Tubing size!!!

[Cus_de_Sparta65]

Hi there, I am going round the bend with all these different sizes for compression fittings and tubing. I have bought 3 kinds of fittings in the last month, I have fittings coming out of the ying yang!! Help me please

Anyway I have my eyes on this little bargain and want to be sure I get the correct tubing for them. Could a member of staff point me to the correct size tubing please?

Thank's, Cus



scan code-LN27565

[Nub1]

No one's answered you yet, suppose it's the long weekend. So they should be back tomorrow. I'll try to answer but I am a noob to watercooling.

Regarding fittings, broadly speaking there are two sizes. The 3/8" and 1/2".

Tubing sizes are shown in two ways, the internal diameter (ID) and the outer diameter (OD). You need to match the internal diameter (ID) with your fittings.

Tubing tends to come in three sizes.
3/8" ID tubing (which confusingly had an OD of 1/2") fits the 3/8" barbs/ fittings.
1/2" ID tubing (which can have an OD of 3/4" or 11/16") fits 1/2" barbs
and
7/16" ID tubing (which typically has an OD of 5/8") also fits 1/2" barbs but because of its smaller ID it fits tighter so less chance of leaks. This tubing is relatively rare.

The fittings you have selected LN27565, if I am right is the TFC 3838 Straight Hose Barb Compression Fittings G1/4 to 10mm Tube (3/8") which from the Feser One Site has an ID of 3/8". So any tubing with an ID of 3/8 should fit.

So on the scan site any tubing with 3/8"ID should fit. Be careful with the coils as I'm not sure if scan have the sizes mixed up as they mention a 3/8"OD which I haven't heard of before.

If you want to learn more about tubing, the sizes, whether one is better than another then try reading through The impact of tubing sizes by Cathar.

Hope this sheds some light on it for you.

[Cus_de_Sparta65]

Thank you very much for that very informative reply. You explained it very well so even a numpty like me could understand
It was the 3.8" ID and OD that was confusing me as well but I will stick to 3.8" 10mm ID and I should be ok (I think, right? LOL)
Cheers, Cus

[Nub1]

No problem mate.

First off always ask/ pester people especially when related to water cooling. You don't want to make a mistake.

Yup you're right any 3/8"ID tubing will fit these barbs. Whether barbs are compression or not the size tubing will always follow what I said above.

Also you have said 3.8". This is not equal to 3/8". 3/8 is a fraction, equal to 0.375inches which roughly equals 10mm. So you can see where the imperial and metric sizes are coming from. 3.8" would be a very wide tube. You probably already know that but I don't want you coming back to me saying that the garden hose tubing I told you to get doesn't work.

Now, I have been looking at these barbs and to me it looks like they are NOT compression barbs. The only thing getting compressed is the o-ring and your wallet.
A compression barb looks like a normal barb but has an extra piece that screws over the barb to hold the tubing in place.

A typical barb


An open compression barb


And a closed compression barb


That is some very misleading packaging by TFC.

Please make sure you get confirmation from Scan that they are indeed compression fittings before purchasing.

Hope I didn't confuse things.

[Cus_de_Sparta65]

You seem to be correct in this case, though the rest of the TFC compression fittings 10 packs all look like actual compression jobs. Still they will do the job plus you can't grumble for the price Scan are selling them for! On the Feser site they want an extra 4 quid plus £8 shipping.

[Nub1]

nope those barbs are damned cheap, you're right a good deal. I just bought some Bitspower fittings, lovely but not cheap.

[Cus_de_Sparta65]

Anyone just getting in to liquid cooling should jot down your posts on this thread as it is extremely helpful. I had been dying to ask all about tube & fittings sizes for a while now but kept putting it off as it sounds like such a dumb question.
I hope it helps more people who are snookered by all the compression sizes

Nub1- I am not used to the "Thank's" system on forums so I have updated accordingly.

Cus

[Nub1]

sheesh no need for the thanks but thank you.

We all gotta learn somewhere mate, I was asking all these questions back in Jan of this year. Best advice I got was to keep reading. I think I must have gone through 6 or 7 websites and all their guides on water cooling and on the parts I should get. Took me a solid weekend of reading.
Another thing worth doing is checking out gallery posts as they will give you an idea how to lay out the tubing, how it bends etc.

Take your time and leak test for at least 24hours and all should be well.

[Cus_de_Sparta65]

I actually have liquid cooling in my PC just now but I bought everything second hand from a guy on ebay. So I did not need to bother with fittings sizes and all that as everything was compatible already!
Now I am adding a second loop for my Sapphire HD4870 vid card and as I said im my O.P. I have bought fittings and tubing and it did not fit although the guy from Water Cooling UK promised me it would! The tube did fit no problem but the compression part of it would not go back on when the tube was fitted.
This is what really kinda confused me as these fittings were 8mm/10mm but the tubing for it is much thinner than the 3/8" tubing I have. Then I saw those Feser fittings that said 3/8"/10mm and I was like "What the ****" LOL

Anyway I am back on track and all I need to do is get those fittings as I have rolls and rolls of 3/8" tubing around here.

Edit- I forgot I still need to get my water block It is a pain as this card has a non-reference design so I am limited to what I can use but I really like the Koolance one.