Watercooling - Bought It... Now Needing Help! xD

The alternative to direct air cooling

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Oaven
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 3:48 am
Location: Manchester, UK

Watercooling - Bought It... Now Needing Help! xD

Post by Oaven » Thu Feb 04, 2010 12:43 pm

DD-5870 waterblock with 1/2" OD fittings. That's what the website said.

Being a total watercooling n00b, I went ahead and ordered this - thinking that 1/2" OD fittings would work with my (3/8" ID - 1/2" OD) Tygon tubing and now have thoroughly no idea at all how to attach my tubing to the block.

I also plumped for a Feser Monsta 360/420 Radiator (the big huge thing that's ridiculously overpriced), an Apogee XT block, two MCP355 pumps and the XSPC Dual-Loop 5.25" Bay Reservoir to house them.

A few questions...

- Anyone have any idea how to connect my tubing to the GPU Waterblock? The barb seems far too big for the tubing.

- How much liquid should I be using in the system? The radiator says it has a 2-litre capacity and the reservoir isn't exactly tiny.

- Should I be using some sort of clips/clamps alongside the compression fittings I have on the Feser radiator?

1398342003
Posts: 324
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 10:35 pm
Location: Surrey, B,C

Post by 1398342003 » Sun Feb 07, 2010 9:16 pm

1. Many shops have 3/8" to 1/2" adapters. This one from NCIX seems to be what you need. Note that the item description is incorrect, it should be 3/8"ID to 1/2"ID, not 3/8"OD to 1/2"OD.

2. Between 2L and 4L, but it's hard to say. I recommend buying extra distilled water.

3. Compression fittings do not need clamps. If they leak, you have the wrong fitting for your hose, or have installed it incorrectly, or you have a defective fitting.

Oaven
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 3:48 am
Location: Manchester, UK

Post by Oaven » Mon Feb 08, 2010 2:28 pm

Thanks a lot! I bought an adaptor from a UK store (only ChilledPC had any available - and even during the order process I was told they didn't have 2 in stock - presumably just 1 as it WAS listed as in stock on their site).

So now I have to wait for them to take delivery of another (at least I imagine - seeing as I *HAVE* paid for it) before they deliver me my goods.

Bought some anti-kink coils, zip-ties, some more compression fittings (didn't have enough for my dual-loop reservoir) and little plastic clip things for the barb tubing.

Here's to hoping the compression fittings really don't need any extra support. I'm a skeptical old hog.

1398342003
Posts: 324
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 10:35 pm
Location: Surrey, B,C

Post by 1398342003 » Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:06 pm

Compression fittings are superior to barb and clamp fittings, but both the inner and outer dimension are important with compression fittings. Barb fittings allow a wider variety of wall thicknesses.

I don't have any compression fittings in my loop, but I would trust them over barb fittings. We use at least two dozen in the compressed air system at the shop I work at. I haven't seen one fail, and most are about fifteen years old. That's under about 80 PSI 24/7/365.

You actually can't even use a hose clamp with compression fittings. The part that does the clamping action is built into the fitting.

Oaven
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 3:48 am
Location: Manchester, UK

Post by Oaven » Wed Feb 10, 2010 8:41 am

Anyone have any idea how to replace the fittings themselves on a waterblock?

They seem to be screwed into the DD-5870 with some big bolts.

The adapters I ordered didn't work! :(

-David

1398342003
Posts: 324
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 10:35 pm
Location: Surrey, B,C

Post by 1398342003 » Wed Feb 10, 2010 7:08 pm

I think I misunderstood what you were trying to do. I thought that you were needing a reducer, but what you need is a smaller diameter fitting. The part I recommended needs a few inches of the larger diameter tube.

The hexagonal part is integrated into the fitting, turning it counterclockwise will loosen it. The DD-5870 seems to have a pair of fittings, one set on the top, one on the bottom. This allows a setup like this.

A G1/4 3/8"ID 1/2"OD compression fitting should be easily able to replace the fittings on the DD-5870.

Sorry for the confusion. :oops:

Oaven
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 3:48 am
Location: Manchester, UK

Post by Oaven » Sun Feb 14, 2010 11:03 am

That did the trick. Used a spanner on the barbs and replaced 'em with compression fittings. :)

Will be setting up the watercooling tomorrow... wish me luck! ;)

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