Watercooling newbie. Step 1 - radiator

[YouWhat]

as long as you have the rubber O-ring in it and it is tight in the fitting eg screwed down so as the O-ring is slightly compressed then there will be no leaks.

Check the thread lengths if you are concerned, some fittings have shorter screw / thread lengths so don't need to be screwed in as much as others.

If you over tighten the fittings, yes you could strip the thread be it, acetal, metal or anything else, you will feel it go tight, then tweak it a little bit, no more than 1/4 to 1/2 a turn so as it is firmly screwed down, if you have to strain, then you are definately using too much force!

 

[R2-D2]

What I'm saying is that I didn't screw it even half the length of the thread and I can't turn the barb with my fingers to screw it any further. There's still good millimeter or two to the rubber O-ring. I'm wondering whether there's some slight mismatch between block's and barbs' threads - thread pitch, depth etc. and whether I will break block's thread if I continue turning barb until rubber O-ring.

as long as you have the rubber O-ring in it and it is tight in the fitting eg screwed down so as the O-ring is slightly compressed then there will be no leaks.

Check the thread lengths if you are concerned, some fittings have shorter screw / thread lengths so don't need to be screwed in as much as others.

If you over tighten the fittings, yes you could strip the thread be it, acetal, metal or anything else, you will feel it go tight, then tweak it a little bit, no more than 1/4 to 1/2 a turn so as it is firmly screwed down, if you have to strain, then you are definately using too much force!

 

[Dragolu]

I would be very careful. One of main disadvantages of Acetal is that it strips easily and is hard to fix. Barbs should go in by hand only. Tools are risky. The only time i have had problems like the one you describe is when i accidentally cross threaded a barb. I would remove the barb and inspect the thread. If it looks ok try again. Sometimes it is harder than it looks to thread them correctly. I would also compare the thread length with the provided barbs. However if i remember correctly the threads in the HD go all the way through the to which should be plenty of space. I own the HD and have not had problems with Bitspower, xspc or enzo fittings. I have not tried monsoons though.

 

[R2-D2]

Well, I did everything I could to avoid any damage to the thread. I managed to screw down a barb to one port. But the other one just wouldn’t give in. After a few short turns with the help of Monsoon tool I noticed that it started to cross thread. Before making my attempts I compared the threads on Apogee and Monsoon barbs and they seemed identical to me. Perhaps there is some fault in port’s thread. This is an explanation I received from Monsoon and maybe that’s the case here:

“Threads are cut to a stated tolerance range. In other words when we (and all other companies) are cutting threads the machinist has a specified +/- range that the threads must fall within. We do this because the thread cutters dull a little with every fitting and the machinist establishes that he can cut XXX number of threads before the tool needs to be replaced. The reason I mention it is that the threads on your barbs might be on one end of the range and the threads on your block may be on the other end of the range. This will make the fit a little snug but still within the specs.”

Actually, Apogee barbs also go in with some resistance in the end of the thread (their thread is shorter than Monsoon’s) before tightening and compressing the O-ring. I tried to screw down Monsoon screw plugs as well as EK 45 and 90 degree adapter fittings. Nothing goes into those ports without much resistance. I have EK tube reservoir and EK-D5 pump top both with acetal ports and all Monsoon plugs and fittings are perfectly compatible with them.

This is the second time that I RMA this CPU block. First one came with damaged O-ring. I don’t know if I can still trust [CPU blocks from] this brand. Since you own Apogee XL CPU block I’d like to ask your opinion on it. More specifically, what are the chances that I could encounter the same problem described in the second paragraph from the bottom on this page (http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews...h-apogee-xl-cpu-block-review?showall=&start=3). The reviewer also mentions it in the video (page 2 of the review) and as you can see from the video he uses Monsoon compression fittings. I understand you haven't tried Monsoon fittings but in my circumstances would you still recommend Apogee XL or should I look elsewhere?

I would be very careful. One of main disadvantages of Acetal is that it strips easily and is hard to fix. Barbs should go in by hand only. Tools are risky. The only time i have had problems like the one you describe is when i accidentally cross threaded a barb. I would remove the barb and inspect the thread. If it looks ok try again. Sometimes it is harder than it looks to thread them correctly. I would also compare the thread length with the provided barbs. However if i remember correctly the threads in the HD go all the way through the to which should be plenty of space. I own the HD and have not had problems with Bitspower, xspc or enzo fittings. I have not tried monsoons though.

 

[Dragolu]

I do not own the Apogee XL but rather the HD. In my experience this is more related to the fact that it is harder to tell if you have threaded correctly on acetal top blocks. The reason i say this is that i have had the same issue with my Raystorm. I have had to do what the reviewer describes with both blocks. Sometimes they go in perfect first try. Sometime it can take 4-5 tries.
In the end you have to trust your blocks so if you indeed descide to switch there are plenty of great blocks out there. I would recommed a metal top one in that case as they are harder to crossthread and even if you do you are less likely to damage the thread.
Hope this helps.

 

[R2-D2]

Aquatuning return policy

I already posted this on Aquatuning Customer Care forum but I also would like to hear customers’ opinion. Maybe some of you were in a similar situation or even had similar experience with Aquatuning.

I recently bought a product on http://www.aquatuning.fi/ . The product turned out to be defective. Normally, I would replace the defective product with identical new one. Unfortunately, this is my third defective sample from the same manufacturer for the last month. I’ve had bad experience with two previous models of the product which I purchased from the local Finnish retailer. After 3 defective samples in a row, two different models from different retailers, I can no longer trust the brand. As I can’t find suitable alternative from the products available on http://www.aquatuning.fi/ that would meet my requirements, I’d like to return this product without replacement and get a refund.

I filed an RMA request through Aquatuning web site and as this is my first product return to other EU member state, I asked for instructions on how to proceed with it. It was strange enough already that I didn’t get any instructions on how to handle the return right away and I had to repeatedly ask the same questions in subsequent E-mail exchange each time getting a little piece of information at a time. Particularly, I asked whether I should use Finnish postal services or UPS that originally delivered parcel. I was told that I should use UPS and that Aquatuning does not cover shipping costs for returns (from Finland where I live). From my experience, Finnish (local) retailers always cover shipping costs for returned products. This sounds strange to me so I contacted UPS in this regard. They were as surprised to hear that as me saying that these rules apply to any retailer that officially sells products to EU member states. Besides, these returns cost almost nothing to a retailer due to overall large amount of shipment and different terms of service provided to business entities than to individuals. For an individual to send a parcel with UPS would cost close to a hundred Euro, according to them.

I placed another order with Aquatuning consisting of 14 items which is still in process because some items are not available as of now. What if one of those items will be defective? How can I possibly replace it under such terms of service?

People who ever bought anything from Aquatuning probably know that not all information is available in local language, which is the case for English and Finnish too. So I couldn’t find information on their return policy in English or in Finnish. Their Terms and Conditions are in German which is beyond my understanding.

What am I dealing with here? Incompetent staff at Aquatuning handling RMA requests, unfavorable terms and conditions of service or intentional misleading of customer?

 

[jt445]

very helpful thanks