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Building my first loop spending $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ has got me thinking about the next loop I do which will probably be a good says off int he future.
I Got some primoflex 3/8 ID 1/2 OD tube to play around with, and wow I really like it. I wish I had spent more time considering which tubing to use beforehand. I'll never do 1/2 ID knowing what I know now.
But anyways, back to barbs. I payed a lot of attention to the fittings video from dazmode and what really sold me on compression fittings was that barbs were really hard to take off, and that is super-true. I have two 1/2 ID barbs one by bitspower the other by XSPC, and thats when I realize that not all barbs are created equally.
Bitspower barbs are INSANELY overkill. There is no way to take tubing off of those without either cutting them or unscrewing the barb from the component, which is super-counter-intuitive.
The XSPC barb is much easier to remove, but still not all that easy to remove. Especially if you put some effort into working in the ends of the tube like you would a baseball glove, it makes a big difference.
So I got 2 cheap XSPC 3/8 ID barbs and some 3/8 ID 1/2 OD tube and some silicone lubricant. Silicone lubricant is extremely slippery, works well on plastics and metals alike, and is water based so doesn't get greasy. Coatings are very very thin, its almost like nano lube, a dab will do ya.
So anyways heres some results in a video I made to ask and show what I had in mind. Don't need to watch the whole thing, just me rambling for the most part, but you can see how big of a difference some lube and working ope the ends of the tubes can make.
(video is unlisted and meant as a question you guys only)
I've got quick releases and several d-plugs for use as inter-component disconnects, and they are pretty heavy, expensive, take up more room than I would like, and are actually quite a bit harder to remove than a lubed barb.
When working out the logistics of filling and overall general maintenance of the loops, inter-component disconnects was one of the areas that I found the most conflicting. Ultimately I went with d-plugs for inter-component connections, and quick releases for fill and drain ports.
Anyways I've rambled long enough, what do you guys think about lube?
I Got some primoflex 3/8 ID 1/2 OD tube to play around with, and wow I really like it. I wish I had spent more time considering which tubing to use beforehand. I'll never do 1/2 ID knowing what I know now.
But anyways, back to barbs. I payed a lot of attention to the fittings video from dazmode and what really sold me on compression fittings was that barbs were really hard to take off, and that is super-true. I have two 1/2 ID barbs one by bitspower the other by XSPC, and thats when I realize that not all barbs are created equally.
Bitspower barbs are INSANELY overkill. There is no way to take tubing off of those without either cutting them or unscrewing the barb from the component, which is super-counter-intuitive.
The XSPC barb is much easier to remove, but still not all that easy to remove. Especially if you put some effort into working in the ends of the tube like you would a baseball glove, it makes a big difference.
So I got 2 cheap XSPC 3/8 ID barbs and some 3/8 ID 1/2 OD tube and some silicone lubricant. Silicone lubricant is extremely slippery, works well on plastics and metals alike, and is water based so doesn't get greasy. Coatings are very very thin, its almost like nano lube, a dab will do ya.
So anyways heres some results in a video I made to ask and show what I had in mind. Don't need to watch the whole thing, just me rambling for the most part, but you can see how big of a difference some lube and working ope the ends of the tubes can make.
(video is unlisted and meant as a question you guys only)
I've got quick releases and several d-plugs for use as inter-component disconnects, and they are pretty heavy, expensive, take up more room than I would like, and are actually quite a bit harder to remove than a lubed barb.
When working out the logistics of filling and overall general maintenance of the loops, inter-component disconnects was one of the areas that I found the most conflicting. Ultimately I went with d-plugs for inter-component connections, and quick releases for fill and drain ports.
Anyways I've rambled long enough, what do you guys think about lube?
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