that waterblock with builtin small barbs, instead of changing all fittings/all tubing or changing this waterblock.

[MagisD]

You use the od of the tubeing size in clamps and for gods sake use metal or zipties something that locks tight. Plastic clamps a no-no as I had quite a few slip on me.

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[rehpyc]

jayhall0315, I could care less if the tubing needs to be cut to remove it from the barb. Tubing is cheap, and one should buy quite an excess of it when its purchased.

I don't care what cautions people want to express, 3/8" tubing over 1/2" barbs don't need clamps and will not come off on its own. If a clean look without the use of compression fittings is what you're going for, it's your best choice. 7/16" tubing over 1/2" does have a slight possibility, so for that clamps should be used for the ease of mind.

[tet5uo]

With those gigabye MB blocks, I just use 3/8 barbs and put one on my CPU block and one on my res and use 3/8 tubing in the sections that connect to the Mobo.

You really don't see that much difference in flow doing this in my experience.

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb352/tet5uo/011.jpg

[abe_1990]

Well...Im pretty sure Im gonna change my tubing from 3/8" to 7/16", just so its easier to fit. If I was to use those plastic ratchet clamps, what size do I go for?

tubing Im using is 7/16" ID 5/8 OD, barbs are 1/2" OD.

Do I use the clamps which are 5/8" in size? (http://www.gammods.com.au/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_91_215&products_id=1708)


clamps which are 1/2" in size (http://www.gammods.com.au/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_91_215&products_id=1054)?

or clamps in 3/4" in size (http://www.gammods.com.au/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_91_215&products_id=1700) ?

bump...

Im not sure what size clamps I should get? About to place an order for tubing and clamps.

Thanks guys

[MagisD]

You use the od of the tubeing size in clamps and for gods sake use metal or zipties something that locks tight. Plastic clamps a no-no as I had quite a few slip on me.

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good point i never done it like what your doing but for normal usage its above.

You'd need something that's a tight fit on barb+tube wall thickness

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[abe_1990]

sorry I didnt see your reply MagisD. I might take your advice, and just stick with zip ties; will be less noticeable compared to big plastic clamps a well :D

[bmaverick]

It's the time of season for RV winterizing. Thus, PG (propylene glycol) will be in abundance again. That stuff is great for a cooling loop and even better when you need to lube the inside of the tube and the fitting to push together. Why even PB blaster lubricant is based on the same main ingredient, BUT don't use the PB Blaster no the tubes.

PG coolant helps the DDC and D4/D5 pumps live longer. It helps lubricate the entire loop and provides good inhibitor corrosion protection to boot over EG.