One of the main problems that users encounter when mounting a custom liquid cooler is that of the fitting metrics. It is a bit tricky to understand what we need, what are the sizes and what fits our circuit. Therefore, we are going to try to shed some light on this whole issue by looking at the main metrics depending on the type of fitting we want to install as well as its tube.
The first thing we need to know is the type of tube we are going to install: soft or rigid. This will mark the options we have to choose from, where there is a casuistry that there are not too many standards when it comes to metrics.
Each manufacturer works with some, chooses the ones they find most attractive and from there designs their fittings and sells their tube. The important thing is that the threads are in all cases the same (G1 / 4), so the only thing that changes is the Internal (IN) and external (OUT) metric of the fitting, which logically influences the tube.
Fittings: a constant dispute between manufacturers who do not agree
It would be much easier if all manufacturers concentrated on working and selling the same metrics, at least for the same type of tube, but no, this does not happen. It should be noted that in rigid it seems that they reached a more or less common and homogeneous consensus, but in soft … options to give away.
We are not going to go into the types of fittings , since it is a topic that we saw a long time ago, so if you do not have too much idea it would be convenient to start there to link later with this article. We will break this article down into metrics for rigid tube fittings and soft tube fittings, making it easier to frame everything.
Metric for soft tube fittings
Logically, there are two distinctions to be made here, mainly due to the use that is given to each type of racord. The barbed do not have a compression thread and therefore only have one metric.
This metric is “external”, but if we look at the compression fittings, this would really be the internal one, since the external one is marked by the thread, an important detail so as not to be confused.
Barbed 10 mm
Barbed 12 mm
Barbed 13 mm
Compression 8/6 mm
Compression 10/8 mm
11/8 mm compression
Compression 13/10 mm
Compression 16/10 mm
Compression 16/12 mm
Compression 19/13 mm
Metric for rigid tube fittings
Push in 12/10 mm
Push in 16/12 mm
Compression 12mm
Compression 13 mm
14mm compression
Compression 16mm
As we can see, the number of existing metrics is overwhelming, where it was even higher once. The aesthetics of the fittings varies depending on the manufacturer and the range, since we can find different types of fitting for the same metric in terms of shapes, colors or even retention systems with one or two O-rings.
In this regard, manufacturers are opting to include two directly for greater security and clamping of the tube, without counting on the joint of the threads in the rigid tube fittings with compression.
Remember that in the case of the soft tube it is necessary to look at the two metrics (ID and OD) since the tube “embraces” the stem of the fitting, that is, the fitting enters the tube. In the case of rigid tubes, only the OD metric is given as a general rule, since the tube enters cleanly inside the fitting itself.
