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bobkoure · 09-02-2007, 06:53 AM

If you can find springs that fit on the outside of the tubing you're using, that will reduce the tendency to kink as well. The issue with internal springs is that it raises your loop resistance - not that you can't overcome it, but it raises the minimum you can turn your pump down to, so the potential for slightly more noise.
As I remember, coolingworks had plastic external springs. No idea if this is still available or if it ever existed for the OD of whatever tubing you're about to use. Hardware stores are good places to find lots of different springs.
If you have a really tight bend, think about using thin wall copper tubing. Many radiator shops can not only bend this stuff to your spec but can also "bead" the ends, so you can push flexible tubing over the ends.
And then there's just using thick-wall soft silicone tubing, which is slightly worse than thin-wall at damping vibrations, better at stopping through-tubing-evaporation, and basically won't kink unless you try to kink it. The downsides are that it's thick (duh), and comes in dull orange, and, is expensive. BTW, if you're using low restriction blocks, there's pretty much no need to clamp it, particularly if you use 3/8" ID tubing on 1/2" fittings.

09-02-2007, 06:53 AM	#10
bobkoure Cooling Savant Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: USA - Boston area Posts: 798	Re: New setup (sanity check) If you can find springs that fit on the outside of the tubing you're using, that will reduce the tendency to kink as well. The issue with internal springs is that it raises your loop resistance - not that you can't overcome it, but it raises the minimum you can turn your pump down to, so the potential for slightly more noise. As I remember, coolingworks had plastic external springs. No idea if this is still available or if it ever existed for the OD of whatever tubing you're about to use. Hardware stores are good places to find lots of different springs. If you have a really tight bend, think about using thin wall copper tubing. Many radiator shops can not only bend this stuff to your spec but can also "bead" the ends, so you can push flexible tubing over the ends. And then there's just using thick-wall soft silicone tubing, which is slightly worse than thin-wall at damping vibrations, better at stopping through-tubing-evaporation, and basically won't kink unless you try to kink it. The downsides are that it's thick (duh), and comes in dull orange, and, is expensive. BTW, if you're using low restriction blocks, there's pretty much no need to clamp it, particularly if you use 3/8" ID tubing on 1/2" fittings.