Anyone know how do you bend copper piping???

[strokeside]

I want to be a real cheap-skate/ get the experience by making a DIY Radiator for my Water cooling system.
I am going to use a design which needs the copper pipes to be bent into a circular spiral pattern. I have absolutely no experience or knowhow in relation to pipe bending/ dealing with the copper.
Does anyone here know, or know a tutorial/website that could help me with it?
Any help is appreciated.
strokeside.

[Tiger]

When you're at the plumbing supply store buying the pipe ask them. They supply a spring. On large pipes it goes in the pipe and the smaller goes outside. With the spring covering the area just bend. You must move the spring progressively so it doesn't get stuck. Have a look on the web under pipe bending. There is DIY site that gives some quite good info.

[UserName]

First a visit to that famous OC where house Home Depot.

They have copper tubing that is for refrigeration. It is soft and ment for bending by hand. It comes in all standard sizes.
Works great. I used it in my first setup.

Just go slow so it dont kink.

[Sonny]

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS
.....and to the addiction:eek:Originally posted by strokeside
I want to be a real cheap-skate/ get the experience by making a DIY Radiator for my Water cooling system.
I am going to use a design which needs the copper pipes to be bent into a circular spiral pattern. I have absolutely no experience or knowhow in relation to pipe bending/ dealing with the copper.
Does anyone here know, or know a tutorial/website that could help me with it?
Any help is appreciated.
strokeside. If you do a search for this you will find some really good advice by Billvill;) Originally posted by Billvill
If your going to install it in a 4 inch piece of pvc get a 3 inch piece of pvc. Fill the copper tubing with sand ( that will stop it from kinking ). Bend it around the 3 inch piece until you have the length you want. Be sure to flush out the sand.

If you don't want to use the sand, a good tool dealer will have what looks like long springs that are used to bend tubing. They slide over the tubing and can be moved as you work the tubing. They are not that expensive.

For what it is worth , Billy The whole thread is the same as your project. Just look here (http://forums.overclockers.ws/vb/showthread.php?threadid=56938).

[Koooler King]

Another cheap way to go if you have one is to use a V- belt pulley (like the kind that might be used on a lawnmower) as a mandrel to bend around. Pick one that is slightly smaller than the final radius you are looking for and snug enough for the pipe to rest just inside the flanges. Clamp it in a vice and bend the tubing a little at time. As long as you aren't bending it too tight, the insides of the pulley flanges should support the sides the tubes so it is less likely to kink. Good luck.

Koooler King

[Silver]

I've heard (but don't know) that filling it with sand will help prevent kinking.

[RainMaQer]

I was just about to say the same thing about the sand... If you fill it with sand it won't kink and works great... someone else posted that on here so I tried it out and it worked:D

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!!!:p

[UserName]

You can just buy refrigeration tubing and not worry about any of the sand or springs or pulleys. It bends real easy. It's cheap. It even work hardens.

Anybody use the stuff or do all y'all put sand on your springs for your pulley's?

[RainMaQer]

Never used the stuff before... but I like to put my springs on sand then swing the pulley around over my head:p

[UserName]

So do you take standard copper plumbing tubing (Like 1/2" schedule 40) and bend it? This is the 8 foot long stuff you see at Home Depot?

[RainMaQer]

The only copper tubing I had I got from Ace... I tried just bending it... it kinked... so I tried my pipe bender... More or less worked... then I heard about the sand trick... filled it with sand... wrapped it around a spray can and vuala:D

[Diggrr]

Hey UserName, not the copper pipe, copper tubing. It comes coiled in a box about 2' x 2' x 1" thick. It's already pretty flexible, but can collapse when bent without sand filling it, or the spring or pulley ideas.
The copper pipe is harder copper, and is more difficult to work. It also has a thicker wall.

I've seen brass instruments made before (trumpet). They freeze water inside the tubing and bend it around a mandrel (like the pulley idea). That was brass, but copper should be easier. I tried it with copper once, but didn't use a mandrel form. It kinked right shut, though it was a 1" diameter bend too.

[UserName]

We are talking about the same stuff. I guess i never did that tight a radius.

[strokeside]

Whats the minimum radius you could do when bending, say a 1/2" copper tube?
Anyone know?

[The Overclocker]

if you fill the tubes with salt then when it bends it will not crease, get a heater core though

[Silver]

Originally posted by the overclocker
if you fill the tubes with salt then when it bends it will not crease, get a heater core though

Good one. I had'nt thought of that. Cheap and readily available in small quantities.

[Koooler King]

Originally posted by strokeside
Whats the minimum radius you could do when bending, say a 1/2" copper tube?
Anyone know?

I checked a manufacturing reference book, the minimum recomended bend radius is 4x the tubing diameter with 6x or greater preferred. So you are looking at a 2" minimum bend radius for your 1/2" tubing. Good luck.

Koooler King

[UserName]

If you read the "must reads" at the top of the form they talk about rads.

Rads should not have one weaving tube. They should tee into many parallel courses for the water to flow through. If you look at a car rad or a heater core you will see the way they should work.

lots of WC rads for sale are not made this way. Thats why a heater core from a car will beat most all of them.

[ocean]

Unless you have some really radical radiator design in mind, bending copper really isn't worth the effort.
Sure you could get a "bending spring" and bend it but, it will still look kind of cheesy when you are through. You could also acquire a "Rigid" tubing bender that will allow you to make some professional looking bends but, the bending radius will be quite large and the scrap you will make trying to learn how to use the thing seems hardly worth it to me. Not to mention the fact that this tool is quite expensive.
If you are REALLY intent on building your own cooler, might I suggest a trip to your local heating and air conditioning supply store.(No you won't find these at Home Depot) There you can purchase 180 degree bends. These will not only give you a much shorter radius, but you can build any configuration you desire by soldering pieces of pipe between them. ( Whith a torch and flux, not a soldering iron)
Which brings me to the sizing issue. Copper tubing is sized according to it's inside or outside diameter. You need to know what you are getting. Most plumbing supply stores like Home Depot use the inside diameter when describing "Hard copper pipe'
This is the stuff you see in long rigid lengths. "Soft copper tube(the stuff in coils) is normally described by it's outside diameter. Make sure you get the proper fittings for the pipe you are using.
And that's 'bout it.
Oh yeah, I sure wish someone could answer my question about peltiers. Like how do I know if I have a 118 watt or a 156 watt?
How does one test them? I just want to make sure I got the right one before I put this new water cooling rig together.
Thanks
:D