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Flow reduction through 90's, 45's and other connections

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Eddie Current

Eddie Current

Member
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Joined
Oct 27, 2015
Location
Houston, Texas Area
Before starting my water cooling project I did a lot of research but found very little consern when it came to flow rates and the fittings people where using in a pc water cooling system. Is this not a big consern?
 
They certainly do add some restriction however you would need a plethora of them in the one loop for there to be any major concern.
 
As long as you're running a premium DDC or D5 pump in the 1.0-1.5 GPM range, you shouldn't have a problem.
 
I have seen pictures of system with tons of 90 and 45deg fittings and some with very few to none at all. I have read where pumps add heat to the system and non-optimized flow will reduce cooling efficiency. Just wondering what was everyone's the train of thought?
 
Depends on what you're trying to achieve.

Aesthetics - will use more fittings of all varieties

Pumps don't add enough heat to your loop to even worry about. Not even 1 degree worth.
Same with non optimized flow.

As long as you're not an extremest (bencher), any way you put your loop together will yield roughly the same coolant temps. Just make sure the res feeds the pump. Fan choice and Rad real estate make the most difference in overall temps.
 
Mr.Scott said:
Depends on what you're trying to achieve.

Aesthetics - will use more fittings of all varieties

Pumps don't add enough heat to your loop to even worry about. Not even 1 degree worth.
Same with non optimized flow.

As long as you're not an extremest (bencher), any way you put your loop together will yield roughly the same coolant temps. Just make sure the res feeds the pump. Fan choice and Rad real estate make the most difference in overall temps.
Click to expand...

+1 :thup:
 
If you're looking for premium compression fittings, Bitspower is the one.
 
Amen GTX. There are the square 90's, and there are the flexible (rotary 90's) made by Bits. You look through one and it's a smooth curve. It bends in many ways.

There is NO difference in flow rates for barbs vs compression fittings BTW. I started with barbs, I always used them, cheaper, had no reason to use compression fittings.

If you take the time ans scroll through the pics you can see in this rebuild log how they are magic.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/678189-2011-Annual-rebuild-and-update-Finally!

That block was from EK Eddie, I won it at a overclocking event in Vegas, he and his biz partner are nice guys. They are from Slovakia BTW and still live there.

This is where time researching vs actually building and cussing up a storm can make the difference.
 
I personally like alphacool rotaries a bit better that bitspower rotary fittings. 1 they cost a fair amount less, 2 I found them easier to grip while installing. Basically the main point is to get the correct fittings for your application and your golden. I personally like the more minimal efficient runs of tubing and setup my look to follow that route. Others prefer the hoses to be looser and more out of the way. Either way just make sure all your fittings are tightly sealed and your tube properly seated on the connectors.
 
ssjwizard said:
I personally like alphacool rotaries a bit better that bitspower rotary fittings. 1 they cost a fair amount less, 2 I found them easier to grip while installing. Basically the main point is to get the correct fittings for your application and your golden. I personally like the more minimal efficient runs of tubing and setup my look to follow that route. Others prefer the hoses to be looser and more out of the way. Either way just make sure all your fittings are tightly sealed and your tube properly seated on the connectors.
Click to expand...

Grip. What fittings? Barbed or Compression? We's more talking about 90 deg fittings here.

GTX got us off though, I don't think he meant fittings, so I went off track also.............
 
Conumdrum said:
GTX got us off though, I don't think he meant fittings, so I went off track also.............
Click to expand...

:sly: Whaaa? lol Con, have you been :beer: again? lol I wasn't talking about vegas or CPU WBs. :p I'm sure I was fairly on topic. I said bitspower because there are many reasons as their angled fittings are smooth as butter.
 
Conumdrum said:
Grip. What fittings? Barbed or Compression? We's more talking about 90 deg fittings here.

GTX got us off though, I don't think he meant fittings, so I went off track also.............
Click to expand...

Referring to 45 and 90 deg barbs. The rotary portion of alphacools I personally find easier to grip than bitspowers.
 
From an engineering standpoint firings, valves, bends and other parts of the system can make a big difference. Just google pipe flow calculations. Look at the chart labeled "Typical Values of L/D for Fittings" at http://www.roymech.co.uk/Related/Fluids/Fluids_Pipe.html. A tight radius 90° elbow can be equivalent to up to 50 diameters of the tubing. Add a few of those to a system and they start to add up.

If you're designing piping for an industrial plant, this is critically important for laying out the pipe, choosing pipe size, sizing pumps and so on. Do it wrong and your plant will not meet capacity or you will spend to much money oversizing the system.

For a PC cooling system, oversizing the tubing and pump are more a point of pride than an excessive expenditure. ;) Nevertheless, were I designing a PC cooling system, I would try to use sweeping bends rather than small radius 90° elbows and would minimize fittings to whatever extent possible.
 
HankB said:
From an engineering standpoint...

If you're designing piping for an industrial plant, this is critically important for laying out the pipe, choosing pipe size, sizing pumps and so on. Do it wrong and your plant will not meet capacity or you will spend to much money oversizing the system.

For a PC cooling system, oversizing the tubing and pump are more a point of pride than an excessive expenditure. ;) Nevertheless, were I designing a PC cooling system, I would try to use sweeping bends rather than small radius 90° elbows and would minimize fittings to whatever extent possible.
Click to expand...

That's my thinking. I'm not going to sit down and calculate the flow rate per minute needed, nor the pipe cross section area, friction factor or the heat input per unit mass. But it is important to realize that every fitting you introduce into a system is at a cost, a cost to flow and your ability to remove heat.
 
Eddie Current said:
That's my thinking. I'm not going to sit down and calculate the flow rate per minute needed, nor the pipe cross section area, friction factor or the heat input per unit mass. But it is important to realize that every fitting you introduce into a system is at a cost, a cost to flow and your ability to remove heat.
Click to expand...
You're already overthinking it. See post #3. ;)
 
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