WTF happened to silicone tubing?

[pHaestus]

Just looked at Dangerden, Cooltechnica, Becooling, e-compuvision, lux-design, bigfootcomputers, and a couple of other places and NOONE still sells thickwall silicone. I need some for my test bench and it looks like I am going to have to deal with Mcmaster-carr to get it.

Dear vendors:

Just because it isn't clear doesn't mean silicone isn't useful for water coolers.

[nikhsub1]

Hehe, I hear your pain! It is very porous though and likely the reason no one sells it.

[pHaestus]

But it's flexible without kinking and so much easier to work with than the Tygon or vinyl I have.

[Sproket]

I love the Clearflex 60 stuff, works the best for me.
* Cheap and clear *

[BillA]

http://www.morebeer.com/index.html?p....php3&pid=H985

silicone is better for testing, by far

[Cptn. Foo Foo]

I bought my thick walled ClearFlex tubing at VibeComputers.

http://www.vibecomputers.com/index.c...cat=41&scat=03

[Heavy_Equipment]

No Home Depot there in Sasks...Saks...in the prairies pH?

The local one here has a bulk tubing section, and they have silicone tubing. Not sure about "thick wall", but it's good ol' ugly yellowish silicone tubing nonetheless.

[pHaestus]

Yea we have Home Depot but I don't think I have ever seen 1/2" silicone there. I have some modifications to the testbench to make tonight anyway so I'll just see if I can get some thinwall vinyl I have to work acceptably.

[jaydee]

None of the Home Depots in my area have Silicone tubing.

[Since87]

Originally posted by unregistered
silicone is better for testing, by far

Okay, gotta ask. Why?

Less mangled by clamping onto barbs than Tygon?

[Joe]

I have some clearflex, wouldnt replace silicone with it for almost any reason. I love the silicone hose for W/C systems. Never have I had a silicone hose leak on a hose barb. I cant count the number of times I have had vinyl and Tygon leak. Silicone is where its at. McMaster is where I got all my silicone hose in the past and more than likely in the future.

[soja]

How much coolant lost occurs with silicone compared to clearflex/tygon in the same envirionment? Also what is the reason behind:

morebeer.com: It works great with our magnetic drive pumps listed above, but we do not recommend it with a impeller pump or for use with household water pressure.

[g.l.amour]

i've been using si tubing for the last year, i think this evaporation argument is overrated. i don't have the feeling i ever have to add water between service jobs (6months). there might evaporate some, but it sure isn't enough to make my room smell like antifreeze.

although it isn't clear, i like the way it looks.

got some tygon recently and will be mixing tygon and si in my next setup soon.

joe, you'd care to elaborate on those advantages?

[pHaestus]

Flexibility is my main concern. If I use tygon or vinyl thick enough not to kink then it exerts a noticeable amount of torque on the waterblocks when I mount it. The silicone is much more forgiving in this respect. I don't know what to say other than it's just superior for my current application.

I also think the evaporation issue is overrated. Silicone does absorb dyes and possibly water additives (never seen any data on decreases effectiveness of glycol though) but IMO if you are seeing big losses in your loop then you have a tiny leak elsewhere or your res/bleed line isn't airtight.

[bigben2k]

Originally posted by Since87
Okay, gotta ask. Why?

Less mangled by clamping onto barbs than Tygon?

because it minimizes the tugging on the block, that might allow it to sit a little crooked on the heat die.

[BillA]

Originally posted by Since87
Okay, gotta ask. Why?

Less mangled by clamping onto barbs than Tygon?

MUCH easier to seal = more reliable
for a 'real' installation easier to bend and to isolate the loads from the wb
- it is however permable to the oil in Water Wetter (thats where the everpresent stink comes from)
water loss is insignificant for a typical system, and quite irrelevant for testing
unless one buys super expensive screw clamps with rolled edges, etc.; over time the ends get chewed up, just trim 'em

[redleader]

For actual use though it sucks. It bleeds off like heck. Here in Tucson Arizona (where its dry) I'd loose my ENTIRE loop worth of water in about 4 - 5 weeks. Same gear but with Tygon and I fill once a year (and loose a negliable amount over that time).

IMO its simply not suited for actual systems (as opposed to testing).

[Turbokeu]

Originally posted by soja
How much coolant lost occurs with silicone compared to clearflex/tygon in the same envirionment?

After a period of about six months of non use, my WC loop with silicone tubing lost about 100cc (3.4oz) of coolant, which is half the contenance of my airtrap.
I'm sure there are no leaks, because any (even tiny and dried) leak shows very well up with the green dye under the UV CCFL's.

CD

[soja]

Thanks for the info. Anyone know why ~> morebeer.com:

"It works great with our magnetic drive pumps listed above, but we do not recommend it with a impeller pump or for use with household water pressure."

[BillA]

just the pressure rating