Monsoon Free Center Compression Fittings

[Elmy]

I got some pics incoming today.... Blue tubing with Orange fitting and Orange tubing with blue fitting....

Doing a tear down later on. I'll post pics later today....

I also have some of the purple fittings here if anyone wants pics... It would look awesome with white tubing but I don't have any here....

[nksharp]

Any eta of when I could expect these in a Canadian store?

Might be doing an order on performance pcs soon so don't know whether I would want to get them now or later.

[BoxGods]

If you can PM me info on your preferred Reseller in Canada--NCIX I am guessing--I will see about getting them some inventory from the run shipping end of the month.

[Utnorris]

When will the powdercoated fittings be available? Also, what color? I am thinking of doing orange with white tubing.

[BoxGods]

I am getting a little resistance from resellers as they seem to think most customers will prefer the shiny metallic look over the matte finish of a powder coat. The matte black and matte white seem to sell well though so who knows? Anyone with an opinion either way let us know.

Not sure if it helps but here are the metallic colors--including the orange--sitting next to the matte black and matte white. Photo credit to Simon at KOI Tech in Australia.

[crazyg0od33]

Personally I like them all. I think the matte black look good in a case that doesnt have too much bling, same as the matte white, while the shiny ones are for people who want the bling factor...

[Mydog]

Are there any resellers in Europe?
I'll really would like 10 of those golden ones.

[BoxGods]

Personally I like them all. I think the matte black look good in a case that doesn't have too much bling, same as the matte white, while the shiny ones are for people who want the bling factor...

Yeah, I personally think the colors would sell in both a matte finish and the metallic. Just makes it hard to get to the needed minimums cost effectively. One alternative to help on that score would be to do all the barbs in regular chrome and the compression rings in the different color finishes. You can't really see the barb once the tube is on, and even with clear tube the chrome would reflect the compression ring color. Something to look at I guess.

Also there are times when a matte color actually has a higher bling factor...when a matte finish is the exception it just tends to stand out...like a blond in a room full of brunettes.

[BoxGods]

Are there any resellers in Europe?
I'll really would like 10 of those golden ones.

We are trying to get this set up with Aqua Tuning right now. I will post an update in this thread when I know more.

[stren]

I love matte personally and will wage a war to protect them, shiny colors look too fake plastic/blingy for my taste. Who are these vendors that threaten my matte fittings? I noticed ppcs don't have any more of the white 1/2 ID ones.

[BoxGods]

I love matte personally and will wage a war to protect them, shiny colors look too fake plastic/blingy for my taste. Who are these vendors that threaten my matte fittings? I noticed ppcs don't have any more of the white 1/2 ID ones.

I totally 100% agree. Shiny looks like plastic to me. Polished marble is OK in some situations because it is an expensive material, and I like polished aluminum in some cases but normally matte finishes just add a lot of class. My wife is an interior designer and I have watched her spend hours picking the right shade of matte black from 4 or 5 choices lol.

[Neutronman]

Little disappointed in these fittings right about now. I have 8 x 1/2ID 3/4OD and Primo Flex tube. They look great but are extremely tight against the tubing and difficult to screw down on to the tubing without twisting the tubing, using the wrench actually scratches the tubing, so once screwed down there is a mark all the way around the tubing. Not liking these compression fittings actually..... Shame, now I have more useless crap in my workshop... Perhaps some of the smaller diameter fittings are easier to use, these are making my WC build difficult, even my old school Compression fittings are easier to use, not withstanding the chewed up fingers...

Perhaps a little lube of some type between the outside of the fitting and tube would help. I'll try some KY Jelly, please don't ask why I have this in my workshop.... LOL....

[BoxGods]

If your seeing the compression ring cutting into the tube the chances are your over tightening them. This is a common (even I do it sometimes) thing to do because we want to make SURE lol. Generally you only need to tighten the rings till they snug up on the tube, then maybe a smidgen more, say 1/4 turn. Primo Flex is also one of the harder brands of tubing on the market to help with the bend radius, (meaning hardness of the tube not use of the tube) at Shore A 75 so if your seeing substantial marking on it that is also a good indicator your maybe over tightening. You do want to see some slight marking/deformation on the tube when you remove it as this indicates a consistent pressure map. Lastly there is sometimes a slight variance in tube dimension between colors (higher or lower solids) and even between batches because of the extrusion process. This happens in all brands, even my Dream Flex. Darker colors or solid colors have higher solids content.

Also, if your seeing the tube twisting when your tightening the compression ring it is because the compression ring touches the tube (it is supposed to as this is what makes the seal). Just reach in with your free hand and hold the tube in place. As for lube...just spit on it man

[BoxGods]

For those asking about the rotary 90's, 60's, and 45's I am just putting the finishing touches on a killer new design. Something I think is pretty different from what we have seen before. Will be getting the first prototypes under way this week hopefully.

I am pretty stoked! Stay tuned!

Everyone asking about buying in the EU we are actually doing the contract crap...er "stuff" with an EU distributor now so if that goes as planned your favorite EU reseller should be seeing inventory the first week of March or thereabouts. I will update if that changes.

[crazyg0od33]

Ah can't wait to see what you come up with!!!
I'd love to keep my build entirely monsoon

[Neutronman]

If your seeing the compression ring cutting into the tube the chances are your over tightening them. This is a common (even I do it sometimes) thing to do because we want to make SURE lol. Generally you only need to tighten the rings till they snug up on the tube, then maybe a smidgen more, say 1/4 turn. Primo Flex is also one of the harder brands of tubing on the market to help with the bend radius, (meaning hardness of the tube not use of the tube) at Shore A 75 so if your seeing substantial marking on it that is also a good indicator your maybe over tightening. You do want to see some slight marking/deformation on the tube when you remove it as this indicates a consistent pressure map. Lastly there is sometimes a slight variance in tube dimension between colors (higher or lower solids) and even between batches because of the extrusion process. This happens in all brands, even my Dream Flex. Darker colors or solid colors have higher solids content.

Also, if your seeing the tube twisting when your tightening the compression ring it is because the compression ring touches the tube (it is supposed to as this is what makes the seal). Just reach in with your free hand and hold the tube in place. As for lube...just spit on it man

I'll give it another go tomorrow, just cos the fittings are damn sexy, I have the black chrome and against the black primo tubes it looks sweet. I'll try the KY Jelly or spit, perhaps this will help. To be honest it has been extremely difficult just to get the thread engaged with the Primo tubing so far. As you mentioned it may be the tubing. I'll try it with some tygon I have here too.

I'll post back later.

[BoxGods]

Yeah black is the color most likely to be over sized. Just to be clear, I am not blaming Primo Flex as it is an excellent tube (I used to work with Primo Chill in fact). Black in all brands tends to be the tube with the widest dimensional variance. What happens is that they (the factory) set up the tube extrusion machine and adjust the temperature on the hopper to melt the PVC, and set the extrusion feed rates. They set those parameters on the lightest color in the run, usually clear, then once they have the temp and feed rates dialed in they load the hopper and start extruding the tube. Each subsequent color is then extruded but because the darker or more solid colors have more of the color pigments and different UV bases the formula/ratio is a bit different from color to color. If the guy on the machine doesn't adjust the temp or feed rate to compensate you can see tiny differences in the dimensions. The tube also is fed through these long water filled troughs to rapidly cool it as it is "pooched" out of the extruder and as the run goes on the water temp in the tank can increase as the water absorbs more heat because the troughs have a pump that circulates the water in a closed loop. Because only the outside of the tube is exposed to the water this can cause uneven cooling. Sometimes the operator is behind or has work piling up or whatever and he dials up the speed a little. All that can cause some minor dimensional deviation even in the same color on the same run. To compensate for all that we specify a set of tolerances that the tube has to meet. Plus or minus xxx in other words. When I design a fitting I have to specify machining tolerances for the compression rings also of course, and the dimensions are set so that those two ranges intersect in the middle.

Sorry for the long explanation, but the point is that if your compression rings happen to be on the smaller side of that acceptable range and your tube happens to end up on the larger size of its range then the fit is a little tighter then normal. We have to do it that way because occasionally being too tight is the lesser of two evils as too tight is preferable to not tight enough which might leak. If the Tygon you have there happens to be closer to the center of its tolerance range you should find the fittings easier to use. Tygon is also generally one of the softer tubes. Again, this is in no way meant to knock Primo Flex as it is an excellent tube, just as Dream Flex and Feser are. They ALL have some small dimensional deviation from time to time.

[BoxGods]

One other item that affects this whole interaction is the fitting geometry. One of the design goals of the Free Center compressions was to get the overall outside diameter down as small as possible so that they can fit in tighter port spacing if needed. We managed to shave off 2mm -- 3mm compared to most fittings which is pretty substantial. On two fittings side by side 6mm can be make or break for some blocks. We get that decrease in overall OD by removing a lot of the dead air space so when you do have a batch of tube that is on the larger side of it's tolerances it is more noticeable.

If your having trouble starting the threads it's usually that natural curl tube has from being rolled. If possible reach in with your free hand and hold the tube out straight when your starting the thread. Obviously make sure you haven't cross-threaded also.

Hope this helps!

[stren]

For those asking about the rotary 90's, 60's, and 45's I am just putting the finishing touches on a killer new design. Something I think is pretty different from what we have seen before. Will be getting the first prototypes under way this week hopefully.

I am pretty stoked! Stay tuned!

Everyone asking about buying in the EU we are actually doing the contract crap...er "stuff" with an EU distributor now so if that goes as planned your favorite EU reseller should be seeing inventory the first week of March or thereabouts. I will update if that changes.

Can't wait

[Raul-7]

Yeah, I personally think the colors would sell in both a matte finish and the metallic. Just makes it hard to get to the needed minimums cost effectively. One alternative to help on that score would be to do all the barbs in regular chrome and the compression rings in the different color finishes. You can't really see the barb once the tube is on, and even with clear tube the chrome would reflect the compression ring color. Something to look at I guess.

Also there are times when a matte color actually has a higher bling factor...when a matte finish is the exception it just tends to stand out...like a blond in a room full of brunettes.

That's a great idea. Personally, I prefer satin finishes (max 20% gloss) as well. Only exception is nickel/plated chrome finishes; they have their uses.

I'd love to see satin gray fittings.

[BoxGods]

Yeah, gray would be great (as long as its a naval or army gray and not "prison" or institutional gray =) but the chances of getting resellers to to carry it are slim to none. Weird when you consider the male dominance in modding and how many things targeted at men are gray...like the color scheme on this forum lol.

[crazyg0od33]

It seems my post got deleted in all of the server change-ups, so I'll post again. Now that I got to see some of my stuff, here are some pics:
hmm..it'll take forever and the pics arent uploading so here you go...
CLICK HERE FOR PICS

[stren]

Yeah, gray would be great (as long as its a naval or army gray and not "prison" or institutional gray =) but the chances of getting resellers to to carry it are slim to none. Weird when you consider the male dominance in modding and how many things targeted at men are gray...like the color scheme on this forum lol.

I nearly chose to custom powder coat them the same as my case (dark silvery grey exterior, white-silver interior), but then thought I'd go with white for more contrast

[BoxGods]

I nearly chose to custom powder coat them the same as my case (dark silvery grey exterior, white-silver interior), but then thought I'd go with white for more contrast

I am tinkering with some matte colors with chrome plated barbs. They look pretty cool together. The plan is to send some out to resellers and see if any want to test the market. Cross your fingers.

It seems my post got deleted in all of the server change-ups, so I'll post again. Now that I got to see some of my stuff, here are some pics:
hmm..it'll take forever and the pics arent uploading so here you go...
CLICK HERE FOR PICS

Also a fan of that case but I am holding out for Charles's MK II. Excellent pictures!

[crazyg0od33]

any updates on the sweet new design?