Water Cooling Questions (Dye and Hard Tubing and Pump)

[hunt_ftw]

Hi guys, this is my first post as I noticed you guys were a great community of PC builders and modders. So I am hitting up my second build, and it is my first water cooling build. I will be using the In Win 909 case.
Parts List: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TzZPxY
Ignore the storage, wireless adapter, and power supply, those are for my uncle. This brings me to my questions.

1. Pump.
Will be using EK-XRES D5 pump (https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-xres-100-revo-d5-pwm-incl-pump) with a regular or verticle fan mound depending on where you guys think I should mount it. I'm thinking mount 1, as I think it would allow more natural air flow from bottom of case, and the mount is cheaper. But dont forget I have a long GPU so I dont know if it will fit .Help me decide.
https://gyazo.com/0874189052013bf56b2937f45823b5d1

2. Dye.
For now I will definitely be running distilled water and Mayhem's kill coil, but in the future i would like to run Mayhem's ice white combined with a mix of some UV dyes. I would like to know how this would affect tubing and stuff, because I know it stains, but then why is everyone using it if it stains? I just want that UV stuff in tubing but no staining to parts .

3. Tubing.
First time water cooler here. Really want to run acrylic, because I have UV in my case, and the crystal look to it. I have a couple of kits in mind to buy for bending, but first I want to address should I even be doing hard tubing. Also please tell me if I need any angled fittings to make the build easier to route the tubing in.

So here's the pipe I have in mind.
https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-hd-tube-12-16mm-500mm-2-pcs
And the fittings.
https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-hdc-fitting-16mm-g1-4-green-5439
Please correct me in these choices if I am wrong.

Here is the bending kit I am probably going to get.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106403&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-DIY+Cooling-_-N82E16835106403&gclid=Cj0KEQjw4J-6BRD3h_KIoqijwvkBEiQAfcPiBQDOjCgfq2bvSjqCRwyYahP925dNfi1biRENwk5WdGYaAiFv8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

I see its not for acrylic though. So if that doesn't work, this one will do.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/monsoon-hardline-all-pro-deluxe-bender-kit-1-2-x-5-8-16mm.html

This heat gun.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/monsoon-hardline-pro-heatgun-kit.html

Stupid question but do I need gloves and sandpaper? If I need the sandpaper can I use some I already have?

Thank you guys so much if anyone answers, I hope you guys really are a cool nice community. If so I have found a new home!

-hunt

 

[Jiahong]

Hi I just finished my first water cooling build a couple month ago and the memory is still fresh! oh and I used Acrylic tubing too (I was going for PETG but accidentally bought the wrong material). So here are my opinions

1. What about mount it on the fan slot above mount 1? It might make the bottom half of your build look empty but you should be able to get air flow and gpu clearance.

2. I used XSPC ECX white and it looks good for me. It stains my tubing but it's also not transparent so I can't see the stain once it's filled lol

3. I got acrylic tubings by accident but I think it ended up well. The tubing looks shiny and it's actually not that hard to work with. You just need to heat them for a longer time. They are easy to deburr, and you can also take a Dremel to it without causing it to turn yellow.

At first I tried to use tight bends to get around corners instead of angled fittings, but the problem I had was that the silicon insert and the tubing I used are from different brands so they don't match prefectly (The insert is slightly smaller then the tube diameter). As I bend it the tubing near the bend is slightly compressed. The cross-section becomes an oval instead of circle and I can no longer fit the compression rings of the fittings through near the bends. So I ended up using angled fittings.

I didn't use a bending kit I just did it by hand, but I think the bends will look nicer with the mandrels. The thing that's really important is the silicon insert. I think the first bending kit you showed will work with Acrylic. The only thing that might not work is the pipe cutter. I tried using such cutter initially but acrylic is so easy to shatter. So I ended up using a Dremal (with cutting wheels for metal). A heck saw will also work, do it gently to prevent shattering.

I don't think you need sand paper if you get the deburring tool (orange circular thing) in your first bending kit. Gloves, depends on how hot your skin can handle.

Also, I did all the bends on the stove in the kitchen, but strongly not recommended because my dinner that night tasted like burned plastic lol~~

Hope that helps! Good luck on your build!!
Jiahong

 

[hunt_ftw]

Hi I just finished my first water cooling build a couple month ago and the memory is still fresh! oh and I used Acrylic tubing too (I was going for PETG but accidentally bought the wrong material). So here are my opinions

1. What about mount it on the fan slot above mount 1? It might make the bottom half of your build look empty but you should be able to get air flow and gpu clearance.

2. I used XSPC ECX white and it looks good for me. It stains my tubing but it's also not transparent so I can't see the stain once it's filled lol

3. I got acrylic tubings by accident but I think it ended up well. The tubing looks shiny and it's actually not that hard to work with. You just need to heat them for a longer time. They are easy to deburr, and you can also take a Dremel to it without causing it to turn yellow.

At first I tried to use tight bends to get around corners instead of angled fittings, but the problem I had was that the silicon insert and the tubing I used are from different brands so they don't match prefectly (The insert is slightly smaller then the tube diameter). As I bend it the tubing near the bend is slightly compressed. The cross-section becomes an oval instead of circle and I can no longer fit the compression rings of the fittings through near the bends. So I ended up using angled fittings.

I didn't use a bending kit I just did it by hand, but I think the bends will look nicer with the mandrels. The thing that's really important is the silicon insert. I think the first bending kit you showed will work with Acrylic. The only thing that might not work is the pipe cutter. I tried using such cutter initially but acrylic is so easy to shatter. So I ended up using a Dremal (with cutting wheels for metal). A heck saw will also work, do it gently to prevent shattering.

I don't think you need sand paper if you get the deburring tool (orange circular thing) in your first bending kit. Gloves, depends on how hot your skin can handle.

Also, I did all the bends on the stove in the kitchen, but strongly not recommended because my dinner that night tasted like burned plastic lol~~

Hope that helps! Good luck on your build!!
Jiahong

Do you think that my res and pump will fit up there? If so I definitely will.

True, I guess if I used dyes it would just make my tubing look cool, unless I used a different color.

Should I get the EK kit instead? It has the inserts for their tubing, so would it work better?

Oh cool colors sorry just want to test this

Ya hopefully I wont use my oven .

Edit: Did you use a drain valve?

-hunt

 

[Jiahong]

Hi I just finished my first water cooling build a couple month ago and the memory is still fresh! oh and I used Acrylic tubing too (I was going for PETG but accidentally bought the wrong material). So here are my opinions

1. What about mount it on the fan slot above mount 1? It might make the bottom half of your build look empty but you should be able to get air flow and gpu clearance.

2. I used XSPC ECX white and it looks good for me. It stains my tubing but it's also not transparent so I can't see the stain once it's filled lol

3. I got acrylic tubings by accident but I think it ended up well. The tubing looks shiny and it's actually not that hard to work with. You just need to heat them for a longer time. They are easy to deburr, and you can also take a Dremel to it without causing it to turn yellow.

At first I tried to use tight bends to get around corners instead of angled fittings, but the problem I had was that the silicon insert and the tubing I used are from different brands so they don't match prefectly (The insert is slightly smaller then the tube diameter). As I bend it the tubing near the bend is slightly compressed. The cross-section becomes an oval instead of circle and I can no longer fit the compression rings of the fittings through near the bends. So I ended up using angled fittings.

I didn't use a bending kit I just did it by hand, but I think the bends will look nicer with the mandrels. The thing that's really important is the silicon insert. I think the first bending kit you showed will work with Acrylic. The only thing that might not work is the pipe cutter. I tried using such cutter initially but acrylic is so easy to shatter. So I ended up using a Dremal (with cutting wheels for metal). A heck saw will also work, do it gently to prevent shattering.

I don't think you need sand paper if you get the deburring tool (orange circular thing) in your first bending kit. Gloves, depends on how hot your skin can handle.

Also, I did all the bends on the stove in the kitchen, but strongly not recommended because my dinner that night tasted like burned plastic lol~~

Hope that helps! Good luck on your build!!
Jiahong

Do you think that my res and pump will fit up there? If so I definitely will.

True, I guess if I used dyes it would just make my tubing look cool, unless I used a different color.

Should I get the EK kit instead? It has the inserts for their tubing, so would it work better?

Oh cool colors sorry just want to test this

Ya hopefully I wont use my oven .

Edit: Did you use a drain valve?

-hunt

For the pump mounting I checked EK's website and the unit is 150mm tall. I measured my graphics card which is sitting around 160 mm below (should be the same for yours too if you put it in the first slot) the top of the motherboard so theoretically the unit should fit without causing GPU clearance issue. If space is allowed you can always mount your GPU one slot below then it will totally fit.

For the silicon insert, my tubing was from Primochill and the insert was from Monsoon, although they are both 3/8 (ID for tubing and OD for insert), the fit was not tight. I would suggest using the insert and tubing from the same brand according to my experience. (Thermaltake tubing fro the Thermaltake bending kit something like that)

I don't have a drain valve, I bought an extra barbed fitting and some soft tubing and connect them onto the extra port on the reservoir for drain&fill. My case is pretty small so I can hold it up and put it into any orientation I want to get all the fluid out. Your case looks pretty big so I would suggest put some sort of drain system will make it easier. I didn't use a drain valve because my reservoir is not remotely close to any of my electrical components so I don't really care if some fluid spill when I change the fittings on the reservoir for draining. A drain valve can prevent spilling liquid during that process and make things less sketchy.

 

[hunt_ftw]

Are you suggesting mounting the pump/res vertical or horizontal? I am confused because my res alone is 250mm. I have looked into it a little more and found that I will probs be able to fit the pump/res on the mount 1 i was showing and mount it vertically. This will also allow me to add on a drain.

Thanks, I will definintly purchase the monsoon kit, also adding the heat gun, and now I will add in the EK kit for the inserts.

I will be getting a drain valve. Thanks for that info you have.

I am confused on these fittings that EK makes...
They say compression, but they are one piece? I really want the extra security of 2 piece but I don't know if that works with hard tubing. So if its the kind where all you do is push the tube in, please tell me, and also tell me if I can instead use these, or would it be safer to stick with the EK kind? Thanks.

Links:

Bitspower kind I would like to use
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/24720/ex-tub-3131/Bitspower_G_14_Enhanced_Multi-Link_Adapter_-_16mm_OD_Rigid_Tube_-_Carbon_Black_BP-CBEML16.html?tl=g30c703s2058#blank

EK kind
https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-hdc-fitting-16mm-g1-4-black-4513

One more thing, about how much tubing would you recommend to account for mistakes to be made?

-hunt

 

[Jiahong]

Are you suggesting mounting the pump/res vertical or horizontal? I am confused because my res alone is 250mm. I have looked into it a little more and found that I will probs be able to fit the pump/res on the mount 1 i was showing and mount it vertically. This will also allow me to add on a drain.

Thanks, I will definintly purchase the monsoon kit, also adding the heat gun, and now I will add in the EK kit for the inserts.

I will be getting a drain valve. Thanks for that info you have.

I am confused on these fittings that EK makes...
They say compression, but they are one piece? I really want the extra security of 2 piece but I don't know if that works with hard tubing. So if its the kind where all you do is push the tube in, please tell me, and also tell me if I can instead use these, or would it be safer to stick with the EK kind? Thanks.

Links:

Bitspower kind I would like to use
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/24720/ex-tub-3131/Bitspower_G_14_Enhanced_Multi-Link_Adapter_-_16mm_OD_Rigid_Tube_-_Carbon_Black_BP-CBEML16.html?tl=g30c703s2058#blank

EK kind
https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-hdc-fitting-16mm-g1-4-black-4513

One more thing, about how much tubing would you recommend to account for mistakes to be made?

-hunt

Sorry for the pump mounting I didn't know you have a longer reservoir

For the fittings, the EK one in your link looks like compression to me, the third picture shows the 2 pieces of the fittings. EK also make push-in type fittings but I think it's a different product.

I used Primochill tubing and Monsoon fittings and they work just fine, just make sure the tubing OD matches the fittings. Using everything from the same brand will definitely be safer.

For tubings, getting twice the amount might be overkill but I did screw up some bends during my build and had to order more tubings later on. I suggest getting 50% more then you need.

 

[hunt_ftw]

Thanks man you've been a great help. For the pump I will just see where it fits when I get it, and I am getting 6m of tubing. I guess I will stick with EK fittings/tubing.

Thanks a lot bro.
-hunt

 

[Jiahong]

Thanks man you've been a great help. For the pump I will just see where it fits when I get it, and I am getting 6m of tubing. I guess I will stick with EK fittings/tubing.

Thanks a lot bro.
-hunt

Good Luck!!