A Beginners Guide to PC Water Cooling Fittings - How To Water Cool in 2018

A Beginners Guide to PC Water Cooling Fittings - How To Water Cool in 2018. PC Water Cooling can seem like such a stressful thing to imagine, there are so many products out there and for a beginner where is the best place you would begin? Well i have created this beginners guide to pc water cooling fittings to try and help address some of the fears some people might have in regards to water cooling and which are the best fittings people should buy for their first water cooling loop. I will cover both soft tube and hard tube fittings as well as a variety of fittings which are an optional purchase. If you beginners follow this video carefully i explain what each of these pc water cooling fittings are used for and which ones are the best fittings to use in your first water cooling loop and why.
Let me know if this beginners guide was helpful and i will continue to create more beginners water cooling guides to try and answer any questions beginners might have.
USA LINKS
Soft Tube Compression: amzn.to/2trVT5g
Barb Fitting: amzn.to/2MklkwM
Compression Fitting: amzn.to/2In6y67
90 Degree Fitting: amzn.to/2Dk4vA3
90 Degree Screw In: amzn.to/2lu4yjn
Extension Fitting: amzn.to/2XxN8mL
T-Join Fitting: amzn.to/2MfxKG0
Bulk Head Fitting: amzn.to/2KfbA6d
Valve Fitting: amzn.to/2Pl4Abq
Stop Fitting: amzn.to/2lw2gQD
UK LINKS
Soft Tube Compression: amzn.to/2MTTYyI
Barb Fitting: amzn.to/2yzqHGi
Compression Fitting: amzn.to/2tBbvmg
90 Degree Fitting:: amzn.to/2K7LSVp
90 Degree Screw In: amzn.to/2Kitqsd
Extension Fitting: amzn.to/2tAC8rw
T Join Fitting: amzn.to/2tyMic7
Bulk Head Fitting: amzn.to/2tAuE83
Valve Fitting: amzn.to/2tykZ1G
Stop Fitting: amzn.to/2MY2zAu
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ABOUT ME:
I am a self taught PC & Modding enthusiast who enjoys creativity and learning new techniques to create a one of a kind Case Designs. All of our work is produced in our back yard using mostly hand tools.
At the age of 18 is when i made my first custom PC and our passion and drive continued from there now having countless builds under our belt and plenty more to come. We are one of Australia's largest Case Modders and have been recognized world wide by big tech media companies such as Linus Media Group and TweakTown.
With our continued growth we have been fortunate enough to have a wide audience which enjoy our case modding tutorials and water cooling guides which we can provide on the KZbin platform. Our aim is to Create, Inspire and help people achieve their dream PC.

[@DesignsByIFR]

Hope this helps some of you! Thanks for the support! What other tutorials would you like to see?

[@tkrzyzanek]

Designs By IFR I always watch at x2 speed 😂

[@mihaleban1323]

Designs By IFR make howvto connect all cables in pc (from power supply from motherbord from case ....)

[@vitalgambit6641]

best tutorial ive seen thank you!

[@alien-oo-_-oo5732]

I just want to know where I can buy 16mm OD 90° female to female connectors X)

[@darkmatter4686]

Dude, this video is exactly what I've been looking for, thank you!! Many other's explain the types of fittings but neglected to explain the 45/90 degree bends and what they look like. I've been confused what type of fitting I'd need to connect two tubes together, or have a 90 degree bend that isn't going into a block. Much thanks!! As a first timer, I've been looking at the different online stores and it's overwhelming the amount of fittings one can buy, almost just want to close my browser and call it a day, but your video helped a lot.

[@ezramatan5233]

*Bloody legend added links for all the fittings for people in UK and in the US.*

[@AM93000]

This is a very good video. And thanks for zooming in the camera so that I can see the fitting more clearly.

[@Flyingsquirrel69420]

Embarking on my first custom loop, this was incredibly helpful. Thank you mate!

[@reredepepe1121]

This is by far most helpful video about fittings. Thank you.

[@aamisimple6332]

It was a joy to watch. Nice breakdown...........

[@ioannrydberg1754]

great video for beginners in liquid cooling. Very well explained ! thank you so much !

[@mado309]

THANK YOU! This was very very helpful.

[@gomoriya744]

This helped a lot thank you

[@akshatdubey5297]

You're brilliant man!

[@dhurt8955]

Thanks for posting this . Very informative

[@takenotes1146]

you explained it really well

[@GinjaBadger]

Thanks for this. I'm planning on upgrading my soft to hard tubes and fittings are a minefield.

[@thriLLx47]

This is by far the best video explaining what fitting to use. Thanks IFR! I feel a lot more comfortable building my first water cool PC. Keep it up !!!

[@DesignsByIFR]

Thank you very much!

[@Tpbmods]

What a great breakdown. Shared it with a few novice builders looking to get into custom loops

[@DesignsByIFR]

thank you very much

[@danieleleo4974]

Wow, this is so helpful! 😍

[@pottytrained4233]

Another great vid, thanks heaps

[@damukukandu8842]

great explanation sir. thanks. Subscribed and Liked

[@PatriotPaulUSA]

OK Here is my idea for a basic brands of Hard tube to pipe fittings video. First I want to Thank You for your fittings overview video! :) Your video showed 2 brands of the several brands of pipe to compression fittings and their seals. It is better than ANY Retailer and Most Manufacturers sites! I wish somebody would do a video on just the common brands, basic compression fittings for hard lines to G1/4". I have looked everywhere about what is inside of each brand. 1- O ring? 2-Orings ? 3-Orings? YOUR video showed us that one Thermaltake fitting is a 3 pc fitting, with 4 -O-rings! (It needed a 4th one because it was a 3pc fitting instead of a 2 pc like the others.) Some also have a washer under the nut with the upper o-ring. Its NEVER On any website where they are sold! A couple manufacturers show sometimes, after you look up their website. But Most Do Not! There are what like 6-10 brands? Why doesn't ANY of these retailers describe or show what is inside these expensive brass fittings so we can make an educated choice on which brand to buy? ITS Not Even In their Descriptions! Unbelievable! I would like to buy the best, most secure Fittings. Not the 1 o-ring ones but its impossible to tell, Who, Has what, Inside! I Can't Believe they don't tell what is in their fittings! I am about ready to just buy brass compression fittings with brass ferrules and brass nuts be done with this sillyness. Its worked for 100 yrs for our water supplies in buildings and homes. It would be a good idea for a video for somebody to help these retailers /manufacturers. I guess they don't think it matters what exactly is in their fittings that seals their fittings to the tubing and anybody who does any amount of plumbing knows it does. It Might actually make sense why one brand is 3.00 for a straight G1/4"pipe to compression fitting and another is 4.99 and 6.99 and 7.99 and 9.99! Maybe this would help sell those higher priced ones. I am just amazed this is never listed ANYWHERE. So far I have bought 3 brands and all are different sealing and o-ring amounts. Some had Aluminum nuts, and some were Brass Nuts. Not that it matters too much but would be nice to know! The way that they seal water is by the inside O-rings, The outer one in the nut, with the (sometimes) flat washer, is what holds the tube, from pulling out. I am not going to keep buying and guessing who's is decent. What a crazy industry.

[@plataoplomo1817]

You are absolutly right about the Thermaltake fitting, there is no benefitt.

[@TefenCa]

Great video with lots of information on the seals with fittings & info on the new Thermaltake fittings.

[@DesignsByIFR]

Thanks mate

[@scottcrawford9746]

Earned a subscriber!

[@azzlravana]

Nc video, very helpful

[@tkrzyzanek]

This was super useful, thx👍

[@DesignsByIFR]

its been 30 seconds since i uploaded it haha, that isnt possible for you to watch it

[@KillerIceStorm]

10/10 thank you

[@edgarsadamovics6476]

Thanks very much for this! I would really like to see a video about metal tubing!

[@salamtak0gingi]

ty its help me :)

[@DukeNuggets69]

Y'all already know this is a good video

[@DesignsByIFR]

Thanks!

[@aissabvb7610]

Nice man you dame good😁😁

[@Pabula]

Great video, thanks for making it. Btw for EK ZMT, what brand of compression fittings do you recommend?

[@GadgetJoe]

Another cracking video Corey! Id be keen to see a video on the different styles of reservoirs and also the benefits of added fittings like flow meters etc... I know how they work but I think that it would make for a fantastic video for people to get to grips with :)

[@DesignsByIFR]

Thank you my dude much appreciated!

[@australiancustompc8781]

G'day! I'm starting to plan my first hard line build. Turning into a hectic job, ANYWAY, thank you for these videos! One thing that may help people like myself, its good to see them on a desk, but it would be awesome to actually see you using them in one of your builds so you can see what you use where. If this is possible that would be excellent, either way these have been a huge help! thanks!

[@DesignsByIFR]

Thanks for the feedback! Perhaps i can do an updated tutorial

[@anasalawaad2734]

Nice video it helped me a lot thank you 😊

[@DesignsByIFR]

Very welcome

[@anasalawaad2734]

Designs By IFR ❤️

[@itsxtraKrispy]

Love your vids mate. Just to add... We will need male to male adapters to connect drain valve to res... 😁 Keep up the amazing work.

[@DesignsByIFR]

You can buy some of them with the male end already connected as well =) but yes that is a good point

[@nikolaosstogiannidis893]

Finally a perfect video about fittings..Good job!!Thank you...What brand you personal prefer from your experience??

[@DesignsByIFR]

Bitspower is my favorite

[@in4ctive793]

7:52 im saving this for when i water cool

[@Iwishitwas1985]

Just wanted to say thanks for this video. I have just purchased the Lian LI pc-o11 Dynamic and am going to try water cooling for the first time. How about you show a build from beginning to end using different fittings maybe even some unusual fittings. I know for me the bitspower website is a bit intimidating.

[@DesignsByIFR]

Great idea man. I will do that

[@shadowr2d2]

This Was Very Helpful.. I Love Watching Make Your Awesomeness Build's.. I Always Learn Something When I Watch Your Video's.. I Did Not Know About *(Thermaltakes Fittings).. I Will Look Into That Kind Of Tech.. When I'm Ready For My First Build.. I Have One Question.. I Have Seen Some Loop's.. That They Have Used Copper, & Some Steel Tubing's.. What Are Your Thoughts On That.. Would You Make A Video On That.. The Different Kinds Of Tubing's.. In The Video That I Saw.. I Think The Builder Said.. It Was A look he Was Going For.. Copper Tubes, & Fittings Everything.. Once Again Thank You For Your Video..

[@hanswurst3744]

Could you maybe talk in whole sentences?^^ kinda hard to read... The kind of tubing you choose mostly depends on the look you want to go for- softtubing is easy to work with and cheap, it can get cloudy over time though and in some cases looks messy- PETG is bendable at relatively low temperatures but not as clear as acrylic or glass. Some liquids can stain the tube. It is easy to cut - acrylic is clearer as PETG and softtubing but fragile - if you stress it it will shatter. PETG won't shatter but kind of bend in a bad way. Acrylic needs higher temps to bend. Cutting is easily done with a saw- glass is ofc really clear and lets your liquid shine. Plus it reflects RGBs and LEDs quite well. You can not bend it and cutting can be a bit of a pain in the ass. And of course it shatters if you stress it too much. You can cut it with a glass cutter or dremel depending on the kind of glass you use- metal like copper is especially good for steampunk stuff and mostly for the looks

[@alien-oo-_-oo5732]

I can't find any 90° fittings or valve fittings with 16mm diameter, do you know if they're available? or how do ya'll connect your 16mm hard pipes? all I see is 16mm compression fittings but not in any angles.

[@uphill248]

Do you need special tools to tighten or loosen fittings?.. because my PC radiator started leaking and I need to replace it.

[@jonathanwu7805]

Would draining be an issue if you have a radiator at the floor of the case below the reservoir?

[@JalilyFurniture]

Ok I'm new to water cooling.. I got my cpu block.. the diameter of the hole is 1/2.. what size fittings would I need? I see so much of 1/4 and 3/8.., sorry for dumb question

[@chico.9260]

Please do a pump and reservoir guide

[@DesignsByIFR]

Good idea

[@DangerRanger_]

I would like to see a Guied to different Radiators. Which material is the best? What shoud you note when you buy components out of different materials? Good Video by the way.

[@DesignsByIFR]

Great idea!

[@mr.needmoremhz4148]

Can you do a video how best to combine pumps in one loop? I need more psi; can you just add a pump in the loop? Do they have to have the same specs? Can you have 2 pump /combo combo units in one loop. I’m looking to upgrade my system and loop I will have 4 rads (2x360 1x280 and 1x560) then I will have some splitters (drain ports etc.), some digital flow and temp sensors, and add some quick disconnect. part of the tubing in the pedestal will be flex tubing and then I will go over to hard. also, a CPU block 2 GPU blocks vrm block maybe m.2 blocks. So, I will have a lot of restriction. I Want to re use my current D5 pump combo and rads etc. It may be a stupid question but I always see people do dual loops I just want one loop but can I just add pumps?

[@emsj86]

Can you do a part for quick disconnects as I’m not sure if they come with both female and male ends or are they separate.

[@DesignsByIFR]

I sure can

[@alien-oo-_-oo5732]

where can we buy 90 degree female to female connectors in 16mm OD? i can't find them any where, 12mm and 14mm are very easy to find but not 16mm.

[@TheDamnedCook]

Since fittings are so expensive, how do we decide which one do we need and how many?

[@blackmennewstyle]

7:05 That design is brilliant, way more easy to cut your tubes at the right length. I don't understand why there is only one company producing them them, is there a rampant patent design involved here?

[@theeskimo9875]

Phantkes sell fittings with viton o ring, can you review them or check it out, they say that it has increased durability compared to rubber o ring.

[@DesignsByIFR]

I will see if i can get some

[@MrCozyCody]

Assuming you're in Aus, can you add Links to purchase in Aus? Thanks for the content

[@DesignsByIFR]

yeah man, i will try get them after work =)

[@Nico_LaBras]

I think I know pretty much about the technicalities of water cooling. My question is now: what are the alternatives to EKWB? *EDIT* : Awesome Video for beginners nonetheless :) *EDIT2* : Another Video suggestion: How to drain your loop *without* a valve (since there are none for Fluid Gaming kits)

[@popyfx2599]

Nico_LaBras a great alternative is alphacool

[@mitchos199]

Phanteks are very good. Thermaltake are cheap and do the trick. When draining my system before adding a tap I had enough flex in my hard tube to undo and quickly get the tub ready

[@hanswurst3744]

Bitspower, alphacool, phanteks, xspc and thermaltake to name a few

[@omegaPhix]

bisky is a great budget alternative

[@anasalawaad2734]

Can you make a video about how to measure tupe Length with the fittings Pls: can you tell me from where you get your watercooling stuff please

[@DesignsByIFR]

I get a lot of gear from bitspower.com.tw and yes i can do that =)

[@anasalawaad2734]

Designs By IFR thanks😍

[@tonysalmonelli5617]

Have you used or seen barrow fittings? They are way cheaper than other fittings, but look like bitspower fittings. Are they good and reliable? Thx for helping!

[@DesignsByIFR]

Hey man Barrow are great fittings. I believe they are made by the same factors as bitspower

[@JordanpUK]

Yep - they're fairly identical and they don't come with that dragon logo plastered all over them, which is a plus in my eyes. I used 14mm Barrow fittings and PETG in my latest build (only the valve was from Bitspower). No problems or leaks at all. I highly recommend them. Here's my build for reference: pcpartpicker.com/b/ZtNQzy

[@tonysalmonelli5617]

Nice! Your pc is pretty neat! Ever considered sending your setup to techsource or randomfrankp so other people can check out your setup? 😁

[@xr8dmoose135]

Done two hard line loops in my time, one for me one for my nephew. My family's 3 PC's would be WC if it didnt cost nearly $700- 1000 per WC loop. Its the fittings, easily spend 200-300 on them, crazy expensive... Dont suppose you got some spares to sell 😄

[@jort93z]

you just gotta bend dem tubes.

[@xr8dmoose135]

jort93z yep but doesnt matter how much you bending, its still 10+ fittings to do full loop including drain and fill ports... thats about $400+ and if use cheap crap parts instead and it will just fail faster.

[@jort93z]

well, thats true. You gonna need a certain amount of fittings either way. but you won't need that many if you plan it right. And considering most stuff is manufactures in china anyway, there is plenty of high quality stuff you can get directly from china if you know where to look. as hannes pointed out.

[@xr8dmoose135]

Hannes much appreciated, ill check em out but im hesitant to use chinese crap because i been burnt before on various products.

[@xr8dmoose135]

jort93z yeah planning is helpful to get price down but its more a combo of the price and having no spare time these days man. Gotta spend time with the kids, i own a business, wifey is high maintenance and i needs me gaming time 😁

[@attarsanahresources5540]

How about different fittings sizes? 14mm or 16mm

[@DesignsByIFR]

Yep i mentioned in video most common sizes are 12mm 13mm 14mm and 16mm

[@rickyvent4034]

thayou men i have soft but in september i want rigid tube and i bay the valve drenage and de angles but i want not utilitation de angels is for i have the problems whit instalation

[@DesignsByIFR]

I will do installation video

[@raydden1210]

so my noob question is ..does the fitting universally fits to all reservoirs ?

[@wartortoise1178]

Most reservoirs now-a-days have g1/4 threads. As long as the barb has those same threads, it will fit it.

[@LulaPlays]

hmmm...every single one of these Fitting videos everyone talks about soft tube compression fittings..but they are always showing the ROTARY version....I want to know about the non-rotary version...what is the difference? is one better than the other? I want the red EKWB compression fittings, but they are not "rotary"..so I am not sure which to go for.

[@DesignsByIFR]

Non rotary soft tube compression fittings?

[@LulaPlays]

Designs By IFR thanks for the reply. I am talking about these www.microcenter.com/product/486721/g-1-4-straight-compression-fitting---nickel

[@LulaPlays]

Designs By IFR and here is the rotary that looked like the one in your video www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-acf-rotary-fitting-10-16mm-nickel

[@DesignsByIFR]

Those are exactly the same as what i showed

[@DesignsByIFR]

Yeah mine wasnt rotary. I showed the first link

[@jeffm2787]

4 o-rings preventing any leaking, more like 4 o-rings that could leak. Less is better unless they all go around the tubing.

[@mihaleban1323]

I want to see how to connect all cables in pc

[@DesignsByIFR]

Will do!

[@mcbrite]

Why would you ever use hard tubes? Doesn't make any sense to me? Only disadvantages?

[@alisamenna]

Do This Up = Screw This On

[@maxzett]

I want to watercool Soooo bad. But... I mean... 600€ Watercooling vs 80€ NH D15 with nearly the same temps...

[@DesignsByIFR]

U watched jayz video, that method was abit flawed my friend. It needs to be used in a real world situation inside of a case, not in an open air situation. The custom loop is better

[@maxzett]

Designs By IFR i did. But this comment wasnt related to that. I checked out some other Tests with proper conditions (like temps after more than a hour) on some other Websites and after the point where the Water also got hot, the temps between air / Water were nearly the same. And I mean looking at the price difference it's kinda sad. It's like comparing a Ferrari and a Smart and the Smart just goes like 10mp/h slower with like 15% of the cost... But if you got like some testing results of air / Water that would be nice. Would like to see a Video (or a Suggestion) about High End Air VS AIO Water (something like a Kraken X62) VS Custom watercooling Loop. With the temps compared after 20 /40 /60 / 80 mins. Cause theoreticly you can only see the "Real" temps after the Water got some time to heat up if im right. I mean copper heats up way fast for example than the Water in the AIO / Loop.

[@maxzett]

Designs By IFR also. Can u explain to me why a open test bench is not a proper testing Method? Is it because of the air Pressure / Air Flow?

[@DesignsByIFR]

Because a proper case contains a lot more heat and directional air than a test bench because a test bench is open. So all testing would be a lot different than a real world senario which majority of people would be using a closed case

[@DesignsByIFR]

I also watched some videos comparing the two in a normal pc case with a normal setup and the custom loop performed better

[@billklatsch5058]

Can you run a loop with termaltake and holy water? You cant - Termaltake comes straight out of hell.