bending copper

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I just picked up 20ft of half in OD soft copper at Mernards for $23.00 pretty good price. I am going to build a immersion chiller with it and don't want to screw up, so do I use one of those spring thingies to bend so I don't kink it ? Do I need to heat the copper? should the coils be at the bottom or top or evenly spread out? What's your experiance with this? thanks
 
`It can be bent by hand, but you might kink it, so one of those coil things is advisable. Also finding a round form to bend it around is handy. No need to heat it.
 
I bent mine around the deep fryer basket that came w/ my turkey fryer. Actually I formed it to the inside. It was too big otherwise, too much material was near the edge of the kettle.

I used the spring bender to do the top 90's leading out of kettle.

I used 50' though. Its really efficient.

3761-WortChiller001.jpg


3761-WortChiller006.jpg
 
IrregularPulse said:
Whats this spring thingamigyg you speak of? I will be making an IC soon and haven't heard of this yet.
Click to expand...

This is a set. You slide them over the tubing and bend it. The tubing will bend but the pressure will only be on the outside. The inner part that would otherwise kink will slide inside the spring coil so it gets a clean good radius. It very simple and easy to use. I never got a kink and I bent up to a 90 very easily.

70028_lg.jpg
 
Get a corney keg, either own or borrow, and wrap it around the keg. It will fit nicely into just about any boil kettle. Straighten out the copper and start the coil and spin the keg as you wrap it, that way you stay close to the keg and minimize the chance for a kink.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I've got a spring and a corny keg so I'm shure evrything will go just fine
 
Here's a heat exchanger I recently did ( same as the IC ) , check it out:



Building a Heat Exchanger, or Immersion Chiller-they are pretty much one in the same.

This one is 1/2" OD type "L" copper :

So right out of the box , we are almost there, just need to re-coil the copper to the diameter I wanted:
SAVANT1400009-1.jpg



Re-Coiled around my grain pot

SAVANT1400011-1.jpg


I like to use rigid copper to add to the stability and shape, so I added an elbow, and a lenght of pipe back up to the top


SAVANT1400012-1.jpg


With one side rigid, I used my helper to strip some 14/3 copper wire, he's cheap,very reliable, and I teach him everything I know


SAVANT1400015.jpg
 
With a long piece of bare copper, I start the braiding process, I believe the equal spacing inproves the efficiency of the heat exchange, it also serves to add strenght to the shape.The process is, around the pipe, then 3 twists, then repeat. I use a scrap piece of 3/4" wood to keep the spacing even, a clamp completes the task

SAVANT1400018.jpg


Finished with braiding, see how it stands on it's own, next up to solder each pipe to the riser on the vertical side

SAVANT1400019.jpg


After a good cleaning, I solder each coil to the vertical pipe, this is a pain, but really worth the effort. Again, a few clamps make the job easier--- hint, lower your torch a bit, and use plenty of flux. Once finished, clean all joints with steelwool.

SAVANT1400026.jpg


Installed into kettle, connected I/O, pretty simple


SAVANT1400029.jpg
 
I think the OP is using this as a HERMS coil inside the HLT, not the kettle for chilling. I built a chiller and soldered each coil to the upright, what a hassle. I honestly thing 1/2" copper is rigid enough to not require any reinforcement, especially if it's just sitting in the HLT undisturbed. That thing is a masterpiece though, good job.
 
mrbowenz chiller is beautiful.

FYI - There tends to be an efficiency problem w/ size diameters over 3/8". The ratio of copper surface to the cross sectional area inside the coil then is not as ideal without some form of internal turbulance inside the pipe.

The water that is in contact with copper wall carries the heat more and the center stream is cooler. If you can shove something inside the tubing to "mix" the cooling water it will increase the efficiency.

I'm not sure what you can use thats cheap. Anything that breaks up the water flow stream or causes internal turbulence.

A thin steel flat stock coil with a twist every so many inches would work.
 
So the easiest way to bend copper without buying a spring system is this:

1. Cap one end of the length to keep it fairly water tight - You have to remove this when you are done bending. We use a cork or rubber "bung"

2. Fill your copper tubing with water (Does not need to be hot) and cap the other end loosely.

3. Using propane torch (what you'll use for welding the pipes) Get a small steady flame and heat the tubing as you coil. The pressure from the water inside the tubing will prevent the coil from kinking. The heat from the torch will also provide some elasticity in your tubing that will make it quite easy to bend and will heat the water to further ease your coiling.

At my company, we use this system on a weekly basis to build Heat exchanger systems for fuel testing (aerospace). It works quite well and it essentially free unless you pay for water by the pound :cross:
 
NoClueBrewMaster said:
So the easiest way to bend copper without buying a spring system is this:

1. Cap one end of the length to keep it fairly water tight - You have to remove this when you are done bending. We use a cork or rubber "bung"

2. Fill your copper tubing with water (Does not need to be hot) and cap the other end loosely.

3. Using propane torch (what you'll use for welding the pipes) Get a small steady flame and heat the tubing as you coil. The pressure from the water inside the tubing will prevent the coil from kinking. The heat from the torch will also provide some elasticity in your tubing that will make it quite easy to bend and will heat the water to further ease your coiling.

At my company, we use this system on a weekly basis to build Heat exchanger systems for fuel testing (aerospace). It works quite well and it essentially free unless you pay for water by the pound :cross:
Click to expand...


Free???? The propane isn't, nor is the equipment to create the flame, the gloves to handle the tubing or the caps to plug the ends.

If you had to do this lot and quickly I think it has merit. That's why you do it that way at work.

A person who needs to bend some tubing can do 90% by hand. The last few bends needs to be 90. It might be hard to do w/o a spring tool and not kink it in the process a spring bending set is $8 from the hardware store. Another HB'r who made one might lone one to you as well.

A bender spring is a low $$ investment.
 
NoClue, just make sure it really isn't air tight or water tight. Otherwise when that water expands from the heat it could blow something up or out...
 
I like hand bending the coil itself (anything larger than 10" diameter bends is super easy by hand with no heat or kink prevention tools). For the hard bends, sweat a 90d fitting on. Simple.
 
My point as far as our method for bending w/o kinking is that in this situation, you are most likely already in possession of a propane torch if you are going to be using pipe solder. And yes, you don't want a 100% perfect seal on either end to prevent explosion. We haven't had a problem yet in the manner that we bend our copper.

The only problem we have had in relation to copper is people digging through our dumpster looking for scrap...:)
 
Fill your tubing with water, and freeze it. Obviously, you don't want to make it a tight system, or it will split. The frozen water keeps it from kinking.

I have been told that this method is how trumpets and other wind instruments are bent, and how they keep their perfect shape.
 
DON'T straighten out your coil, just wrap it tighter around some cylindrical object as others have suggested. Copper work hardens, and if you strainghten it then coil it again it will harden and could kink instead of bending.

Nice work Mr Bowenz, seems a shame to dip into wort and dull that shine.
 
ooops, i straightened mine before i wrapped it around my keg. had i read this before i'd have left it in the loose coil it came in. but i got lucky, no kinks, but i haven't made the top bends yet. i got almost a 90 degree bend in the bottom by hand, just had to be really careful.
 
My copper coil from the previous posts where of a heat exchanger, it's mounted into the HLT and has beer on the inside, recirculation back to the mash, I only posted it because the construction technique to build is the same as an IM, mine is hard piped, but will be surrounded by water.
 
I just received 50' of 3/8" OD tubing. In transit it hit a few bumps. I plan on getting the springs mentioned before to bend it into my IC shape, but what can/should I do about these dents, if anything?

copper_dents.jpg


They aren't kinked through. I am thinking just give it a squeeze with pliers try to force the dent out. Suggestions?
 
Use a 10" or larger crescent wrench, adjust jaws to smooth section diameter, then slide it towards flattened section then rotate around dented section. If you start " loose" on the tubing then tighten as you go you should be ok, this is a trick that we use when we want to slide a tube fitting nut around a 90 deree bend in tubing and tubing is out of round.
 
For my friend I used a empty smog test gas cylinder, 9 1/8" diameter mounted in the lathe with tail stock support. Added a oval hole in the tank at the starting end using the lathe's back gear the soft drawn 50" x 1/2" was an easy coil wrap made smaller in diameter than from out of the box. This allowed for 18 coil turns or 43' of coils with the left over 7' for three plus feet in and out of the keg. 1/4" spacers between coils with three 1/2" x 1/8" strips of copper soldered across the inside loops made for a stiff chiller unit small enough to fit thru a 12" keg opening.
 
I just want to say that you all suck. :D

I run water in the kitchen sink and let that over flow and stir the wort.

I want a nice shiny IC....but not as bad as I want a Kreezer...and 50' of copper will get me 1/2 way to the freezer.

Nice work all of you.
 

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