Project Ecthelion: Pumps & Tubing

Now that all the waterblocks and radiators have been installed, its time to get the tubing runs completed. This build will have a combination of hard and soft tubing. We are using 2x Thermaltake Pacific PR22-D5 Res/Pump Combos for power our loops. These are supposed to be fairly silent, so hoping for good results here.



For the Hardline parts, we are using standard PETG Tubing 1/2" ID, 5/8" OD (16mm). To connect to these tube, we will be utilizing Monsoon Hardline Economy fittings v2.  I have used Monsoon fittings before with good success, but this was my first time using the v2 fittings.



There was very little in the way of documentation with these fittings, and I didn't notice that there were 2 "channels" where O-rings needed to be inserted (the v1 fittings only had 1 O-ring).  Luckily I was able to find a YouTube video that showed a cut-away of the fitting and where the o-rings needed to be installed.



With that, just a quick note on cutting the tubing for these particular fittings.  There is exactly 10mm of distance between the top rim of the fitting and the base of where the tubing will sit.  It is important to have the tubing pass both o-rings inside the fitting for a secure fit, so make sure to cut long enough for that to happen.



As is standard, here is a quick shot of all the tools involved in making hardline bends. The Barrow Bending Jig is a new addition, and makes multi-angle bends a bit easier.  Also shown is my pipe cutter, heat gun, and various bending mandrels.



We also had to cut holes in the acrylic backing for the tubing to pass through.  Measured, taped, and drilled them out.



The hardline runs for this particular system are pretty simple, a few 90 degree bends is all, so the process didn't take long at all. Being that we have a few lines that are parallel to each other, I wanted to make sure everything was level.  Used a small level to ensure we are lined up where needed.



Here is a shot of the tubing passing through the acrylic backing and transitioning to the soft tubing with compression fittings. I toyed with the idea of wrapping the tubing behind the acrylic with LED strips so they would glow, but decided against it as the opaque fluid we will be using doesn't transmit light well.
















I used some weather stripping and zip-ties to secure the tubing so it won't move around, and ruin my nice level tubing runs in the front.  Should also prevent any possible leaks from occuring since they are nice and snug.



Now we connect the soft tubing for the remainder of the loops, going to the radiators and drain ports. Here you can see a T-Block that will allow us to have a temperature sensor and drain port coming out of the radiators.



And here is the completed soft tubing portion of the loops.  I did kind of a"X" design with the loops, and it should look pretty neat once the different color fluids are crossing each other back there. Using a basic Ball Valve and stop plug to seal the drain port when not needed.



Here is the drain hose for the system.  It will thread into the ball valve, and allow for easy fluid maintenance when needed.



And here is a quick shot showing the drain hose installed to give you an idea of what it will look like during that particular operation.

My Custom PSU cables from CableMod have finally arrived... and although they look great, we have some major issues. More on that soon.

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