The Best Fitting Money Can Buy?

September 28, 2020 Matt Oustad Comments

The drain fitting, also known as a drain valve or ball valve, is a topic with many questions - especially from newcomers to custom loops. Although it is not required for your open loop setup, it is most definitely recommended. Ball valves are made by basically every brand on the market and also come in a variety of styles. Confusion often starts here, with selecting the proper drain fitting and will typically continue all the way through installation. Which is why I am here to show you Touchaqua’s “Water Exhaust Fitting”! Yes, you read that right, it is called a water exhaust fitting, however, it can be used for a variety of purposes. Read on to see why this could be your next best investment for your custom loop.

What is it?

Bitspower’s sister company, Touchaqua, is a brand often overlooked. The brand is owned and operated by Bitspower and has a wide variety of products that are similar to what Bitspower has to offer, but often come with a slight variation in style as well as pricing. The Water Exhaust Fitting they created is actually much more than just your typical water exhaust fitting you’ve seen from other brands. It will indeed act as a water/air exhaust valve if you use the first half of the fitting. As you can see, there is a manual valve in the middle of the G1/4 male threaded portion of the fitting, which when depressed, will release anything behind the valve - air or water. If you were to place the fitting in this configuration at the top of your reservoir where air is most likely present, you can depress the valve to release any excess air trapped in your loop. This is typically only useful if you are filling the loop, but it does have its purpose. This fitting also comes with an adapter that will thread into the exhaust valve, causing it to be permanently depressed and has female G1/4 threads so you can install another fitting onto it. If you were to thread a barb fitting or soft tube compression fitting onto the adapter your water exhaust fitting can now be used as a drain fitting when installed near or at the bottom of your loop.

Why is this special?

As previously stated, this fitting serves more than one purpose which isn’t that common in the world of watercooling. One of the most notable features is it’s overall size, coming in at just 13mm long when installed, it is by far the most compact drain fitting available. Whether you have a small form factor rig that needs a drain or you’d just prefer a very minimalistic looking drain for your show build, this is the drain fitting you want to use. Touchaqua only sells these fittings as a two pack, however for $19.95 it still ends up being a solid bargain - especially when compared to the prices of traditional ball valve style drain fittings. You either end up with drain fittings for two builds, or you have both a drain and an air exhaust fitting for your one build. No matter which way you look at it, these are very useful fittings to have around, so add some to your next order! You can find these fittings here in “Glorious Silver”, “Glorious Black”, and “Deluxe White”.