Compression fittings?

[leSLIe]

So, I'm looking for info on compression fittings. I'm old school, I still use barb fittings.

These compression fittings come usually in nickel plated bronze, is there some other material?
What brands are the best?

Will be using the soft tube 3/8" ID (with 1/2" OD)

 

[hititnquitit]

They're generally plated, chromed or painted brass. Bitspower is widely regarded as the best and most prolific fittings supplier but their are tons of good companies out there. If you find a good deal post here and we can help you out.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Agreed.

If you want workmanship above all else, Bitspower (which are Taiwanese) tend to be both the best and the most expensive.

When I am ordering parts for a build it always surprises me how quickly the little bits and pieces add up in price. I tend to spend time comparing pricing on the big parts, but rarely think about the little fittings and bends which always come out of left field when you total them up.

The finishes tend to be mostly for looks. They come in chrome, black chrome, flat black, and white and sometimes other colors.

Personally I have been using XSPC compression fittings, simply because I got a good deal on them, and they have been good enough. I have had no complaints. At least not about the compression fittings.

Just to be clear, I am talking about soft tube compression fittings. They hard tube ones are different, and I know next to nothing about them. Be careful so you don't accidentally buy the wrong type, because they are very different, and store pages don't always clearly identify which are which.

 

[DWolvin]

Cheaper ones will generally be soft tube, hard tube compression fittings generally seem to be a few dollars a fitting more. But get decent quality (I've never splurged for bits, but I did get some Monsoon fittings) and install properly (hand tight, don't use a pipe wrench, tube cut fairly straight and installed to the shoulder / bottom) and you shouldn't ever see any issues. Oh- make sure you size tube and fitting correctly (I/D and O/D).

 

[Tsumi]

Monsoon and Koolance have been good in my build. I have a few Bitspower ones as well and they feel like the best quality.

 

[leSLIe]

I'm eyeing the Koolance ones and the ones from that German twink der8auer (thermal grizzly)

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Cheaper ones will generally be soft tube, hard tube compression fittings generally seem to be a few dollars a fitting more. But get decent quality (I've never splurged for bits, but I did get some Monsoon fittings) and install properly (hand tight, don't use a pipe wrench, tube cut fairly straight and installed to the shoulder / bottom) and you shouldn't ever see any issues. Oh- make sure you size tube and fitting correctly (I/D and O/D).

I always struggled with Monsoon.

Firstly, they are a Chinese brand, and I didn't want to risk the well-being of my system on chinesium products.

I know there are many Chinese brands these days that aren't just utter crap like in the past, and Monsoon may just be one of those, but I figured when it comes to the intersection of water and my expensive PC parts, I'd rather not take that risk.

That, and I just couldn't get over the name. I don't want a Monsoon in my case

That said, I have rarely ever had any issues at all with any brand of fittings and bends. There was one exception, but that may have been my own damn fault. I'm not sure.

I did have a couple of XSPC rotary 45 and 90 degree bends of the style below develop slow drips on me through the rotary seal.

But as I said, it may have been my own fault. I had designed my own fan controller and built in a fan disconnect switch, which I accidentally ran with off during a gaming session (and didn't notice because of my headphones)

The coolant got up to about 50C at one point.

They were fine immediately after that but a few months later a couple of them developed slow drips, which luckily did not kill anything.

I don't know if my "hot coolant" incident caused the issue, or if it would have happened anyway, and they were just bad. No idea how heat sensitive those seals are to elevated temps. I mean 50C is high for a water loop, but is it high enough to destroy rubber seals? Maybe?

Anyway, that was a long time ago (2018) using parts bought even longer ago (2016) so it is unlikely a relevant data point at this point.


In my current mega build I am actually using some Chinese branded DDC pumps, which is a bit uncharacteristic for me. I simply could not find any others that had both PWM control and integrated heatsinks when I was ordering. I figured the risk was OK, because in the unlikely event they develop a drip, in this build they are external to the case. The floor might get a little wet, but other than that it should be fine, and since my build has QDC's replacing a pump with a drip should only be be an inconvenience, not a catastrophe.

It's all about taking a risk based approach (Thank you ISO 9001/13485 for contaminating my vocabulary )

 

[DWolvin]

Those look pretty good! I love that even no name brands are making good volutes. When I started watercooling half of the 'good' pumps has an internal 90 degree bend right off the impeller. Those should work just fine. And I agree about rotaries, they are the only fittings I've ever had difficulty with, but even that was back in the day. Now I just make sure to dampen anything with an o-ring with a little distilled before tightening.

 

[termite]

For soft tubing, Bitspower are pretty good. I have around 30 of the 3/4 by 1/2 fittings. They have always worked well and have held up well. Most of mine are going 15+ years old.

Recently I switched to smaller tubing (16/11mm) and purchased Alphacool fitting. They seem to be the same quality as the Bitspower ones.

Regarding rotary angled fittings, I always assume they will fail at some point. I have had Bitspower, EKWB, XSPC and Swiftec rotary fittings fail and start leakin at some point, usually after a year or more of use, with the exception of the Swiftech which started leaking after a few weeks.

They usually just start seaping and can be very easy to miss with clear coolant.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Regarding rotary angled fittings, I always assume they will fail at some point. I have had Bitspower, EKWB, XSPC and Swiftec rotary fittings fail and start leakin at some point, usually after a year or more of use, with the exception of the Swiftech which started leaking after a few weeks.

Interesting.

I've only ever had those XSPC rotaries fail, but after they did I went to 100% bitspower, and I've never had a leak again. Many of the bitspower rotaries in current use are the same ones I bought as a remedy to the XSPC ones back in 2018, and they have been in 24/7 use ever since.

How hot do you let the coolant get in your loop? I wonder if that does have an impact after all.

 

[hititnquitit]

Interesting.

I've only ever had those XSPC rotaries fail, but after they did I went to 100% bitspower, and I've never had a leak again. Many of the bitspower rotaries in current use are the same ones I bought as a remedy to the XSPC ones back in 2018, and they have been in 24/7 use ever since.

How hot do you let the coolant get in your loop? I wonder if that does have an impact after all.

I had several XSPC rotaries fail as well but haven't had any of my others leak. I went on a fittings extravaganza after the XSPC fiasco. EK, Byski, Barrow, Swiftech, Alphacool and Bitspower rotaries have all been gtg for me. Currently using all BP 45s, snakes and 90s with an old trusty XSPC ball valve (that's the only fitting I use by them now) in my main rig and all Swiftech rotaries in a backup rig.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Those look pretty good! I love that even no name brands are making good volutes. When I started watercooling half of the 'good' pumps has an internal 90 degree bend right off the impeller. Those should work just fine. And I agree about rotaries, they are the only fittings I've ever had difficulty with, but even that was back in the day. Now I just make sure to dampen anything with an o-ring with a little distilled before tightening.

They aren't bad honestly, but they are a bit under-powered (which I didn't notice until after buying them). They only have an 8W motor, compared to the 10W or 18W real Laing/Xylem DDC pumps have, meaning they get significantly less flow/head.

I would have loved to have the extra flow from the real DDC's, but I just couldn't find any with integrated heat sinks when I bought them, and I somehow doubt the market has improved since. I'd very much like more flow, but I've already done so much cutting and other customization to fit these pumps where they need to be, that I'd rather not start over with a completely different pump housing at this point.

It makes me wonder if I could buy something like a DDC 4.2 PWM motor and swap it into these. From some googling I understand it might work, but there may be some difficulties.

Apparently these imitation DDC pumps are designed to be drop in replacements, but some things are different, like - for instance - having shaft and bearing design instead of the real Laing/Xylem DDC pumps spherical motor design. This might cause the real Xylem design to not properly fit if mounted in the top. There may also be a difference in motor height by a mm or two, potentially causing the heat sink on the bottom not to fit.

Still, I may try it at some point if I am sufficiently disappointed in the flow.

 

[THRESHIN]

I always struggled with Monsoon.

Firstly, they are a Chinese brand, and I didn't want to risk the well-being of my system on chinesium products.

I know there are many Chinese brands these days that aren't just utter crap like in the past, and Monsoon may just be one of those, but I figured when it comes to the intersection of water and my expensive PC parts, I'd rather not take that risk.

That, and I just couldn't get over the name. I don't want a Monsoon in my case

That said, I have rarely ever had any issues at all with any brand of fittings and bends. There was one exception, but that may have been my own damn fault. I'm not sure.

I did have a couple of XSPC rotary 45 and 90 degree bends of the style below develop slow drips on me through the rotary seal.

View attachment 778301

But as I said, it may have been my own fault. I had designed my own fan controller and built in a fan disconnect switch, which I accidentally ran with off during a gaming session (and didn't notice because of my headphones)

The coolant got up to about 50C at one point.

They were fine immediately after that but a few months later a couple of them developed slow drips, which luckily did not kill anything.

I don't know if my "hot coolant" incident caused the issue, or if it would have happened anyway, and they were just bad. No idea how heat sensitive those seals are to elevated temps. I mean 50C is high for a water loop, but is it high enough to destroy rubber seals? Maybe?

Anyway, that was a long time ago (2018) using parts bought even longer ago (2016) so it is unlikely a relevant data point at this point.


In my current mega build I am actually using some Chinese branded DDC pumps, which is a bit uncharacteristic for me. I simply could not find any others that had both PWM control and integrated heatsinks when I was ordering. I figured the risk was OK, because in the unlikely event they develop a drip, in this build they are external to the case. The floor might get a little wet, but other than that it should be fine, and since my build has QDC's replacing a pump with a drip should only be be an inconvenience, not a catastrophe.

It's all about taking a risk based approach (Thank you ISO 9001/13485 for contaminating my vocabulary )

those angled fittings are known to leak like that after a time. there's an o-ring in there that degrades. supposedly you can replace it. i tried when mine leaked, no luck! i just keep spares now.

i'm oldschool AND trashy. i use 1/2" barbs and gear clamps. i still have an old swiftech MCP655 pump. might just outlive me.

 

[termite]

Interesting.

I've only ever had those XSPC rotaries fail, but after they did I went to 100% bitspower, and I've never had a leak again. Many of the bitspower rotaries in current use are the same ones I bought as a remedy to the XSPC ones back in 2018, and they have been in 24/7 use ever since.

How hot do you let the coolant get in your loop? I wonder if that does have an impact after all.

Frankly it has probably been since before 2018 that I had one fail. The only rotaries that I have still in use are the EK quantum 90s and a couple of the flat rotaries, those have been rock solid. Once I switched back to soft tubing I just plan my loop so I do not need a rotary fitting unless it is absolutely necessary.

I started to get obsessive about coolant not getting much above 30c when I was using hard tubing and just kept that philosophy. General I have not had the coolant go much above 40c for years unless I was sitting there testing.

However back in ye olden days I have no doubt that I had coolant get up into the 50s so the extra pressure or doing tight bends after a rotary may have contributed to the rotary failures.

 

[xDiVolatilX]

Been using bitspower for angled and xspc for straight for as long as I can remember. I change the rubber o-rings every once in a long while during a complete overhaul of new tubes when they get cloudy, cleaning blocks for good measure , and new o-rings for preventative maintenance. Never had a leak.

 

[Tsumi]

My Bitspower and Monsoon rotaries haven't leaked in 12+ years.

 

[xDiVolatilX]

I've stopped using 90 degree fittings altogether now and I am able to turn down the pwm on my d5 as a result.
This thread also reminds me to order another set of bitspower 45s to have just in case of an emergency because I have used all of them. Almost every single fitting is a bitspower 45 rotary lol.

Keeping in mind that even though I've replaced all the outer O-rings, the inner o-rings are not serviceable so at a certain point if one leaks it is recommended to replace it instead of trying to pry it open and service it.

I wish I didn't care and just use straight fittings but the 45s just eliminate pretty much all of the spaghetti look to the tubing.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I've stopped using 90 degree fittings altogether now and I am able to turn down the pwm on my d5 as a result.

Yeah, I never realized just how much the tight 90's restrict flow.

Sometimes 90 degree bends are unavoidable though. I try to use the big double jointed ones instead to reduce loop restrictiveness. It seems to help.

 

[xDiVolatilX]

Yeah, I never realized just how much the tight 90's restrict flow.

Sometimes 90 degree bends are unavoidable though. I try to use the big double jointed ones instead to reduce loop restrictiveness. It seems to help.

Oh yeah I love those dual rotary fittings from bitspower. I think I have about 10 of them in my setup. Although I bend them in all different directions to get a nice aesthetic to it. When I said I ditched the 90s I meant the one piece short tight 90s like you mentioned, I stay away from those now. These dual rotary ones I can't have enough of them

 

[xDiVolatilX]

I have the "black sparkle" ones so sweet

 

[DWolvin]

Oh- no big dragon logo!? Nice! That's the biggest reason I still have never had BitsPower, the way they slap that on everything...

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Oh- no big dragon logo!? Nice! That's the biggest reason I still have never had BitsPower, the way they slap that on everything...

Yeah, I'm not a fan of them either, but I tend to put substance over taste. I've found bitspower bits to be superior so I am willing to put up with their questionable styling elements. They do sell some without logos, though I have never been able to figure out how you know which you are getting. Some orders have shown up with, some without.

I've never tried, but it looks pad printed, so my guess is it wipes right off with a good solvent. I'd (carefully) try a 99% isopropyl alcohol first. It sounds really silly, but there is a HUGE difference between off the shelf 91% IPA and 99% IPA. Those paltry 8 percentage units make a massive difference in how strong a solvent it is.

I learned this when I accidentally wiped the blue Alphacool logos straight off of my old black Alphacool radiators

MEK is almost guaranteed to take care of it, but then you might take the underlying paint off too, so that has to be used very carefully.

 

[DWolvin]

Methyl Ethyl Ketone is also just nasty stuff, well beyond just showing you every tiny breach in your skin in the last couple of weeks.

 

[cpufrost]

Careful, none publish working pressure ratings and we've had anywhere from weeping to full blowouts on systems running higher pressure.
The sliding tube SLI fittings are the worst! Blocks FTW.

 

[leSLIe]

Careful, none publish working pressure ratings and we've had anywhere from weeping to full blowouts on systems running higher pressure.
The sliding tube SLI fittings are the worst! Blocks FTW.

hmm, what pump are you using?? geez...

 

[cpufrost]

hmm, what pump are you using?? geez...

Water to water exchanger system. Depends on the complexity of the circuit (higher backpressures need pumps with higher head ratings). Some pumps will produce 50+ PSI with a closed off discharge valve. Definitely don't want to use 10wpsig 1/2" ID Tygon on those systems!

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Methyl Ethyl Ketone is also just nasty stuff, well beyond just showing you every tiny breach in your skin in the last couple of weeks.

Indeed.

 

[hititnquitit]

I jinxed myself. Was in the middle of reconfiguring my loop (to use up some spare gear to upgrade the backup rigs)and ran out of BP extensions (you can see it coming lol). Dug around in every parts box I could find and you guessed it. Four unused, 7 or 8 year old XSPC rotary extensions. Wrong color and the wrong length but they will do for now, oh they'll be fine! Get the loop mostly refilled, everything looks kosher. Shut the rig off to go have a victory smoke and one of the little mfers starts drip, drip, dripping away right at the rotary. I truly hate XSPC fittings...if I was a better shot they'd be range fodder!!! Shotgun maybe.

Thankfully it was the one on the opposite side of the MB and GPU. Rad still has to come out in order to remove them. Just finished my cigarette of defeat...time to fix my fugup.

Worst part is... I did it to myself. Should have known better.

Update- Pics of the garbage XSPC rotaries AND I managed to break a BP rotary. Yep, gotta love that press fit goodness. 3hrs later I've tested every 45 and 90 in the loop to the best of my satisfaction. No loose ones left in there by jimminy!!!

 

[Below Ambient]

have used the same alphacooling fitings in forever (D5 setups in hte last 7 yrs), very affordable as well... stay away from formula and EK, the formulas weaken over time and eks are super difficult to fit hose over not to mention expensive and some of them arent even the same metal as others... i have a few barrow which seem to be good, bitspower seem to be 2-3x more money then others, that doesnt make sense to me...