Coutner flow chiller

Yuri-

you had said that in your counter flow chiller you used a 25/64 drill bit to make the compression fitting work. i could not find one at home depot. picked up the 3/8 bit and it appears that is not going to work, unless you have a tip on how to use that bit to make the hole big enough.

It was Chairman Cheyco that mentioned that in this thread. You might be able to sand the copper down a little and get it to fit. You might be tempted to try it, but I'd be careful "wallowing" the hole out with the smaller drill - you're trying for a water-tight fitting. If you can't find a 25/64" bit, you could use a 7/16" bit and sweat the fittings in order to seal them.

Yuri_Rage said:

but I'd be careful "wallowing" the hole out with the smaller drill - you're trying for a water-tight fitting.

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Actually, sanding the tubing would have a more negative affect on the watertightness of this design, since the the ferrule (the brass collar) seals against the ferrule seat and the tubing itself. Damaging the surface of the tubing is bad. When making the hole big enough for the tubing to pass through, the only thing you need to be careful of is to not damage the ferrule seat of the compression fitting while drilling it out.

Chairman Cheyco said:

Actually, sanding the tubing would have a more negative affect on the watertightness of this design, since the the ferrule (the brass collar) seals against the ferrule seat and the tubing itself. Damaging the surface of the tubing is bad. When making the hole big enough for the tubing to pass through, the only thing you need to be careful of is to not damage the ferrule seat of the compression fitting while drilling it out.

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I was picturing the copper as soft enough to "spread" to fill any imperfections in the surface, so long as you don't sand more than just barely enough to get it to fit. Then again, this is your design, Chairman...

Yuri_Rage said:

I was picturing the copper as soft enough to "spread" to fill any imperfections in the surface, so long as you don't sand more than just barely enough to get it to fit. Then again, this is your design, Chairman...

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Yeah, not to take anything away from your obvious skill in these matters, but I have found that surface marring and seat damage are terribly unforgiving in compression fitting land. Best not to risk either.

Chairman Cheyco said:

Yeah, not to take anything away from your obvious skill in these matters, but I have found that surface marring and seat damage are terribly unforgiving in compression fitting land. Best not to risk either.

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Completely understood...and I would probably just sweat the whole thing together. Welding, brazing, and soldering makes me feel good...

EDIT: It was very tempting to take credit for your project, though...but I'm not that much of a d!ck (I hope...).

Yuri_Rage said:

EDIT: It was very tempting to take credit for your project, though...but I'm not that much of a d!ck (I hope...).

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That sounds like more of a survival instinct than not being a d!ck to me!


:cross:

Chairman Cheyco said:

That sounds like more of a survival instinct than not being a d!ck to me!

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Are you threatening me???

Yuri_Rage said:

Are you threatening me???

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LOL, of course not!

Sorry chairman, when i looked at the thread at work i had forgoten that infact it was you that posted it.


So, what is the harm in sanding down the tube and then just soldering it?
That seems like the easiest way to go without havnig to buy a 25 dollar drill bit.

Reverend JC said:

Sorry chairman, when i looked at the thread at work i had forgoten that infact it was you that posted it.


So, what is the harm in sanding down the tube and then just soldering it?
That seems like the easiest way to go without havnig to buy a 25 dollar drill bit.

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No harm I can see if you back it up with some solder...Chairman???

Yuri_Rage said:

No harm I can see if you back it up with some solder...Chairman???

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I can't see a problem with it, the goal is to make something that works, right? Those drills aren't any more expensive than the normal sizes up here. Didn't even think they'd be harder to come by.

I'm having trouble understanding the problem here. The drill bit is to hollow out the interior of the compression fitting so that the soft copper tubing can pass completely through. If the 3/8" bit is just a bit too small, you can probably just run it through applying a little lateral pressure in all directions. Brass is pretty soft. You might also try wrapping some sandpaper around a bic pen and running it through a few times.

Don't sand the copper because the compression ferrule is depending on that specific diameter (and a smooth surface).

If you end up soldering, you may have saved yourself some money by simply using copper tees and a drilled out endcap.

Bobby_M said:

If you end up soldering, you may have saved yourself some money by simply using copper tees and a drilled out endcap.

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That's a really good point, sweat fittings are way cheaper than compression fittings.

Which is why I plan to give the all-copper solution a shot before dropping the cash on brass. Of course, the tolerance of the drilled out endcap needs to be very close. It's tough to bridge gaps with solder.

Bobby_M said:

If the 3/8" bit is just a bit too small, you can probably just run it through applying a little lateral pressure in all directions. Brass is pretty soft.

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Ever try to get a perfectly round hole with this technique? I'm guessing that you'd do more harm trying to walk the bit around than you would with some sandpaper. Just my $.02.

Yuri,

There's no need to get a perfect hole. You're just hollowing out the interior of the compression fitting enough so the tubing fits. The actual seal is still made with an untouched ferrule.

Bobby_M said:

Yuri,

There's no need to get a perfect hole. You're just hollowing out the interior of the compression fitting enough so the tubing fits. The actual seal is still made with an untouched ferrule.

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Silly me...alright...I'll shut up already...

well, i wonder if the home depot sells a compression fitting that is a 1/2 to 25/64?

I'm pretty sure my local Home Depot's inventories are governed by a random number generator. When I need something specific like that, never seems to be available.

I think my problem is i must have picked up the 3/8 ID copper.

I have already bent it into the hose and everything and can not take it back so i need to figure out a way to make this work.

i just got off the phone with home worthless and they said they only have one 3/8 copper tube. he has no choice of OD or ID. i did not think to look. he said that he tried my fitting that i bought and opened some copper there and he got the copper to fit into the ferrel.

what the ****......................this isnt brain surgery and it is taking me that long to get this damn thing done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

well i went to a local hardware store in the town where i work and picked up a compression nut and sleeve that are seperate from each other. hopefully this works!

I'm really confused. Are you saying you're having trouble getting the 3/8" copper tubing into the ferrule/nut combo on the compression fitting? It's always a pain but I found that the biggest culprit is that the tubing is soft enough to make it a little bit out of round. The tolerances are pretty tight, and they have to be to make a good seal. I've always used a small tubing cutter to lop off an inch or so on the end and it usually gets into the ferrule with a little pushing and cussin. I talk about this like I'm a plumber only because I've installed this type of tubing for ice maker connections for a many friends and family members. It's the sort of thing that happens once someone finds out you know how to do something.

In summary, you remove the nut/ferrule from the fitting, drill out the fitting so the copper tube can slide through. Then slide the ferrule/nut over the tubing and tighten it down to create a seal.

right, that is what i am begining to see.

But, it appeared to me that there was no way that the copper could fit into the ferral that i picked up the other day.

So, as i said, i picked up a seperate ferrel and compression nut today in the hopes it will work better than the all in one unit that i got at the depot.

SHAZAAAMMMMMM!!!!!


Wow, I guess i tend to be a bit slow. After cutting about an inch off of each end of the copper tube the ferrels fit!

I would post a picture of it but i am slow at that as well. dont know how.

thanks for the help. first all grain coming up this weekend. hopefully tonight.

the_bird said:

I'm pretty sure my local Home Depot's inventories are governed by a random number generator. When I need something specific like that, never seems to be available.

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ROFLMAO!!! I have to agree. I have never before seen such a random number of fittings in varying sizes without any common variations.

Pretty sexy huh?

Now I just have to get a coupling welded into my kettle. Anyone wanna buy one? I have enough materials for one more.