Some more WC newbie questions

So I really want to set up a water cooled rig soon but am still confused about really newbie things. The following are just a couple questions I would like the answer to:

- Using 1/2'' ID tubing, what is the best material to use as a clamp? I heard zip ties work well with 7/16'' ID tubing but does the same apply for 1/2''?

- This may be a really stupid question but how do people get their T-Line to just hang there? I looked at many pictures and the erect part seems to be just hanging there. Do I just use a ziptie to tie it onto the case or something? _|_ I am talking about the | part where the fillport goes.


Thank you very much.

the best material to use for a hose clamp is a..... well, a hose clamp (these are readily available at any hardware store, probably walmart as well)
depending on the tubing, it may be stiff enough to stand straight up on its own

Most water blocks come with plastic clamps, which work fine for most things - just don't put any major pressure on 'em ...

Ok thanks for the replies guys. So I should use plastic clamps? After some reading there doesn't seem to be an ideal clamp as all of them have their respective pros and cons.

I thought the tubing was somewhat flimsy. Guess not.

stainless steel worm drive hose clamps available from home depot, lowes, or the likes.... those are the best

I agree with smoky, you don't want to risk plastic when the metal hose clamps are so cheap. if you had a leak with those plastic hose clamps you'd be kicking yourself for months

ancalime said:

Ok thanks for the replies guys. So I should use plastic clamps? After some reading there doesn't seem to be an ideal clamp as all of them have their respective pros and cons.

I thought the tubing was somewhat flimsy. Guess not.

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If you use pliers on the plastic clamps they seem to work OK. If you really want to get fancy order the non-perforated, stainless steel screw clamps from McMaster-Carr. Or you can get plain heater hose type clamps at your auto-parts store - stainless steel w/brass screw is a much better clamp than that Home Depot junk.


Most thick-walled tubing is strong enough to stand up on it's own. Thin-walled Tygon & SmartCoils, which I prefer for internal runs, is pretty flimsy but the tubing clamps to the fillport anyway so it doesn't matter much. I like to use 3/4" tubing for the "T" - it holds more than 2x as much water as 1/2" tubing so there are fewer refills and the 3/4" hole in the "T" traps more bubbles so it bleeds faster, too ...