Plastic hose clamps...

Has anyone ever had any issue with these? I normally use metal worm gear ones. But, I want this build to be as clean looking as possible. I want to make sure that they offer enough clamp load and reliability to use for the long term. Thank you for your help!

I've always used the worm drive clamps, the plastic ones should be fine, just use some pliers to squeeze them shut and make them nice and tight

I've only used the metal worm drive clamps and they seem to work great. On my 7/16 build, I went with just zip ties. I was skeptical at first, BUT after realizing that I have cut the tubing off the barbs to get it off, My fears were put at ease.

WIth 1/2 inch tubing, worm drive is the way to go.

I wouldn't touch the plastic ones if you paid me to. Ive had metal ones still leak though, one that was imprinting the tubing still managed to kill my 6600gt , but otherwise they have been good to me.
one thing that scares me is peeps using Zipties on maskerkleer.....

Valk said:

I wouldn't touch the plastic ones if you paid me to. Ive had metal ones still leak though, one that was imprinting the tubing still managed to kill my 6600gt , but otherwise they have been good to me.
one thing that scares me is peeps using Zipties on maskerkleer.....

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I use zipties on Masterkleer and have no problems.
These are pics from my current (and dusty) RIG, these zipties have been in place for more than 9 months with no sign of ever leaking, and zipties did not leak on the other builds I've done, ever. I have found that if you plan the loop, and don't stress the tubing with really tight bends, you can use zipties instead of plastic clamps or wormdrives.




The first DIY watercooling setup I built I used the plastic clamps and changed them a week later due to me not trusting them at all, they don't feel safe.

Plastic ones are fine. Retired my old worm gear clamps a long time ago. Plastic is easier, quicker, cleaner looking.

Well, I stick with my type 430 smooth lined metal clamps from Mcmaster. They don't cut into the tubing and can be tightened down like crazy. If you are using 7/16" over 1/2", I can understand why people use zip ties. But I personally like knowing that my hoses aren't going to leak period as I use a ratchet to tighten the clamps down.

I thought about using plastic clamps, and ordered some to look at, but I ended up sticking with the smooth lines ones from Mcmaster as the plastic ones to me didn't really look much better.

voigts said:

Well, I stick with my type 430 smooth lined metal clamps from Mcmaster. They don't cut into the tubing and can be tightened down like crazy. If you are using 7/16" over 1/2", I can understand why people use zip ties. But I personally like knowing that my hoses aren't going to leak period as I use a ratchet to tighten the clamps down.

I thought about using plastic clamps, and ordered some to look at, but I ended up sticking with the smooth lines ones from Mcmaster as the plastic ones to me didn't really look much better.

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I just looked those clamps up on McMaster, really nice! I might have to try those out myself when I redo the loop.

voigts said:

Well, I stick with my type 430 smooth lined metal clamps from Mcmaster. They don't cut into the tubing and can be tightened down like crazy. If you are using 7/16" over 1/2", I can understand why people use zip ties. But I personally like knowing that my hoses aren't going to leak period as I use a ratchet to tighten the clamps down.

I thought about using plastic clamps, and ordered some to look at, but I ended up sticking with the smooth lines ones from Mcmaster as the plastic ones to me didn't really look much better.

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Link?

Links are hard to do with the way McMaster has their site set up. But go here and then type in "Type 430 clamp" in the search box, then go down the list and choose hose clamps. When that finishes loading, choose page 239 and you will see the Type 430 non perforated worm drive hose clamps. They aren't cheap but they won't break the band either.

I used the dinky little plastic ones that come with swiftech blocks for over a year. I even use them subzero, no leaks to date.

Here's a direct link to the clamps Voigts mentioned (easy to do if you use Firefox or another browser that supports "show only this frame").
http://www.mcmaster.com/ctlg/DisplC...th=817&ToolsetID=ToolMultiPageNav&ToolsetAct=

I used the plastic ones that came with my H2O 220 and MCW60, I like them. we're not dealing with massive pressures here (under 20 psi peak) and the hose barb/hose interface is more than adequate, the clamps just keep things from pulling up and off the barb which is the only real risk in the first place. I think worm drives are TOTAL overkill for a PC water cooling system.

Thanks guys I found those clamps. I like them. Now if I could just find a black anodized version of them, haha. Nah, I will probably buy a package or two of them and see how I like them and if not I will just buy some of the black nylon ones like swiftech supplies with their blocks.

Big Mike said:

I used the plastic ones that came with my H2O 220 and MCW60, I like them. we're not dealing with massive pressures here (under 20 psi peak) and the hose barb/hose interface is more than adequate, the clamps just keep things from pulling up and off the barb which is the only real risk in the first place. I think worm drives are TOTAL overkill for a PC water cooling system.

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I'm with you there. When I first began liquid cooling, the same ol' same ol' advice was preached to me and I went with it. Metal worm drives all around. I don't have any beef with them really, but they are heavy and sometimes incovenient in tough spots where reaching a flathead can be difficult. With the swifty ones, I just tighten them in a snap with my fingers and, no worries. Worm drive clamps can potentially break plastic barbs, not that that's a risk unless you're extremely careless, it just illustrates how much overkill they are. The barbs on the mwc60 and mcr220 do a good enough job of holding the tubing in that I'd probably be fine without clamps altogether.

Just because the clamp is imprinting the tubing doesn't mean you're going to be leak free. If your worm drive clamp is somewhat bent into an ellipse, it can deform your tubing to be the same way, making it not fit your barb perfectly and cause leaks down the road. So, its not like tighter is always better.

lol, I guess that turned into something of a tirade against worm-drive clamps. I still use them. I've got about 20 on hand and far less plastic clamps. But when I started using the latter, they left a favorable impression. It almost seems like everyone does everything the same way these days. There's no single right way to build a loop...plenty of solutions that can all work equally well whether or not they're with the status quo.

I've been using those plastic swiftech clamps on my MCR320 ever since I got it. Only difference I see between these and my steel worm clamps is they steel ones are harder to put on.

If you buy decent Zip ties they are just as good for strength and longevity. I have used them to attach coaxial cable to towers and they have held just fine in some of the worst conditions known to man for years at a time.

Personally I think you can use whatever you want as long as you get a decent seal and it doesn't leak.

speed bump said:

Personally I think you can use whatever you want as long as you get a decent seal and it doesn't leak.

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There ya' go ...!!!

If you size the McMaster clamps correctly, you won't have an issue with them being elliptical. For instance, with 3/4"OD tubing, you buy the type 430 clamps that are 1/2"-3/4" (5076K13), and the same goes with 7/16" 5/8"OD tubing with 5076K12 3/8"-5/8" clamps. They fit nice and snug. Also, these are 3/8" wide which fit perfectly onto barbs, while the kind you get in a lot of hardware stores are 1/2" wide which is too wide.

I have never had a barb damaged by these clamps even tightening them down with a ratchet.

Ugh... I am such a dipstick. I bought the 3/8-5/8 clamps like a freakin bonehead. I hope they will work. I mean, 1/8 inch more diameter... and they will smush the tubing down a good bit. If they don't work...


Any 7/16 tubing guys need some smooth clamps, haha?