Extreme Rigs Soft Tube Test – Take 2 – Final Update

Update 3 – Final

7th December 2016.

10 Months have passed since we first began and we believe it’s time to put an end to the Soft Tube Test Take 2.

During the 5 months since the previous update, the fan on each loop’s radiator has deliberately been kept off, and only recently did the thermostat start turning them on during the day and off again at night. The fans were kept off/controlled to keep the coolant temperature as high as possible while still under a safe loop operating temperature of 40°C. This was done because we believe that higher coolant temperatures have more of an effect on tubing and coolant that lower temperatures.

The D5 Vario on each loop was set to maximum and they were never turned off.

The test rig had no changes, but what became obvious as time went by was the pink dye in the coolant was becoming much less intense. You may recall the coolant was a very intense pink/magenta color when we began.
After 10 months it was not quite looking the same.

The test rig is not situated in direct sunlight and no UV lighting was set up for this Take 2 version of the test. So again we wonder if the dye was just breaking down, or if it was being absorbed into the tube and/or other loop components.

As a reminder, the Mayhems Ultra Clear tubing is on the front loop and PrimoChill Advanced LRT is on the rear loop.
There is very little difference visually between the 2 tube types, even when right up close. The Mayhems Ultra Clear still is slightly darker, because of it’s slight blue tint.

With both loops intact and still full of coolant it was very difficult to tell the difference between the Ultra Clear and Advanced LRT. so again sections were cut from the pump outlet line of each loop for closer examination.

Mayhems Ultra Clear


Here’s a side by side of how the Mayhem’s Ultra Clear looks now compared to how it looked 5 months ago.
And this the difference between now and 10 months ago when it was new.
While in comparison mode, here are a couple of side by side photos with a sample from all 3 updates and how the Ultra Clear was when new

Primochill Advanced LRT

Here is the side by side of how the Advanced LRT looks now compared to how it looked 5 months ago at the last update.
And below is now compared to when it was new 10 months ago.
The following are timeline shots of the Advanced LRT tubing.

Ultra Clear Vs. Adv. LRT

We’ve shown the individual shots for each tube. Now let’s move onto the comparison photos.

A quick reminder that when both tube types are pictured together Mayhems Ultra Clear is always on the left and Primochill Advanced LRT is on the right.

This update’s cut out tube sections side by side.

The Ultra Clear does appear slightly darker and again we suggest this is due to the blue tinge it has when new compared to the Advanced LRT which has a slight yellow tinge.

These cross-section shots show that both tubes have continued to absorb dye from the coolant. In the last update we thought the Advanced LRT was absorbing more dye, this time it appears the Ultra clear has absorbed more.

The next photo shows both tube types from the current/final update and how they looked when new.

Now lets add the other update samples for the complete time-line of each tube side-by-side.

It is obvious that both tubes have stained more as time passed (from the NON Stain Dye which we were warned would stain badly).  We conclude that dye absorption rate appears similar on both tubes with the Advanced LRT perhaps staining slightly less than the Mayhems Ultra Clear . The color shade of each is very similar despite the different tint of each tube type when it was new.

Both tubes have absorbed so much dye now that neither can be called clear and therefore we hesitate make a judgment on clarity. However the slight haziness the Ultra Clear had when new is still noticeable after all this time. The Advanced LRT does seem  more “sharp” (lees blurry) despite the color staining.
The black background shows the better clarity of the Advanced LRT slightly better than a white background, or perhaps it shows the haziness of the Ultra Clear better.

Let’s now take a closer look at the cut out sections.

Again, Mayhems Ultra Clear is on the left and Primochill Advanced LRT is on the right.
A few different angles are shown of the same sections as light from different angles changed the appearance.

The Adv. LRT which has a thicker wall diameter and is stiffer seems to have restricted dye absorption and is only close to the inner wall compared to the softer Ultra Clear. We suspect this is due to permeability as well as the stiffness which we touched on in the last update.

Now we see the same sections from this update compared to sections cut at the beginning of the test 10 months ago.

With a black background we can more easily see how the staining on Advanced LRT is limited to inner wall as previously mentioned.
Both tube types were wiped to check for residue or plasticizer. The good news is that both tube types were squeaky clean.

From this we conclude that neither Ultra Clear or Advanced LRT have plasticizer issues that we need to be concerned about. This is is pleasant surprise given plasticizer issues are still common with some tubing types.

Update 3 ends on that positive note for both tube types. Next up: final thoughts and summary.