Compression fittings - need advice

T

TechJeff

Limp Gawd
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Mar 25, 2009
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I am building a new water cooling setup and will be using all "Bitspower" compression fittings. My question is, what are the main advantages of "rotary" compression fittings and non rotary compression fittings?

I was told that you should use 45 degree ones for your major bends, like out of a pump/resv and best to always use the "rotary" type for all others since they don't restrict the cable pivots as much. Using the non rotary I was told is fine, but they lock in straight and don't allow the tubing to move/bend as well.

Just wondered if anyone could chime in for some thoughts on this. Thanks
 
Rotary fittings rotate, usually at the base above the 1/4 fitting where you screw it in.

So if you have a 90 degree fitting, once you screw the fitting into something, the non rotary shall be at the angle you screwed it in at. A rotary fitting is free to twist about and rotate. So you can adjust it more easily to point the right way (and it's easier to get several of them all lined up :D). With a non rotary you can get it to point the right way through trial and error...but it's a PITA.

The only slight negative is rotary fittings usually have slightly more restriction than a non rotary (due to the rotary part being thinner). This wont make a whole load of difference to a loop however, if noticable at all.
 
I also have rotary fittings, and believe me when I say you have to make sure there's absolutely no stress on the fitting. As soon as there is a little bit of stress (in my case trying to reuse and old piece of tubing), it starts leaking like crazy.
 
Tsumi said:
I also have rotary fittings, and believe me when I say you have to make sure there's absolutely no stress on the fitting. As soon as there is a little bit of stress (in my case trying to reuse and old piece of tubing), it starts leaking like crazy.
Click to expand...

It shouldn't from what I've read and others used in their setup. If you use "compression" rotary fittings they should be able to take a fairly decent stress. That's the whole idea too behind "compression", it takes quite a bit if on properly to cause a problem. The rotary helps eliminate some pressure by allowing the bends and tubing to flex. From what I saw in videos, that's what most like about the high quality fittings like that.

Maybe others can chime in too.
 
I suppose it depends on the direction of the stress.

Imagine the fitting like this (in ascii!):

Code: 
G1/4　fitting
[B]↓[/B]
[COLOR="Gray"][][/COLOR][COLOR="Black"]=[/COLOR][COLOR="Gray"][]||△[/COLOR] ← 90゜bend
  [B]↑[/B] 　[COLOR="gray"]|□|[/COLOR][B]←[/B]　Compression fitting

Rotary neck

Now if the stress was pulling it up and down then this wouldn't be a problem, as the rotary would twist to adapt to the stress making it more immune to excessive force. But I suppose if there was something pulling it to the left or right with excessive force it could pop the rotary fitting or cause a leak. This would probably be less likely in a solid fitting as it is made of solid metal (though would possibly cause damage to the fittings).

There is always a chance of a manufacturing fault like with any component as well. I've played around with the ones near my and you can pull on them pretty hard without it coming out (it hasn't come out, but you know I don't want to break them! I did use considerable force on them! :D) But that doesn't necessarily mean it wouldn't leak a small amount.

Just make sure to not place excessive force on them (in the wrong direction).
 
It's leaking from the rotary part, not the compression part. I suppose the same warning applies to rotary barb fittings as well.

I have two that did not leak initially. Over time, they started to leak, and if I adjust them a bit to relieve some of the stress, they might or might not stop leaking.
 
personally i've only had 1 rotary fitting fail and that was a bitspower 'snake' (5 rotator cuffs).
you can 'patch' them if they fail with white teflon (plumbers) tape. it doesn't look particularly pretty but it stops the leak. could also use silcone sealant too.

not sure about other manufacturers but bitspower rotator fittings are fairly reliable in my experience. having said that, i try not to 'rotate' them too much.
 
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