I am building a new gaming rig as you might know by now. For that Im soon reaching the part where I make the tubing, out of brass tubes and very nice fittings. The thing is, despite both tubes and fittings being the same brand and size, they feel rather loose and Im worried I might have a tube popping off due to over pressure. Comparing it to cobber pipes and house heating in older homes, could I solder the fittings and tubes together? Should not be difficult to do at all and still being easy enough to screw on the outer part of the fittings. I have the system setup with drain and fill port so no real need to dismount anything. What do you think, could it work or is it normal that the pipes feel little loose in its fitting? I have never worked with hard tubes before, let alone brass tubes.
Personally I'd double check the measurements with a vernier caliper and also check the specs of the fittings and replace the tubing if necessary
Brass can be soldered quite easily if you have the right kit and solder rods. At work we generally result to"silver solder" (AG-60 rods) for the majority of jobs as it provides a good joint on a large selection of metals however more specialist rods specifically for brass may well be cheaper. The main point to bear in mind is that brass requires more heat than copper for a successful solder joint. Quite surprised to find the below document online but lots of useful information if you can spend the time to read it. https://www.wilhelmsen.com/globalas...n-ships-service---unitor-welding-handbook.pdf Another advantage of the AG-60 rod is that it will generally give a good joint at a lower temperature than the specialist brass ones and as said previously it can be used for a large selection of different materials. Mike
its rather interesting but i think i solved the problem, by just wrapping a thin layer of thread seal tape around the tube end under the fitting top, will never be seen and is snug like a glove.
You might need to be wary of that leeching into the system. There's a lot or different rubbers and plastic in that which might react well and clog up your blocks. Especially in a closed system.
I'd have a concern about the PTFE (plastic tape for engineers) fretting with any vibration and it eventually leaking. As The_Crapman points out there is also the chance of small particles of PTFE getting into your system and causing blockages (Probably only an issue in the micro-channels of the blocks or possibly the pump depending on its design), indeed where we use PTFE in instrumentation systems the first 3 threads of taper fittings are left clear of tape to try to ensure no small particles enter the system. I wouldn't be that concerned about PTFE reacting with anything else in your coolant system.
