First Watercooling Loop

Tubing

This is another subject that is personal. To carry your coolant from one component to the next you need some sort of tube. Some people use “hard” tube such as acrylic or copper tube. I would not suggest this for the novice. Instead I would use flexible tube. I would also favor clear tube initially so that you can see bubbles and convince yourself everything is happy when filling your loop. My favorite tubing is Primochill *Advanced* LRT – it is very good at keeping it’s clarity, unlike some brands that may turn brown or white within a few weeks or months.

If you are using barb fittings then only the inner diameter of the tube is important and you can choose thinner or thicker walled tubing. Thicker walled tubing is always less likely to kink but also less flexible. If you are using barbs you can also undersize your tube in order to get a tighter fit on your barb. For example you can buy 1/2″ barbs and run 7/16″ ID tubing on it. However you may have to pre-warm the end of the tube in some hot warm in order to more easily get it on the barb.

If you are using compression fittings then you must match both the inner diameter of the tube and the outer diameter of the tube to the same as the compression fitting otherwise a secure connection may not be made. Bear in mind manufacturers of both tube and compression fittings are not exact in their sizing and so there may some times be an incompatibility between brands. Always give your tubing a good tug after fitting it to make sure that it’s secure!

Recommendations:

1/2″ barb fittings + Primochill *Advanced* LRT 7/16″ ID x 5/8″ OD
3/8″ ID x 5/8″ Compression Fittings + Primochill *Advanced* LRT 3/8″ ID x 5/8″ OD