Compression fittings

[Ranker]

Oh how hell must have frozen over,

Anyhow, I'm considering going with the full compression fittings for one of my builds. Before I lay down the $200 to replace everything in that machine with Koolance nozzles (I still think their radiators/blocks are absolute shit ), I'd like to ask a few questions.

I'm mainly experienced with barb fittings and Swiftech's old push-fit style fittings. This will be my first use with Koolance's compression fittings. Now, is there anything I should know in advance about these fittings in either use, tightening or mounting onto blocks? What are the advantages and what are the draw backs (besides the ridiculous price tag).

 

[Boozer]

when i made the jump to compression fittings it wasnt much different from the plug n pull? *ehh i think thats what it is, you push the tube inside the plug and it holds it. very iffy*. If anything its more secure than what you have now, atleast thats the way i feel. when you start screw in the fittings with the tubes in place, etc etc, the tube tends to twist with the fittings because your ofcourse, screw it in. so i tend to twist the tube the opposite way so theres no kinks. but IMO theres no big difference except for more secure and less leaks, for me its so far so good.

 

[Dan_D]

I like them but I won't buy them. I've never had any problems with leaking where the hose goes onto the barbs. Where I see all the leaks come from is where the barbs screw into a block or reservior or radiator.

 

[migueld]

Oh whoa, Ranker is it really you? Kidding aside, yes there are quite a few things you should know. Aiming for 3/8" isn't easy, I'm starting to think the sweet spot for compression fittings might be at 1/4". The reason is that 3/8" compression fittings won't fit in some blocks. But anyway.

At 3/8" I found only two options: sharkacomputer.com's and koolance’s and have both advantages and flaws. Sharka's compression fittings have longer a thread which is better than Koolance's shorter threads. On the other hand, Koolance’s are less bulky and fit in places where sharka’s doesn’t.

Here's the problem: I've tried both on the Fuzion but they don't fit. Sharka's are too big, you can screw one in but not the second because of the nut size. Koolance's don't have that problem but they don't screw in because of the short thread. So regarding the Fuzion I still haven’t found a solution for using 3/8” compression fittings. Koolance’s would work if they had longer threads.

Many of Swiftech blocks aren’t too nice for 3/8” compression fittings either. For example the MCW60 has the barbs too close to each other so Sharka’s wouldn’t work and Koolance’s wouldn’t screw in because of the indentation. A possible solution is to trim off the plastic. I think the exception is the GTX; it works perfect for either type of compression fitting.

vs

Regarding advantages of compression fittings, given that you are able to sort out the issues mentioned above I think they are worth it, I can say that they are far more convenient and easier to use that regular fittings. I think they are extremely worth it for people that continually tinker with their blocks and need to move stuff around a lot; it's way easier to deal with.

Edit: And the reason I mention that 1/4" compression fittings may be the sweet spot is because in the case of Alphacool, their fittings fit everywhere nicely, Fuzion, MCW60, etc and there is a lot of variety in elbows etc.

 

[Top Nurse]

Compression fittings require that you use the correct size tube. If you buy Koolance fittings make sure they are for the tubing you are using! Those guys like to use their own proprietary tubing.

Wes probably has the best selection of compression fittings. A lot of e-tailers buy them from him as he has thousands of them. Maybe you can talk Wes into spinning down the nut size a bit with the lathe he has out back.

 

[mjassbong]

Am using Koolance's 3/8" and 1/2" in my new build. Again, you can see them here:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1207257

Here's a few things you should know about Koolance's from my very own experience:
- 1/2" will not work on D-Tek cpu block. That's why I use Swiftech GTX.
- Those red o-ring that comes with the fitting is very thin. I really didn't feel too secure about the o-ring, so I replaced it with the ones from Danger Den and/or left overs from EK's G80 kit.
- For the 1/2" fitting, you will have to use a 5/8" OD tubing. For 3/8, 1/2" OD.

So far, am liking it.

 

[Tangent inc.]

i was very impressed when my koolance 1/2" compression fittings showed up. to stop the tube from twisting i dipped my finger in KY and rubbed the compression nut (inside) . doing this worked perfect for me and no KY got in my loop. make sure if you try this get as little KY in the nut as possible. KY is water soluble but i didnt want to chance anything. what ever you do, do not get it on the barb. KY cannot be used on anything silicon, it will corrode.

for me i went with them to fallow my idea of a clean install, sleeve and zipties dont mix well. after the effortless install the koolance fittings provided far more then good looks and i will be using them from now on.

my htpc is soon to have cpu, vreg, sb, nb, gpu and all 3 hdd's water cooled with 1/4" tubing and compression fittings for the lot of them.

 

[R1ckCa1n]

Compression fitting for anything over 8mm is much too large of a compler, IMHO.

Boy hell has frozen over, I am running 3/8" and Ranker is looking at compression fittings

 

[Stabbin]

FWIW, I'm a fan of the Koolance type compression fittings. They are bulletproof.

 

[Ranker]

Oh whoa, Ranker is it really you? Kidding aside, yes there are quite a few things you should know. Aiming for 3/8" isn't easy, I'm starting to think the sweet spot for compression fittings might be at 1/4". The reason is that 3/8" compression fittings won't fit in some blocks. But anyway.

Ugh, I really don't want to break down my home office comp yet again to get the GTX off of it and swap out my Fuzion. I refuse to use 3/8", or basically anything less than 1/2" ID on my CPU loop. Requiring the use of 5/8" OD instead of 3/4" OD might be a deal breaker as well, at least for the CPU loop.

Regarding advantages of compression fittings, given that you are able to sort out the issues mentioned above I think they are worth it, I can say that they are far more convenient and easier to use that regular fittings. I think they are extremely worth it for people that continually tinker with their blocks and need to move stuff around a lot; it's way easier to deal with.

Edit: And the reason I mention that 1/4" compression fittings may be the sweet spot is because in the case of Alphacool, their fittings fit everywhere nicely, Fuzion, MCW60, etc and there is a lot of variety in elbows etc.

I'm still debating the use of them as I've used compression fittings sparingly in the past. As mentioned by another user, I found the whole tube-twisting-due-to-tightening-of-nut to be a PITA. I was hoping there was another way to deal with the problem rather than using KY due to the possible corrosion issues also mentioned by the person suggesting it.

The main reason I'm considering using compression fittings is just for the looks of it. I was hoping to be able to convert one machine to compression fittings without having to rebuy tubing. However this might not work out as the bend radius for 1/2-5/8 and 3/8-1/2 is significantly worse than the 1/2-3/4 and 3/8-5/8 loops I have going at the moment.

Compression fittings require that you use the correct size tube. If you buy Koolance fittings make sure they are for the tubing you are using! Those guys like to use their own proprietary tubing.

Wes probably has the best selection of compression fittings. A lot of e-tailers buy them from him as he has thousands of them. Maybe you can talk Wes into spinning down the nut size a bit with the lathe he has out back.

I just realized that the tubing size is pretty much set in stone with the use of compression fittings. I'm not sure if the trade off is worth it just for looks alone.

Can Wes' compression fittings be spun down enough to be able to fit two into a Fuzion?

Am using Koolance's 3/8" and 1/2" in my new build. Again, you can see them here:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1207257

Here's a few things you should know about Koolance's from my very own experience:
- 1/2" will not work on D-Tek cpu block. That's why I use Swiftech GTX.
- Those red o-ring that comes with the fitting is very thin. I really didn't feel too secure about the o-ring, so I replaced it with the ones from Danger Den and/or left overs from EK's G80 kit.
- For the 1/2" fitting, you will have to use a 5/8" OD tubing. For 3/8, 1/2" OD.

So far, am liking it.

Thanks for the tips. I'm just not wanting to break down two computers again just to swap blocks for seriously like the 4th time. I'm pretty much at the end of my patience in terms of revisions as I just want to get this done already after having revised these UFO's for the past 6 months.

Compression fitting for anything over 8mm is much too large of a compler, IMHO.

Boy hell has frozen over, I am running 3/8" and Ranker is looking at compression fittings

It's not only frozen over, but I think the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus are playing Go-Fish with the Devil himself.

 

[Top Nurse]

I just realized that the tubing size is pretty much set in stone with the use of compression fittings. I'm not sure if the trade off is worth it just for looks alone.

Can Wes' compression fittings be spun down enough to be able to fit two into a Fuzion?

While your on a run, why not shoot the wad and get some PUR and push-fits. The only downside is the bend radius.

You would have to ask Wes and he is half-way to Honolulu by now, but I think the lathe is operational. I used it to do something similar to some Eheim fittings.

 

[Tangent inc.]

that sucks man... i didnt know it was for an existing system. i agree, that would be a pain. when i bought the fittings my loop was not in the case yet. i was still testing it with DD barbs.

in your instance it is not so convenient but for me in you situation i am sure i would still swap them out.

about the KYaphobia... are you using clearflex, tygon, masterkleer? the silicon comment was geared towards koolance tubing as i think it is silicon. i use 1/2" vinyl with coolsleeves wrapped in techflex PET sleeve.

i also boil (well steamed in a crab cooker) all of my tubing before mock up an installation. this sets the tubing back to its original extruded shape allowing me to route with ought fear of following the bend the tube takes from sitting in storage on a roll. i was able to get a few weird bends without twisting and kinking.

 

[Ranker]

So there's no way to get these fittings to work with the tubing that has good bend radius? Such as 1/2"ID-3/4"OD, 3/8"ID-5/8"OD?

I remember using over sized tubing on my 1/4" compression fittings I once used for my HD blocks. It'd cause the tubing to catch on the nut and "twist", but I'm wondering if the KY trick would let me use tubing that would normally be oversized for the compression fitting.

 

[madmat]

Why not try it with 7/16" ID 5/8" OD tubing and see how it goes?

 

[jvhb]

So there's no way to get these fittings to work with the tubing that has good bend radius? Such as 1/2"ID-3/4"OD, 3/8"ID-5/8"OD?

I remember using over sized tubing on my 1/4" compression fittings I once used for my HD blocks. It'd cause the tubing to catch on the nut and "twist", but I'm wondering if the KY trick would let me use tubing that would normally be oversized for the compression fitting.

You *might* be able to use Tygon or Clearflex 3/8"ID-5/8"OD with the Koolance fittings if you drill out the collar on the compression nut pretty much all the way - or at least to 14-15mm if possible.

I just made a few posts about this subject in Cathar's "Impact of tubing sizes" thread at Xtreme forums: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=147767&page=13
- which should be good info for people looking at using Push-ON (compression) fittings. (hope it is ok to post link here..)

Basically the problem in the larger size tubing, is that the thinwalled type that Koolance uses is crap, and compression fittings are not made for a good 3/8"ID-5/8"OD that has a good bending radius.

Also, if you have misplaced your KY jelly - try using a dab of spit on the nuts/tubing - works well also. Can't imagine rust would ever be an issue with the chrome nickel plating used on compression fittings. (unless you just ate a box of salt maybe..)