Leak test Fail point question

[animalmom]

Hi,

IÂ’m making my first hard tube loop and during my initial leak test the loop failed at the point in the photo - the bottom of the L fell open an the water drained down onto the towels - it scared the crap out of me but not much harm done

I then took that part apart and sanded down the tube and put the connector on again with fresh O-ring as tight as possible - I just wonder why it happened and is this a bad design on my part and is that portion inherently risky? Any advice? Is it because itÂ’s hanging?

itÂ’s now been leak testing for an hour and seems ok

 

[Zerileous]

I haven't done a lot with rigid tubing, but I would guess it wasn't seated properly in the fitting, or a rough cut prevented it from seating properly. I have seen a lot of use of 90 degree fittings like that to replace a tube bend, so I don't think it's a design problem.

What fittings are you using? Do they screw down to compress the o-ring or does the tube simply press into the fitting?

At the end of the day, this is why we leak test.

 

[animalmom]

I haven't done a lot with rigid tubing, but I would guess it wasn't seated properly in the fitting, or a rough cut prevented it from seating properly. I have seen a lot of use of 90 degree fittings like that to replace a tube bend, so I don't think it's a design problem.

What fittings are you using? Do they screw down to compress the o-ring or does the tube simply press into the fitting?

At the end of the day, this is why we leak test.

Thanks, they are EKWB fittings and they screw down to compress the O ring. I ran it for several hours and it was ok but I sort of stare at it wondering if it will do it again - perhaps silly.

Thanks

 

[Zerileous]

Not silly at all. If your really worried give it a bit of a jiggle / tug and see if it holds. Of course do this with the components removed from power and paper towels / standard leak testing precautions. Not saying to physically rip the tube out of the fitting (although they should hold with a fair amount of force), but just give it a little jostle like you bumped your chair into the desk accidentally. If you have problems then you know it needs more work and if not you'll be re-assured that it's right this time around.

 

[animalmom]

Thanks itÂ’s working fine now.