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Eodvet

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
I've been prepping to do a dual loop setup for my first water cooled build. I've decided on hard tube and haven't pulled the trigger on the type. I intend to have the fluid colored with a UV reactive color (XSPC E6) at the moment I only have a simple 10W Cathode (so 2Watts UV) I have Waveform LED 365nm&395nm strips on the way. Glass shows the UV effect quite well. Petg (Bitspower 16/12mm) looks pretty good with some slight variance in color compared to glass. Acrylic (Alphacool 16/12mm) tubing filtered all of the UV and no reaction.

question is: for those of you who use Acrylic tubing which manufacture did you use that allows the reflection of UV light from the additive? Alphacool seems to filter/absorb it all.
 
Discussion starter · #2 ·
Not that I have any prior experience with tubing, but after some lengthy evenings learning I've come down to a few pros/cons in the hard tube realm.

PETG: pros
+easiest to heat and bend with no blisters.
+Easiest to cut to size as you can easily make a new cut to adjust for length.
+cheapest
+UV transmittance
+ Higher friction surface for fittings to hold onto
+comes in more colors than Acrylic (if you want to use colored hard tubing)
Cons
-lower melting point than Acrylic
-Reduced clarity
-possible chemical reaction with some additives (though it seems most makers use less than a 30% ethylne glycol solution in their fluids)
-possible staining with any/all colored additives. though this would most likely be a function of solution strength, time and heat.

Acrylic: Pros
+Greater optical clarity than PETG
+Can bend with careful heat treatment
+less surface scratches compared to PETG
+Higher heat tolerance than PETG
+high friction surface allows for better fitting hold
Cons:
-More expensive than PETG
-Harder to cut, yet still fairly simple.
-Heat bending tolerance is more difficult as material may blister and eventually shatter.
-less color variety than PETG
-possible no reactive effects possible with acrylic/plexi/PMMA material
Glass: Pros
+best optical clarity
+no chemical reactivity and no staining of material
+can purchase prebent tubing
+UV transmittance
+highest heat tolerance
Cons:
-Most expensive
-bending possible but should be annealed to reintroduce strength back into the bent area
-hardest to cut/break
-least surface friction reduces ability of fitting to hold
Picture below is of XSPC UV Purple. left is alphacool Acrylic, Center is glass tube (test tube), right side is Bitspower PETG all 16mm OD 12mm ID with a 10w blacklight cathode
 
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