1st Water Cooling Build w/ Pics

[InsertNameHere]

I’m sorry but I have never had a bad experience with EKWB . I have used there compression fittings, hardline fittings, blocks, radiators, and reservoirs, and pump tops for years without any issue.
However I have never used this Matt tubing so I can’t comment on that.
Could you please let me know what fitting/tube combination you are using?
With soft tubing you should have such a tight fit on the barb itself that the tubing won’t leak or come off even without the ring being screwed on.

 

[godevskii]

I have ZMT matte tubing with EK compression fittings and it works quite well, are you sure you have the right combination as far as measurements go? What might have happened is during the order you might have selected different measures of tube/fittings or they shipped you wrong ones by mistake, either way you need to confirm your hardware before you assemble everything.

That said i have had some bad experience with ek angled rotary adapters leaking, and in one particular occasion have had to machine a brand new reservoir due to a bad design out of the factory and it would not thread even their fittings all the way making it leak... On the other hand there are people that never had any issues, and swear that EK is one of the best companies out there, and in part i agree, there are no flawless companies you just have to keep reading about the company and their products and the way they treat and resolve their rma's and then decide if you want to use them for parts like i still do.

So check your hardware, check your order and then if their is a mistake on their part contact them and see how they deal with it.

 

[WildArmsfx]

I ordered replacement barb fitting to replace compression. I also bought another brands compression fitting to see how it compare to EKWB. Ill post a video soon of the problems I had with the EKWB fittings. I think the problem lies in compression and "hand tight" , not the best combo.

Everything else is going great. I dont regret my radiator at all or having it external. It looks mint and is portable. Actually my only wish would be a bigger radiator, the mora 3 pro which is a 65mm 400x400 for 179.99$ that has push/pull config. But I dont know what benefit if any a larger rad will have till i spend some time on my current one. Im also thinking of adding another 2080ti but want to see how the second card impacts thermals on the current radiator before upgrading. I may even just break up loop and use 2 rads. So im gonna keep this set-up for at least 3 months.

Heres a pick of my radiator with fan and quick connects

 

[WildArmsfx]

Yes good point. I checked hardware and order sheet. It all matches to my knowledge but ill try and post screenshot.



Heres some photos of what went wrong. I had a flow meter and the end of supply lead which added extra weight. After attaching fans I noticed the supply hose on the compression fitting looked uneven. It was. I thought the compression nut was loose, it wasnt. I did a little testing and it turns out the weight of hose was pulling the tube out of the compression fitting, even when tightened with a wrench. Upon further testing I was able to manipulate the tube out of a compression fitting that was tightened with a wrench. By pushing the tube together and pulling it came right out. This happens naturally when the tube is being pulled to the side with weight, stretching and thinning the tube on one side while the weight of the hose applies the pulling force (check last picture). While thats not an ideal position, it shouldn't cause a leak. It was only in the position for less the 30 seconds without being run. I tested it with barb fittings overnight and they didnt move a mm.

I bought some tubing coil to prevent crimps even while traveling and bard fittings.

I tested the loop with the hose slightly out and it started leaking. So naturally the weight of 12" tubing, a quick connect, and a flow meter was enough to pull the tube out of the compression fitting to the point of leaking with-in about an hour. I cant physically pull a barb fitting off with or with-out a clamp. People should have a warning that the compression fittings are not as secure or re-engineer them to be as secure as barb.

In the photos you can faintly see the circular mark of where the compression fitting originally was and it being uneven.

View attachment 204673
View attachment 204674

 

[WildArmsfx]

Given my situation is an outlier and was put thru a more vigorous situation due to the external mount, it still shouldn't of happened. I shouldn't be able to manipulate a tube out of a fully compressed compression fitting. When the other fitting come I'll try and make video showing the differences and the problems I am experiencing.

People could see this as my fault for over-stressing the fitting and not a problem with EK fittings themselves, thats fine. Even with me at fault, its still good for people to know that barb fittings are best for higher stress situations over compression. In plumbing its usually the opposite. I think most people consider compression to be more secure, as was suggested to me, which is why I used them on the raidator.

Maybe I got a bad batch. EK stopped selling those plastic clamps on thier website the day after I ordered mine, I dont think they all sold out in all sizes. So maybe something on their end got mixed up with sizing within inventory. I will call them tomorrow.

 

[Zerileous]

Strange. I had a very different experience with Bitspower fittings and primochill advanced LRT. While all of my fittings were "hand tight" and I did in fact tighten them with my hands, they did not go together easily. I would say I have fairly decent grip strength, and it was a challenge for me to assemble all the fittings. Likewise the o-ring seals to the g1/4 male portion were stiff. However it feels very solid.

 

[godevskii]

I checked hardware and order sheet. It all matches to my knowledge but ill try and post screenshot.

You have ordered the correct parts.
Maybe you have been unlucky and got a bad batch that QC let slide out of the factory, should not happen anyway.
I usually check this before assembling, i test the tube on a fitting and pull with my hands to see if it is secure, but obviously i don't do it for all fittings, i assume QC is actually working.

 

[InsertNameHere]

Have you contacted EK? I would love to hear what they have to say.

 

[godevskii]

Well, i'm thankful you posted this because it got me analyzing and i found some disturbing stuff.

Fitting on the left side of the picture is EK-CSQ line from 2013, and on the right side EK-ACF line from 2016 to today.


They are the same size and basically the same fitting since the newer line came to replace the old one, but there are some noticeable differences.

1st off you can see that the old one as a grip base (don't know what else to call it) to help you tighten the fitting;

2nd the lip on the older one, despite having the same Ø, is much more prominent making a better seal with the tube, see below:


3rd the thread, on the compression part, off the older one goes much deeper:


4th there's a 0.3mm discrepancy one the newer line making for a less tighten fit:



so, my conclusion is that EK is in fact losing quality on their fittings as well.

 

[maxfly]

ive only used a few ek compression fittings. my situation was similar in that i was having issues in getting my fittings tight enough. my issue was with hand tightening XSPC black chrome compression fittings onto 1/2in x 3/4in primochill lrt tubing. hand tightening them was impossible even with gloves. so i was forced to use pliers to tighten them down properly. which wrecked the pretty black chrome on most. i actually used the pair of ek fittings as a test comparison to them. i found that hand tightening them was also impossible! i had no choice but to use pliers to tighten them. in the end i was able to tighten them all down with pliers but they looked like crap. if i ever go with soft tubing again i wont bother trying to hand tightening. ill be rubber dipping my pliers in some kind of coating and saving the skin on my hands lol.
ah almost forgot. i had a ton of leaks with the xspc rotary 45s and 90s. 5 or 6 of the 16 rotaries leaked at the rotary joint within days of installation. the ek rotaries i tested were great. in my experience rotaries that twist easily will almost 100% leak. if they turn hard as hell theyre usually gtg indefinitely.

p.s. xspc told me that they had a bad batch of 45/90 rotaries around the time that i bought mine.

 

[Zerileous]

I think fittings for hard tubing have an o-ring on the compression part, so I'm not thinking that you got sent fittings for hard tubing by accident. But the barb (or lack thereof) on that newer fitting also looks like it is more appropriate for hard tubing! Also not having a ring at the base is concerning, although I get the desire for a lower profile fitting. What if I had the fitting installed in an acrylic component and wanted to limit the amount of stress on the threads while tightening? What if I wanted to remove the tubing from the fitting without removing the fitting, to place less wear on the threads of an acrylic component?

 

[WildArmsfx]

Wow thanks Godevskii.

Kinda thought I was being over dramatic, nice to know Im not the only one. I used barb in the end, but ended up buying a different compression fitting just to try. The new compression fitting elimnates all the problems the EKWB was having. I actually forgot the company name but will post pics of the comprasion int he future.

 

[WildArmsfx]

Now my pump is screaming after about 48 hours of use. A very high pitch hum, like a fan with a bad bearing. Im extremely frustrated to be honest. The "clear" cryofuel left alot of residue after a short period of use and I think the left over residue may be causing friction.

I think the high pitch hum could be 3 things. Vibration, debris, or dried residue from EKWB cryofuel causing friction thus noise. I cleaned everthing with distilled water prior and the sound seems concentrated to the pump. So im not thinking its vibration or debris.

I slept 2 feet from the first two nights it because my desk is close to my bed. I remember thinking "I cant hear a thing". Now I have high pitch hum I can hear with my pedestal fan on full throttle.

I used the clear EKWB cryofuel during the test run and then found the leak from the compression fitting. I emptied my loop and waited for new part to be delivered. Upon drying there was a white film of residue from the clear cryofuel in the res. Cleaned it off with a rag and water. If I didnt use black tubing this would of been extra frustrating as the residue didnt just come off with water but needed to be wiped. Meaning I would of had to clean all the tubing.

Im going to take the pump out of my case and run it on a pillow to eliminate the chance of it being vibration. If its not case vibration Im will clean it. If its still laud i will RMA it to EKWB.

 

[WildArmsfx]

As a follow up to where I am at personally with my builds form, I like it alot. The external rad match what I wanted to a tee. Is silent, easy to move, and makes the build easier with draining. Draining and filling built in monster raidator would be a nightmare as it holds about 3/4 of my builds liquid. With the multiple problems i experienced the quick drains and fills makes life sooooooo much easier. I have an extra pair of quick connects so I can continue the loop without the raidiator. Allowing me to fill and drain quickly without the rad.

Also Im able to dry herbs on my rad without risking damage to any components. Something I do with consoles and low budget pcs, I think it killed an xbox 360 lol. So yeah, now I can dry herbs and natural fragrance my room with lilac in the summer.

If I upgrade further it will be a for a custom case and to break up the loops. The moster rad, extra hosing, and dual components are alot of a single d5 as anything below 75% gives weak flow. I dont think form factors will change to the point where I cant use the case in 5-7 years, so it will last a few builds.

My main goal for a custom case would be size, form, protection and sound. I would like to have different compartments for mobo, power supply, drives, and pumps. Mainly to sound proof the two pumps and prevent damage in case of leak by compartmentalizing.