Is there a reason no one uses copper pipe and fittings?

M

munkle

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Jan 16, 2005
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I have a box of about 200 1/2" copper fittings (elbows, tees, and what not) and about 40ish feet 1/2" copper pipe that was left over from when my parents built this house (so the copper itself is about 30 ish years old). This got me thinking about making a water cooling loop with copper pipe and fittings and the just some small sections (2-3 inches) of tubing from the pipes to the blocks.

I haven't seen anyone do it before, is there a specific reason nobody has done it besides the work and time required?
 
Time, work, and cost. Not everyone has copper pipes and fittings lying around. Most people to save on fittings would need to bend pipes, which isn't exactly easy.
 
How are you planning on attaching your plumbing copper pipe/fittings to your water blocks? Do you really want to be soldering them with a blow torch right next to your motherboard and video cards? It is very difficult to work with the copper piping and fittings that you have.
 
You can try searching for Steampunk mods, they will sometimes incorporate copper lines. Rigid tubing in general is just less friendly to work with.
 
I agree with everyone, it does sound more difficult. However, I have many times imagined a case framed from copper tubing that doubles as a giant cooler. So if you decide to this something like this, I'll cheer you on.
 
serpretetsky said:
I agree with everyone, it does sound more difficult. However, I have many times imagined a case framed from copper tubing that doubles as a giant cooler. So if you decide to this something like this, I'll cheer you on.
Click to expand...

I have thought about doing this myself if I get some time.
 
Any fittings made for rigid tubing/acrylic work fine with copper as long as it's the same OD. The main reason I haven't done it yet is because it's difficult to find an affordable source for 12mm OD copper here in the states. I could go with 1/2" copper, but I'm a Bitspower fanboy lol.

I'd also only do it if it were nickel plated copper... I think bare copper tubing looks awful in most rigs, and unless you clear coat it it starts to tarnish quickly. Getting copper tubing plated is expensive from the research I've done, so I'd probably go with tubing that was plated from the factory. The problem with this approach is the plating can crack when the tubing is bent.

So yeah, there are a few potential issues that tend to put people off. I don't really think it's any more difficult to do than acrylic though. Just takes different problem solving.
 
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