Tube wall thickness - what do you use?

[Rise]

It's been about 2 or 3 years since I put together a loop and I just finished ordering my parts for my new pc. The only thing I haven't bought yet are compression fittings and tubing. Mostly because I can't decide what size to get. I think 3/4 OD looks the nicest, but what wall thickness are you all using? I was looking online and saw a lot of 3/4OD 1/2ID tubing, but I remember 1/8th wall being stiff and difficult to work with (I used a lot of boiling water). Does anyone make 3/4OD 5/8ID tube? Does it work well? Or should I just stick with the 3/4-1/2?

[itznfb]

I'm a fan of 7/16" x 5/8". It's really easy to work with.

[lowfat]

3/8" ID 1/2" OD. Anything else is just too bulky IMO.

[csimon]

I use 3/4OD X 1/2ID with no issues. I prefer max flowrate.

[m_jones_]

3/8" ID 1/2" OD. Anything else is just too bulky IMO.

+1 and in my opinion it looks much better than really large tubes.

[3lfk1ng]

3/8 ID 5/8 OD. I like tight bends in my loops.

[lowfat]

I use 3/4OD X 1/2ID with no issues. I prefer max flowrate.

Larger tubing will have no benefit to flow rate at all.

[Rise]

Larger tubing will have no benefit to flow rate at all.

yeah, I would assume it is limited by the fitting ID in and out. purely aesthetics at that point.

[WiSK]

3/8 ID 5/8 OD. I like tight bends in my loops.

Same. Highest cross-sectional area ratio. Great for small rigs, hard to get any kinks in this size unless you fold the tube back on itself.

[Conumdrum]

1/2 x 3/4 is great, but Cathars test long ago show little diff down to 3/8"ID. What is important for anti-kinking is the wall thickness. EACH wall should be 1/8" thick. Thus why 3/8 x 5/8 as 1/2 x 3/4 is a good choice.

You hot a fat huge case? Go big, looks good. Smaller? Tighter space? 3/8 x 5/8.

[Sparky]

I have noticed that 3/8 x 5/8 does resist kinking a little better than my 7/16 x 5/8. Must be that extra 1/32 thicker wall that helps lol.

[Jakusonfire]

I like 7/16, 5/8 tubing because the ID is still just a little larger than a G1/4 port but the OD is slimmer and looks much less like big tube sausages hanging in a build. Unless you are doing a build using only single fittings and therefore there will be lots of extreme bends in tubing to connect everything together, then the kinking aspect is a bit moot even if there is a slight difference. ( Different brands and materials of tubing play a much bigger role in that than simply just the sizing )

Most people these days use at least a few angled adaptors to to put less bending on tubing.

[stren]

+1 on 3/8x5/8 unless you have a huge case. Even then I find the 3/4" is just too fat and sausage like. However there is a bit more support for it if you like things like the highest flow Koolance QDC. I too prefer the slightly thicker wall to avoid the kinky stuff. I'd only go with 7/16" ID if you are running barbs (and I'd still use a lock ring because tube loosens over time).

[kadozer]

1/2" 3/4 never failed me. I like the looks of it but I know it has no performance improvement over 3/8"

[cx-ray]

I also prefer 3/8 ID 5/8 OD. Good diameter and wall thickness ratio. Not too bulky with good resistance to kinking and flattening of bends.