How many % of system builder uses Non transparent water cooling tubes

[Happy Hopping]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXEi9pFXxoo

I never seen a sys. builder who purposely spray paint her tubes from transparent to non-transparent. I thought it makes more sense to see the flow of the liquid in case there is something wrong

P.S. not to mention spray paint w/o wearing mask is a prelude to cancer, those paint are oil based paint (at least the spray can is)

 

[Darunion]

Every time i see your name creating a thread, i am never surprised with the content.

Those spray booths pull air through so you dont need a mask and air brush doesnt spray everywhere like a rattlecan does. Also the middle front tube you can see through.

Really nice build though

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I'm not sure I'd rattle-can hard tubes, but I also don't use hard tubes.

Every water cooling build I've built I've used solid opaque soft tubing. That was mostly because with soft tubes, clear ones tend to turn yellow over time, and then also have a nasty habit of leeching plasticizer that can gunk up the blocks and loop.. The non-plasticizer leeching ones tend to be opaque (but there are some clear ones). It is hit or miss.

For me water cooling has always been a functional thing, not an aesthetic thing. I put the door on the case, stick it hidden away under my desk, and never look at it again, until it is time for maintenance or upgrades, so I really don't care how the insides look within reason.

I do good cable management to avoid problems like cables getting in fans, coming loose or blocking airflow. And I do water cooling for the cooling performance and noise benefits. I never do any of those things for the looks. A PC is a tool. You wouldn't use a tricked out aesthetically modified hammer or cordless drill would you? And if you did, we'd probably make fun of you

 

[Darunion]

I do good cable management to avoid problems like cables getting in fans, coming loose or blocking airflow. And I do water cooling for the cooling performance and noise benefits. I never do any of those things for the looks. A PC is a tool. You wouldn't use a tricked out aesthetically modified hammer or cordless drill would you? And if you did, we'd probably make fun of you

Speak for yourself! I would absolutely use a tricked out power drill if the mods were more lighting!

 

[Endgame]

If I were going to do opaque hardline, I'd use copper pipe and I'd strategically set my airflow to pickup a small amount of extra cooling. Heck, maybe they even make finned copper pipe. As it is, I just use flexible tube and don't worry about it.

 

[Happy Hopping]

I'm not sure I'd rattle-can hard tubes, but I also don't use hard tubes.

Every water cooling build I've built I've used solid opaque soft tubing. That was mostly because with soft tubes, clear ones tend to turn yellow over time, and then also have a nasty habit of leeching plasticizer that can gunk up the blocks and loop.. The non-plasticizer leeching ones tend to be opaque (but there are some clear ones). It is hit or miss.

For me water cooling has always been a functional thing, not an aesthetic thing. I put the door on the case, stick it hidden away under my desk, and never look at it again, until it is time for maintenance or upgrades, so I really don't care how the insides look within reason.

I do good cable management to avoid problems like cables getting in fans, coming loose or blocking airflow. And I do water cooling for the cooling performance and noise benefits. I never do any of those things for the looks. A PC is a tool. You wouldn't use a tricked out aesthetically modified hammer or cordless drill would you? And if you did, we'd probably make fun of you

but then how would you know if something goes wrong at the inside if you can't see the flow?

 

[Happy Hopping]

Every time i see your name creating a thread, i am never surprised with the content.

Those spray booths pull air through so you dont need a mask and air brush doesnt spray everywhere like a rattlecan does. Also the middle front tube you can see through.

Really nice build though

you do need a mask. Really. Water based or oil based both cause cancer. The paint particles dissipates in all direction eventhough you have a fan (s) at the spray booth. Now, if you have a spray booth that is like what we saw in those Aliens movie, that you insert your hand in a rubber outlet, and the airbrush is inside that outlet, and the whole spray brush is sealed, then you don't need a mask

https://paintinggal.com/can-acrylic-paint-cause-cancer-risks-and-precautions/

Also, later on in that same video, she uses a spray can.

 

[xDiVolatilX]

I'm not sure I'd rattle-can hard tubes, but I also don't use hard tubes.

Every water cooling build I've built I've used solid opaque soft tubing. That was mostly because with soft tubes, clear ones tend to turn yellow over time, and then also have a nasty habit of leeching plasticizer that can gunk up the blocks and loop.. The non-plasticizer leeching ones tend to be opaque (but there are some clear ones). It is hit or miss.

For me water cooling has always been a functional thing, not an aesthetic thing. I put the door on the case, stick it hidden away under my desk, and never look at it again, until it is time for maintenance or upgrades, so I really don't care how the insides look within reason.

I do good cable management to avoid problems like cables getting in fans, coming loose or blocking airflow. And I do water cooling for the cooling performance and noise benefits. I never do any of those things for the looks. A PC is a tool. You wouldn't use a tricked out aesthetically modified hammer or cordless drill would you? And if you did, we'd probably make fun of you

Just wanted to chime in about Primochill soft tubing clear I have used for years and years a loooooong time and it has never leaked or leeched plasticizer or anything. My fluid has always been clear and my blocks have never had a single spec of mildew or gunk or residue or anything. I'm always so pleased with the results when I open up my loop and blocks to see absolutely nothing in the loop except pure liquid fluid not a single problem, ever.

Lol so Primochill soft tubing gets my strongest recommendation use it with no worries at all and it is crystal clear you can see the liquid and bubbles and fluid flowing.

 

[motqalden]

but then how would you know if something goes wrong at the inside if you can't see the flow?

Its not like you stare at your tubing all day. If something goes wrong like dead pump your system is gonna throttle and possibly shut down. It you want to monitor it you can get a flow meter or check temps for unusually high values.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Just wanted to chime in about Primochill soft tubing clear I have used for years and years a loooooong time and it has never leaked or leeched plasticizer or anything. My fluid has always been clear and my blocks have never had a single spec of mildew or gunk or residue or anything. I'm always so pleased with the results when I open up my loop and blocked to see absolutely nothing in the loop except pure liquid fluid not a single problem, ever.

Lol so Primochill soft tubing gets my strongest recommendation use it with no worries at all and it is crystal clear you can see the liquid and bubbles and fluid flowing.

Yeah, for the last several builds I have used Primochill Primoflex Advanced LRT in solid black. It has been great tubing for me.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

but then how would you know if something goes wrong at the inside if you can't see the flow?

Once the bubbles are cleared out, you can't really see the flow through the clear tubing anyway.

But I'd notice if something was off based on the temps I was achieving, or based on the flow rates in my flow sensors. There is no need to actually look at the thing while it is running, other than during initial setup and leak test. Once you have confirmed there are no leaks and you have adequate flow, you are good to go.

 

[pendragon1]

yup. temps. its pretty simple.
i also run black tubing, auto fuel line because it was cheaper.

 

[Happy Hopping]

but don't you people feel better if you can see the liquid flow? Most case are tempered glass, so you can see thru if your PC is on the desk. I mean, there is nothing to lose, and a piece of mind to gain

 

[pendragon1]

but don't you people feel better if you can see the liquid flow? Most case are tempered glass, so you can see thru if your PC is on the desk. I mean, there is nothing to lose, and a piece of mind to gain

not really, temps/fans will tell me if theres a prob but i can also see it in moving the res

 

[xDiVolatilX]

but don't you people feel better if you can see the liquid flow? Most case are tempered glass, so you can see thru if your PC is on the desk. I mean, there is nothing to lose, and a piece of mind to gain

Yes. I love seeing the fluid flow. It's therapeutic and part of the experience for me. I wouldn't want to hide it. When I run the pump on higher speed it is very visible. The lower I run the D5 the less noticable the flow appears all the way down to no visibility on the lowest settings. I've considered installing a flow indicator but I don't wanna introduce an additional part in the loop I have enough radiators and fittings and don't want anything unnecessary to impede the flow any further.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

but don't you people feel better if you can see the liquid flow? Most case are tempered glass, so you can see thru if your PC is on the desk. I mean, there is nothing to lose, and a piece of mind to gain

But that's exactly it.

In a properly functioning loop, the water flow is not visible. The tubes are just full of water. Unless there are air bubbles in it (which you shouldn't have) moving water looks pretty much exactly the same as water that stands still.

 

[hititnquitit]

but don't you people feel better if you can see the liquid flow? Most case are tempered glass, so you can see thru if your PC is on the desk. I mean, there is nothing to lose, and a piece of mind to gain

Nah, that's not an issue. You don't gain any real peace of mind from the water flowing through the tubes. Rather, it's gained from consistent temps. Once you have purged your loop you know exactly where your CPU, GPU and water temps should be under all loads. So if there's an issue it stands out immediately. I run black tubing so I wouldn't be able to see it anyhow. If I happen to have a concern with my flow rate I look at my res.

 

[NightReaver]

Why would I want to see the water flowing? That implies air bubbles are present.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Why would I want to see the water flowing? That implies air bubbles are present.

I get the impression he has never seen a water loop in action and assumes that you see some sort of trickling stream through the tubes.

Which is fine. We all started somewhere and learned along the way.

That's not the way it looks though.

After the initial fill stage when there is some air caught in the loop that gets worked out, and you can see those air bubbles rushing through the tubes, you son't see the water moving. The tubes are just full with water. The fact that the water is moving is not visible, except maybe a little bit in the reservoir.

It's surprisingly difficult to find a good video illustrating what a water loop looks like after the early fill stage, but I found this one:


View: https://youtu.be/r19tI6qmWxA

I don't know what he's talking about (no audio right now), but if you look at the loop, it is powered on and running. The tubes are full of water, but you can't see it moving, even though it is.

 

[pendragon1]

except maybe a little bit in the reservoir.

yup, just that little ripple at the surface seen at 15-20sec mark. mine is a stubby res only like a couple inches tall and it has a little whirlpool if i look up under the cap.

 

[magoo]

Second the flow meter.
Ive always used either black or white primochill tubing. So.....
theres a little turbulence in the reservoir
You cant "see" flow after the loop equilibrates anyway.
Answer: flowmeter or blind faith
Ive always chosen blind faith.
The Swiftech pump will outlive me.

 

[Dan_D]

A PC is a tool. You wouldn't use a tricked out aesthetically modified hammer or cordless drill would you? And if you did, we'd probably make fun of you

We aren't talking about a drill or a hammer. You can make a computer look good and still have it be reliable.

If I were going to do opaque hardline, I'd use copper pipe and I'd strategically set my airflow to pickup a small amount of extra cooling. Heck, maybe they even make finned copper pipe. As it is, I just use flexible tube and don't worry about it.

Most of the opaque hard tubing builds I've seen used copper tubing.

but then how would you know if something goes wrong at the inside if you can't see the flow?

It's simple. There are a lot of indicators of something going wrong once something goes wrong. Your temperatures skyrocket, you see a leak, a pool of fluid under the machine, you stop being able to hear the pump etc. You won't see the flow at all once the air bubbles are out of it. You can use the motherboard software or some third party tools to handle monitoring if you really want to. There are thermal protections build into the CPU and motherboard as well. In a worst case scenario with complete cooling failure your system will most likely shut down or at least force a restart anyway.

Once the bubbles are cleared out, you can't really see the flow through the clear tubing anyway.

But I'd notice if something was off based on the temps I was achieving, or based on the flow rates in my flow sensors. There is no need to actually look at the thing while it is running, other than during initial setup and leak test. Once you have confirmed there are no leaks and you have adequate flow, you are good to go.

Exactly.

but don't you people feel better if you can see the liquid flow? Most case are tempered glass, so you can see thru if your PC is on the desk. I mean, there is nothing to lose, and a piece of mind to gain

Again, you won't see the liquid flow. After you bleed the air out of the system there is nothing to see. The tubes are completely filled with coolant. I've run just about every kind of water cooling setup there is and some have had opaque tubing. In fact, my test bench right now has ZMT tubing that you can't see through.