LaserUser.com Forum (formerly RDWorksLab)

Trying add a chiller and when i turned the chiller on it appears the water pressure is to high and the inlet and the outlet hoses pop off the fittings at the machine. The laser was not turned on. Does the laser have to be on when the chiller is running?

Laser tube water jacket is just a tube. That being said, a lot of laser tube water fitting have VERY small orifices. I use small zip ties to make sure the hoses to not come off the laser tube and my inlet / outlet fittings. On everything but the laser tube itself you could use small hose clamps, but I would be too afraid of breaking something to use a mechanical clamp on a glass tube.

I, too, used hose clamps on most connections except for the ones on the glass tube. Make sure to unscrew the connection plate on the back of the laser and use hose clamps on the backside connections. You don't want water leaking around all that electricity.

For my PITA China Red, my connections were recessed. Great for shipping, not so much for connecting.

I pulled the recessed panel and bulkhead connections and flipped the plate over to make it stick out. Clamped the hose on the bulkhead before installing, then the retaining nut on the outside, leaving the connection out where I could get to it. As I had a laser tube extension on mine, I also moved the plate to the underside of the extension. I had a silicone hose partially kink because it came out the back and then the weight of the hose down to my pump and container. Also eliminated about five feet of excess hose wrapped around the laser tube to reduce friction loss for the 'high powered' aquarium pump.

My next contemplation is upgrading the tubing size from 3/8" ( 9mm ) to 1/2" (12mm ) to reduce the friction loss even more, but that will only happen after some flow tests to see if it's worth it, considering the SMALL orifices on the laser tube water fittings.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I clamped each hose with hose clamps I did not have any issues with the tube connections. All is working now. Have not tried to cut anything yet as i have been busy with the cnc for now. I have set the chiller at 19 degrees c. I really appreciate this forum.