Monday, October 24th 2022
EK Goes Heavy Metal with EK-Loop Metal Tubes and Metal Cutter
EK, a Europe-based premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is releasing a new line of metal tubing for PC liquid cooling systems named EK-Loop Metal Tube. The tubes are available in all three popular outer diameter sizes—12 mm, 14 mm, and 16 mm—and are made of solid brass with varying finishes that offer more aesthetic choices to the user. They are available in two options: straight and pre-bent with a 90-degree bend. This pack contains two 0.5-meter-long metal tubes with an outer diameter (OD) of 12/14/16 mm. These brass tubes are perfect for builds utilizing straight runs from the components to an EK-Quantum Reflection distribution plate. The metal tube can be cut to size using a tube-cutting tool and installed straight, or bent to an angle using a pipe-bending tool. Bending metal tubes is not easy, so EK offers the pre-bent option with a 90-degree bend.
EK-Loop Metal Tube 12/14/16 mm 0.8 m Pre-Bent 90°: As mentioned before, bending metal tubes is not easy, which is why EK offers them in a 90-degree pre-bent option straight from the factory. These pre-bent brass tubes come with 90-degree bends, which is the most often used bend angle in PC water cooling. They come in 12, 14, and 16 mm outer diameters and in an 800-mm length. They can either be used as a significant quality-of-life upgrade for experienced builders to reduce the time needed to bend the tubes, or can greatly help novice builders who are inexperienced with tube bending. These tubes come in packs of two, each 800 mm long.
EK-Loop Metal Tube Cutting Tool
The EK-Loop Metal Tube Cutting Tool is a tube/pipe cutter that enables you to shorten rigid metal tubing for your custom loop. It's made of stainless steel and can be adjusted to any tube size commonly used in hard-tube water-cooled PCs. It is perfect to couple with EK-Loop Metal Tubes to cut them to the exact size required for your build.
Pricing and Availability
EK-Loop Metal Tubes and Metal Tube Cutting Tool are available for purchase through the EK Webshop and the Partner Reseller Network. The table below shows the MSR prices with VAT included.
EK-Loop Metal Tube 12/14/16 mm 0.8 m Pre-Bent 90°: As mentioned before, bending metal tubes is not easy, which is why EK offers them in a 90-degree pre-bent option straight from the factory. These pre-bent brass tubes come with 90-degree bends, which is the most often used bend angle in PC water cooling. They come in 12, 14, and 16 mm outer diameters and in an 800-mm length. They can either be used as a significant quality-of-life upgrade for experienced builders to reduce the time needed to bend the tubes, or can greatly help novice builders who are inexperienced with tube bending. These tubes come in packs of two, each 800 mm long.
The EK-Loop Metal Tube Cutting Tool is a tube/pipe cutter that enables you to shorten rigid metal tubing for your custom loop. It's made of stainless steel and can be adjusted to any tube size commonly used in hard-tube water-cooled PCs. It is perfect to couple with EK-Loop Metal Tubes to cut them to the exact size required for your build.
Pricing and Availability
EK-Loop Metal Tubes and Metal Tube Cutting Tool are available for purchase through the EK Webshop and the Partner Reseller Network. The table below shows the MSR prices with VAT included.
11 Comments on EK Goes Heavy Metal with EK-Loop Metal Tubes and Metal Cutter
Tbh, I'd just use 90degrees piping adaptors with solder rather than going for 1mil fittings that cost a ton and just make the build look more cluttered :D
Image one is probably the worst piping job I've ever seen on a advertisement :laugh:
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If they only stuck with right angle bends or straight tubing, that might imply to some viewers that the product was too difficult to bend to custom angles.
With photos from different builds their product can appeal to a wider audience with different usage cases.
As usual with anything built by humans, the end result is a compromise. The build could have more right angle bends for aesthetics while adding to complexity, maybe cost (if 90 degree fittings are used), impeded coolant flow and higher drag due to an increased loop length. Builds like the one in Photo #1 favor improved coolant flow at the expense of aesthetics, sort of a halfway point between the hard tube with sharp angles and soft tubing.
I know a lot of people here at TPU can only imagine one usage case for each and every thing (and one perfect solution) but I assure you that often there are multiple possibilities for many situations. Often there is no perfect solution, just a number of them with different sets of compromises that ranging from bad to good.
Then I saw the pics and it confirmed my first read.
EK is slacking there is no EK logo on the cutter :laugh: