New water setup - What size hoses?!

[K22]

Hey all,

Time for me to finally get stuck in here at hexus and whilst learning, share what I already know! Been hanging around here for years, so think it's high time

I'm finally taking the plunge (No pun intended ) on a water rig, and atm am pretty set on 10/8 compression. I see an awful lot using 1/2" and wonder whether there is a real world improvement in doing so. I mean, look at the blocks/rads/pumps and internally most aren't 1/2" inlets/outlets anyway, so surely using 1/2" hose can only serve to decrease pressure in the loop

Of course the loop will hold more water overall, but I think the volume we're talking would be negligible. Would someone please tell me why so many people go for 1/2", I'm sure I'm missing the point

K22

[F1ZZY]

In a word, HISTORY.

1/2" tubing was used back in the day when people were using aquarium pumps and much lower restriction blocks (channel or maze designs). The 1/2" tubing made all the difference then as an increase in flow rate gave good decrease in temps.

10 years later and the industry and technology has flourished. Pumps are more specific now and have higher pressure (head) ratings and the blocks are CAD produced with impingement jets or multi-pinned affairs. (much higher cooling & surface area but at the expense of increased flow restriction).

You will see from looking at performance graphs of modern radiator and blocks that flow rate makes hardly any difference at all. eg for D-tek Fuzion (taken from their site) an increase in flow from 1.0 to 3.0 gpm only increases cooling ability from 0.033 C/W to 0.026 C/W.

Big bore tubing is fashionable and people didn't realise how negligible the perfance gain gave until Cathar dispelled the "big is best" myth a few months back.

Basically, it is allowed to chose a smaller bore and to go with what you think looks best these days without getting totally flamed by the extreme 1/2" junkies.

[daza]

In a nutshell, which ever size hose you want to use as theres about a 1c differnece between them these days.

[Agent]

In a word, HISTORY.

1/2" tubing was used back in the day when people were using aquarium pumps and much lower restriction blocks (channel or maze designs). The 1/2" tubing made all the difference then as an increase in flow rate gave good decrease in temps.

10 years later and the industry and technology has flourished. Pumps are more specific now and have higher pressure (head) ratings and the blocks are CAD produced with impingement jets or multi-pinned affairs. (much higher cooling & surface area but at the expense of increased flow restriction).

You will see from looking at performance graphs of modern radiator and blocks that flow rate makes hardly any difference at all. eg for D-tek Fuzion (taken from their site) an increase in flow from 1.0 to 3.0 gpm only increases cooling ability from 0.033 C/W to 0.026 C/W.

Big bore tubing is fashionable and people didn't realise how negligible the perfance gain gave until Cathar dispelled the "big is best" myth a few months back.

Basically, it is allowed to chose a smaller bore and to go with what you think looks best these days without getting totally flamed by the extreme 1/2" junkies.

Good post

The difference between 1/2" and 10/8mm is very small and everything has to be matched perfect with 1/2" to get the small gain. 10/8mm in my experience is also much easier to route, certainly for someone new to watercooling.

There is some more posts about it here:
10mm vs 12mm ? - Pro/Forums
Water Cooling FAQs - WizD Forums

Oh and as the Wizard forums point out, the 1/2" still mainly comes from the US, where Europe seems to favour the 10/8mm size.
If you're cooling loads anyway, you will probably be looking to use 2 loops. In which case size becomes even more irrelevant.

[dangel]

I'm a fan of 10mm with pushfits.. never had a problem with it in 3 odd years

[Agent]

I prefer compression

I used to use pushfit all the time, but after a while they seemed to get leaky if the pipe was coming out at an angle, thus pushing on one side more than the other

[K22]

In a word, HISTORY.

1/2" tubing was used back in the day when people were using aquarium pumps and much lower restriction blocks (channel or maze designs). The 1/2" tubing made all the difference then as an increase in flow rate gave good decrease in temps.

10 years later and the industry and technology has flourished. Pumps are more specific now and have higher pressure (head) ratings and the blocks are CAD produced with impingement jets or multi-pinned affairs. (much higher cooling & surface area but at the expense of increased flow restriction).

You will see from looking at performance graphs of modern radiator and blocks that flow rate makes hardly any difference at all. eg for D-tek Fuzion (taken from their site) an increase in flow from 1.0 to 3.0 gpm only increases cooling ability from 0.033 C/W to 0.026 C/W.

Big bore tubing is fashionable and people didn't realise how negligible the perfance gain gave until Cathar dispelled the "big is best" myth a few months back.

Basically, it is allowed to chose a smaller bore and to go with what you think looks best these days without getting totally flamed by the extreme 1/2" junkies.

Oh yes! That post is just the reason I've been a Hexus fan for so long I now feel much happier with my 10/8 Compression decision. Many thanks! K22

[dangel]

I prefer compression

I used to use pushfit all the time, but after a while they seemed to get leaky if the pipe was coming out at an angle, thus pushing on one side more than the other

That's usually true if they're not fully seated (or the ends aren't flat enough) - mine are at some interesting angles and yet remain 100% reliable. Also helps if the pipe's not too soft too

Still choice is good - and i'm not one to fiddle with yer pipework