hardware store vinyl tubing

is that stuff usable or is it dog crap?

clear vinyl tubing manufactured by Watts...

Every time I've bought vinyl tubing from the hardware store it's either been too stiff to use (thickwall) or the walls were so deformed from being rolled up that when you'd bend it it'd collapse (thinwall) so it too was unusable.

I'd avoid the shit like the plauge.

goddamit - there goes $2.37. lol

i'm looking at this stuff and you're right. being wound up like that makes it pretty shitty to work with.

it kinks when i try to bend it even slightly. cool thing about it is that it has no wording / lettering on it. perfectly clear.

meh. I'll just use it for super short connections.

I've used it in the past. Usually the outer coils weren't bad too stiff, and you can buy 10 feet for a couple bucks, so that gives you 3-5 feet of good tubing. if you hang it up in a area that gets warm it helps straighten it out. My appartment had a closet with the water heater in it, that was perfect. The deforming is the biggest downside I see, but it can still make some turns in tighter space then is possible with thicker walled tubing. Also I theorize that at least initially, the area of the cross section of tubing remains the same, not restricting flow.

How about the kind that comes with the teflon braids in it? Always wondered how well that stuff worked

i would think that it would be kink free, but very very stiff

i did see that reinforced tubing w/ the threads running through and it looked intersting.

but yea - stiff as a mofo. I'm thinking that in a close connection bend from CPU to GPU, it might just slingshot one of the components off...

Yes, it will.

The vinyl is great for straight lengths, like from the radiator to the pump in my case. Anything other than that... well, it aint so great.

Yeah trust me it's way too stiff unless you need a piece that is shaped exactly like it comes off the roll.