Ace Hardware Vinyl Tubing...

J

JLangevin

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Apr 13, 2007
Messages
1,181
I have seen people asking about Vinyl tubing in this forum, and I always see the same answer.... "Its good for straight tubes, or anywhere there isnt much of a bend" - "It kinks" - "Its too hard".

Im not understanding this... there must be a few different compounds of vinyl tubing?? I redid my custom loop using 1/4ID (small, I know, but works very well), and I find the tubing to be VERY versitile in both friction and bending ability... Is there something I am missing with these other posts people are making, not to mention it comes in ALL SORTS of sizes...

I got 10' of this at ACE Hardware for $3.20. That to me is MUCH better thanthe nearly $1.50/ft some of these online cooling solution sites are selling tubing for.

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That looks like good tubing to me. There's way too much BS and cultism on this forum about tubing material. If it works well use it. I always find Ace Hardware to have great stuff for a lot of my modding needs.
 
I also had a chance to try out a vinyl tubing (3/8 ID) found in homedepot on my last build. I thought it was great for the stuff that I was doing. Its always good to see for yourself and not rely too much in the forums.

BTW, nice build :)
 
Ive used ACE hardware tubing in other people's machines, never my own. Always worked well but yes, it's stiff. Also, 1/2 3/4OD is 89 cents a foot here, I got it Masterkleer at petra for 75 cents. So it might not be the cheapest.
 
I've used the no-name stuff alot over the years, never had a problem except for some real tight bends. A heat gun helps work those out.
 
I'm running local HW store stuff on my 3/8 VGA loop now, no problems at all..............:D
 
I'm not understanding this... there must be a few different compounds of vinyl tubing??
Click to expand...

few hundred at least. Your point is well taken as watercooling is not a particularly demanding application and about anything will do. However you don't have to look far or long to find plenty of posts about tubing becoming cloudy or acquiring flakes/spots.

A lot of it has to do with what additives are in your fluid ( I prefer nothing but distilled water but that is the subject of many mulitpage flame wars) but even then almost anything will do if you don't mind the cosmetics. Elastomer leeching is an issue too but probally does not affect this issue. Wall permeability might be a concern. As far fetched as it sounds your coolant will actually "evaporate" through the walls of you tubing. In a few months you will probally need to top off your coolant. With no leaks, where did it go ? Through the walls of you tubing, not a big deal, just top it off, but just trying to explain why there are so many formulations and grades of tubing. But some of us enjoy the engineering part of it, you don't need a Ferrari to get to work but if you can afford and want one its a nice way to travel.

A visit to mcmaster.com and look at the first couple of pages on plastic tubing and you will be amazed at the variety. No one sat around and made all the different kinds up for fun, there are applications (you would not want a blood transfusion using that ACE hardware tubing, I hope. ) where it is very important to use a certain kind of tubing, water cooling is not really one of them.

Oh forgot,
I cant see your pump I am guessing its fairly small since you are using 1/4 ID. A very real problem (besides the kinking) with larger ID vinyl tubing is that a good pump provides so much suction on the intake side it will collapse vinyl tubing due to its softness. Wall thickness, hardness of the vinyl formulation ad nauseam all matter in some WC setups, in others, not so much.
 
The only thing that i have found to be true with the rumors is that it is a pain in the butt to get the bends from the roll out... if you find that the roll is mostly new, you are going to have less issues since the wound up portion you cut from is less arched...... However, the way I combatted this is to simply make sure that the way the tube needs to bend, and the natural bend... match...

As you can see, I dont have any REALLY tight bends in my setup, it still worked out well... I just wish my WB fittings pointed up rather than 90*... they arent changable either... Oh well. System came down nearly 5*c at load and idle compared to the Thermaltake setup.

Off Topic: Anyone know of a good 1/4" pump to reccomend? The one I am using now is rated at 90l/hr. Id like a little bit more pressure in the system. The radiator is a PF Heat Exchanger 1/4" and the block is from an Alienware Area-51 Aurora and has been lapped. I am sticking with 1/4" until I build my new loop with 3/8"ID and will include NB, GPU, CPU.

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Bill,

Thank you for that information! I will be sure to look into it, as I am always willing to learn! Also, I wouldnt want a blood transfusion from ACE hardware tubing... just a few used straws stuck together will do :)
 
Warming the tubing in hot water or with a heat gun also helps get the tubing straight. Just a thought if you ever need it..........;)
 
1/4" tubing != 1/2" tubing.

Seriously, most vinyl tubing over the 3/8" ID is horrible at those stores. ACE does have some nicer choices than Lowes or Home Depot though.

The cheap vinyl tubing will cloud much easier in the presence of any alcohol... so, basically any antifreeze.

Want me to upload a pic of the bend radius of the 1/2" HD Vinyl tubing? :p


*it's about 4 degrees lol*
 
The 1/4" and 3/8" ID ACE tubing is alright. The 1/2" ID sucks. It comes pre-kinked.
 
It all depends on the type, as stated. I've used Home Depot 1/2"id-3/4"od and 1/2"id-5/8"od beore, and they both sucked. The 3/4"od was so stiff and heavy, it ripped itself off hose barbs unless a hose clamp was clamped down as hard as possible on it. 5/8"od, with its puny 1/16" thick walls, not surprisingly, kinked at the slightest touch.

The realy expensive (>$1.00/foot) tubing has some other factor(s) in its price. Tygon is legendary for being incredibly kink resistant, and some types are chemical or growth resistant, or colored. $0.50/foot Masterkleer is fine for most people.

BTW, 1/4" tubing should be able to do a bend like that quite easily. If it can't, then it either has (literally) paper thin walls, or just plain sucks.
 
I always get my tubing straight from mcmaster. Spend about .38 a foot I think. I also got a whole lot of tube clamps then too (the nice worm drive ones for less than .50 each).
 
Bevous said:
Warming the tubing in hot water or with a heat gun also helps get the tubing straight. Just a thought if you ever need it..........;)
Click to expand...

thats what I do with my loop (even tho im 1/2in) from my pump to the block I will heat that piece of hose up with boiling water. Then once it pliable one end will fit over the pump and Ill normally get a cork screwish bend to the block. No kinks, no snags no problem...and its worked everytime. and with the hose being molded for its purpose there is less stress on the block (i tested this in my rig the block would want to tilt towards the inlet side...after molding the tubing it stopped and sat straight.)
 
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