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Lots of polished turds in the industry (bitspower and alphacool)

4K views 18 replies 12 participants last post by  Jakerz 
#1 ·
I just realized one thing, I have never seen a shut off valve lever for a water supply line in the plumbing made out of plastic. They are all metal. I also bet we use the shutoff valve in our PCs more than we use the shutoff valves on our toilets. So why do they build them out of a material that can't handle the stress of normal operation? Bitspower and alphacool make ball valves with plastic levers and I bet they aren't the only ones. Going forward I am just going to assume all the rest of their quality parts are just as good and will avoid using them in the future. Trying to save a few cents on something that is already overpriced is annoying. To bad the local plumbing stores don't carry BSPP fittings in the US, as they are more of a EU thing.

Less than buck on Aliexpress and it comes with a male g/14 and metal handle.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Full-Port-Brass-Ball-Valve-1-4-BSP-male-Threaded-Fit-for-4-6mm-ID-OD/32720817366.html?src=google&albslr=220741086&isdl=y&aff_short_key=UneMJZVf&source=%7Bifdyn:dyn%7D%7Bifpla:pla%7D%7Bifdbm:DBM&albch=DID%7D&src=google&albch=shopping&acnt=708-803-3821&isdl=y&albcp=653153647&albag=34728528644&slnk=&trgt=61865531738&plac=&crea=en32720817366&netw=g&device=c&mtctp=&gclid=CjwKCAiA07PRBRBJEiwAS20SIDHF7lRRyt720DIN9ufhRunu7YzUf3wQnnC8xuUKjYKnpyVc0KyrrRoCeIwQAvD_BwE

I see way to many people say, "I don't want to spend so little on something so important", so companies seem to respond by raising the price of their trash. Though PT Barnum said "There's a sucker born every minute".

end vent...
 
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#5 ·
#7 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiTownButcher View Post

I believe his point is he can get a more durable product for $1 because it's a plumbing fixture but for $10-20 it might look nice but it's build to fail because of corners being cut like plastic knobs that break with a few years use.
oh, yea I get that, never had one break yet, I have had the little plastic cap on the nob that covers the screw pop off, and it would not stay on afterwards. (OCD issue)
tongue.gif
the valve still works though.
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiTownButcher View Post

I believe his point is he can get a more durable product for $1 because it's a plumbing fixture but for $10-20 it might look nice but it's build to fail because of corners being cut like plastic knobs that break with a few years use.
More like a few uses, Frozen quit selling the bitspower plastic lever ones and is replacing it with the metal handle version. I actually got one w/o a lever for a few bucks as I could just use pliers to open/close the valve, though when I ended up returning as the bitspower leaked!

Then we bought two alpha cool, which appeared to have a beefier lever, though my old man said his is already starting to strip. He just put water into his loop yesterday for the first time! Mine hasn't stripped, though I am so concerned I am inquiring about a return to modmymods. The point is not "if" it fails, but when. I am pretty sure fittings have the biggest markup.

To actuate the ball w/o a lever you have to have pliers, if it was easy to turn, it wouldn't have a great seal.

I highly advise against any purchase or use of a plastic lever ball valve for a drain. Here many companies failed and used the wrong materials for the job to cut corners.

I might end up going with the XSPC ball valve, the handle looks like it is metal and it is a has a lower profile than other ones I have seen. Though I will confirm that the lever is made of metal.

At least I have two local PC modding companies (FrozenCPU and Modmymods). Both have worked with me on a few things.
 
#9 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Solarity View Post

I might end up going with the XSPC ball valve, the handle looks like it is metal and it is a has a lower profile than other ones I have seen. Though I will confirm that the lever is made of metal.
My XSPC ball valve is all metal. inside and out.
 
#10 ·
hay for rotary fittings bitspower and barrow are the best fittings out there, they can last 20+ years before failing. EK, koolance, and XSPC fittings might last half that, maybe 9 years before they fail. alpha cool has the worst rotary fittings on the market. so to me, your looking at the best, the worst, and not happy with either.
redface.gif


so my answer to you is this, when you find something that will actually work better, let me know.
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so far, I will give you a pass on the ball valve, even the one you posted will not last any longer than a bitpower valve, the only plus is that it is cheaper, for you only. that valve would cost me $10 dollars, plus another $5 dollars for each koolance conversion fitting, and I am up to $20 dollars again. so for me, your idea cost just as much as a bitspower ball valve.
tongue.gif


here browse the PIC's on this build.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1584867/tec-chill-box-chamber-build-log

what you will notice is that I have hundreds of fittings most of them from bitspower and barrow as they are the only ones that last. I have fittings from almost every company except alpha cool as I will not buy there rotary fittings at all anymore. I just pulled 4 EK rotary fittings off that build, because they started leaking.
 
#11 ·
Check out the barrow push/pull valve, that's what I use and it works great.

Best to put a plug on the end though even when its closed as there will always be a few drops of water in there and if it does leak internally there shouldn't be a problem as long as its sealed up at the end with a plug.
 
#12 ·
I agree that it is kind of aggravating ordering a $20-$25 valve and it breaking on the 2nd or 3rd time you use it lol. Plastic doesn't do very well in "keyed" situations like valve stem, and when you only open the valve a few times a year, it tends to stick a bit and that just compounds the problem. That being said most of the Bitspower and Barrow valves I've seen as of late have the updated Aluminum handle on them.

I wouldn't put that fugly piece of plumbing crap anywhere near my PC though lol. To me watercooling is just as much about form as it is function now-a-days.

Jake
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jakerz View Post

I agree that it is kind of aggravating ordering a $20-$25 valve and it breaking on the 2nd or 3rd time you use it lol. Plastic doesn't do very well in "keyed" situations like valve stem, and when you only open the valve a few times a year, it tends to stick a bit and that just compounds the problem. That being said most of the Bitspower and Barrow valves I've seen as of late have the updated Aluminum handle on them.

I wouldn't put that fugly piece of plumbing crap anywhere near my PC though lol. To me watercooling is just as much about form as it is function now-a-days.

Jake
I am not going to put it into my system either, my point was better quality can be had at a fraction of the cost.
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Solarity View Post

I am not going to put it into my system either, my point was better quality can be had at a fraction of the cost.
Or what i call performance to $$ ratio.
 
#15 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by colin-java View Post

Check out the barrow push/pull valve, that's what I use and it works great.

Best to put a plug on the end though even when its closed as there will always be a few drops of water in there and if it does leak internally there shouldn't be a problem as long as its sealed up at the end with a plug.
While I have not seen this valve in person it appears to be a slide check valve like ones used on paintball remote air lines but bigger. Assuming it works the same way there is no way I would use it in a PC. Slide check valves use o rings to seal in a way that if the o-ring breaks/wears a plug on the end won't help. The liquid can leak out the slide collar. Here is a video on slide check valve maint for you to compare.
https://youtu.be/ZlO9skngOmM
 
#16 ·
I reckon there was a bad batch of plastic handles supplied with a number of Bitspower valves.

I have a number of these valves.

Some have been in operation in my PC's for some time with no issue regarding the plastic handle operating the relatively stiff ball valve, yet on a couple of others I have had the handle fall apart on the first or second attempt at operating the valve.

Plastic can be very strong - I actually modified two of my BP valves with a couple of RC servo horns that I had laying around - For these, the valve will break before the plastic fails....
smile.gif


I prefer the styling/look of the BP valves over other similar units.





 
#18 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Costas View Post

I reckon there was a bad batch of plastic handles supplied with a number of Bitspower valves.

I have a number of these valves.

Some have been in operation in my PC's for some time with no issue regarding the plastic handle operating the relatively stiff ball valve, yet on a couple of others I have had the handle fall apart on the first or second attempt at operating the valve.

Plastic can be very strong - I actually modified two of my BP valves with a couple of RC servo horns that I had laying around - For these, the valve will break before the plastic fails....
smile.gif


I prefer the styling/look of the BP valves over other similar units.





Nice use of servo horns

 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by frostbite View Post

Nice use of servo horns
Agreed! You could even get a metal one if you wanted! lol
 
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