Importing Barrow Water Cooled Components

Hi All

I'm in the process of my first water cooled build and came across Barrow. They appear to be a little known brand, so I did some research (including via OCAU Forum) and the reviews have been good. In researching this further, there doesn't appear to be a local reseller, however the Barrow brand is wildly available via Aliexpress or Ebay. Prices per item are very competitive particularly compared to other brands, purchased either locally or internationally.

From what I can see the issue with both these online resellers is they charge you shipping per item which almost defeats the cost competitiveness of this product.

Therefore I got in contact with Barrow International directly and after multiple discussion, you can purchase directly from them, albeit there is a min order value which needs to be achieved. I have managed to gain access to the pricing and ordering platform and I'm considering placing an order for some items - for my own build and also to carry some items for resale (hopefully).

They have hundreds of SKU's and therefore I will need to limit my first order to items that people are interested in. I'm considering only carrying Acrylic tubing in 14mm and 16mm and compression only fitting to suit. I will also carry some CPU blocks, Radiators, Reservoirs and Pumps, maybe some GPU blocks, Waterway boards, fans and accessories also.

Question I have.

1. What is more common / requested - Acrylic or PETG
2. Is 12mm tubing common for water cooling or is 14mm or 16mm is all that is required.
3. Are push fittings popular or should I just stick with compression type
4. What is the most common thickness of radiators - 34mm, 45mm or 60mm. I will carry only the 240mm & 360mm models, but uncertain as to what thickness is popular.
5. Do most people look for high-end CPU blocks or cheaper is more popular
6. Barrow primarily have DDC pumps. I know the D5 pump is popular. Should I worry about carrying DDC pumps.

Any assistance in relation to the above would be greatly appreciated.

Also please let me know if you are interested in any of the Barrow components and I'll include these items in my first order. Please see below link to their website

http://www.barrowint.com/index.php​

As this is my first post on this site, I wouldn't expect any payment upfront. I will cover the initial purchase value inclusive of shipping and local import charges and would only expect payment upon local shipment. I have access to their online warranty / RMA request, however I would in most instances, replace your item and chase this with them directly.

Also see below a few reviews I found on Barrow components.

 

https://www.ebay.com.au/usr/mydiyau is a local Melbourne based seller. I've had considerable dealings with him (Hugh Fan), even been to his premises and home to collect stuff, and he is an excellent, reliable and very helpful guy.

You can email him direct @ hugh.mechanical@gmail.com with any queries you have, and get a number to call him on. I highly recommend him, and the Barrow brand he sells.

If you wish to advertise your potential business on this site, or organise a group buy, I'm sure you'll get support, as the brand is reasonably well known and respected by many of us. You will however need to contact Agg to get permission to do so.

 

I second Kev's post above, Hugh's a very helpful fella.

I can't help on hard tubing, but I'll add what I can:

Depends on the anticipated heat load, case room requirements and desired fans. There are two critical factors when buying a radiator - thickness, which affects heat-exchanging capacity largely, and fins-per-inch (FPI), which also affects heat-exchanging capacity but dictates the type of fans you will need to pair it up with, and the noise floor you will need to live with.

The thicker the radiator at a given size, the more surface-area it has to dissipate heat. Thicker radiators are often made up of multiple layers of tubes and fins, which means you need more effort to push enough air through them to make them effective.

This is also where FPI comes in - more fins-per-inch, harder to get air through - higher static pressure needed, fan choice suddenly quite important. ALWAYS research the FPI of your chosen radiator.

Low-FPI radiators (18 or less) will work with any fan, but are best with a slower fan with higher airflow. High-FPI radiators pair best with fans with a higher Static Pressure, which allows the fan to 'force' the air through the fins 'harder'.

Pick the block you like the look of and go from there. Good reviews abound on everything from 20-buck eBay blocks to $120 EK Supremacies, and everything in between.

Both pumps are popular. The DDC is an excellent choice if you're more space-limited, but can be a touch noisier than the D5. That said, every D5 is a different beast, and some are far louder than others. They're comparable in total flow, head pressure and controlability, so I wouldn't fret over which one is best. There's a bigger range of reservoirs and whatnot available for the D5, but if you've got a good lead on a DDC-compatible one, go for it

 

Ratzz

I was looking at Hugh's EBAY store and actually saw his name mentioned in a few other posts on this forum. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Hugh is mainly carrying tubing and fittings. However for my build I need the other items also and mostly these components are only available via international seller or Aliexpress. I will however get in touch with Hugh to see if he is importing these components also. Thanks for sharing his details. I will also get in contact with Agg regarding gaining permission as you have suggested. I understand that a number of different forum's do not permit the commercial promotion of individual businesses and therefore I did check a few of the stickies in the newbie lounge to see if this was the case. With this said, I wouldn't really consider this a group buy or business at this point, it's more of an interest or hobby. I have a full time job as a national sales manager and like most are time poor. I just wanted to gauge interest and gain feedback on what components fellow OCAU members maybe interested in. It may turn into something further, but at this stage it was merely just trying to understand and establish what components others have a need for. I will be placing an order for the items I require and will need to add other items to cover the min order value. If I can assist other OCAU members with competitively priced Barrow components at the same time, then its a win, win. If not, then it looks like I will be building a number of water cooled PC this year

Juzz86, that's for this information. It's very helpful and I appreciate your response.

 

Hi,

If you're buying components for resale you would simply be a commercial seller and have to become a paid sponsor of the site to advertise or coordinate the sale here.

If you are proposing a group buy, you would have to meet the following criteria:
- publish the vendor you are getting the goods from
- publish the pricing you are receiving
- organise the group buy for a specific item or related items, not a general free-for-all from the shop
- the items must not be readily available individually in Australia already
- the coordinator does not profit from the group buy apart from the same benefit as everyone else, or a small benefit to cover their own shipping or a free item etc

Also, I would be unlikely to approve a group buy organised by a new member with a hotmail account. There's a 90-day waiting period before any kind of trading on OCAU, and a group buy has the additional risk to the community of the group's funds being sent to the organiser before the goods are sent out.

Cheers
Agg

 

Hi Agg

Understood. I can appreciate the concern and understand the need to protect your members. What is the cost to become a paid sponsor ?

Cheers

Troy

 

Drop me an email at agg@overclockers.com.au and I'll reply with info. I'll close this thread for now.