Bending 1/2" .020 SS for Immersion Chiller

I've seen a number of threads on here regarding the difficulty of bending SS, but they seem to be related more to dip tubes. Has anyone tried bending 1/2"" .020 wall SS tubing around a Cornie Keg, and what difficulties have you had? Should this be filled with sand first, or is that only necessary for tight bends. Is a tubing bender (yet more money to spend) really necessary for this?

The SS tubing that I bought is currently in a coil of about 2ft in diameter.

I'd be interested in any solutions that people can come up with. I bought some bare SS tubing for building a jockey box last year. The SS came in a coil, but it was too large of a coil to fit into my cooler. I bent maybe 1/3 of the coil around a cornie keg before calling it quits for the day. It was just too springy to keep all that SS tight on the keg.

I then found a great deal on Craigslist for existing SS jockey box coils and never got back to my original SS. I'd like to make another jockey box to sell, but I am dreading dealing with the tubing again.

check out the youtube video of Bobby_M making an IC out of a roll of copper coil. He makes it look easy and it turns out tight! You can find it under the DIY section under videos (not sure how to link it in my post!)

Copper is easy, I am wondering the same thing as there are good deals on SS tubing online. Can't remember where but I was looking the other day.

So I am watching for some tips/solutions.

BadgerBrewer said:

check out the youtube video of Bobby_M making an IC out of a roll of copper coil. He makes it look easy and it turns out tight! You can find it under the DIY section under videos (not sure how to link it in my post!)

Click to expand...

Here is the video

I've watched the video but it doesn't speak to the issues of bending SS which is a lot more difficult

jjyoung said:

I've watched the video but it doesn't speak to the issues of bending SS which is a lot more difficult

Click to expand...

I just watched the video as I have never seen it before. Sorry. I was trying to help out two people with one post. I thought it would help out more.

While I am not familiar with the SS, cause I have never bent it into a coil. I have done lots of copper. I would imagine that warping it around a keg would be the same as copper. It will be a lot more tiresome, but doable. The radius is not a small one. I do know that you are much more smart with your money then I am cause, I would have already had it wrapped around a keg and if it didn't work, then I would ask. Good luck and I hope someone with experience chimes in for you.


Edit; Here is a post from The Pol about his 1/2" SS chiller he has/made/bought??? It looks like I am wrong about being able to bend it. Again, Good luck.

"Bought the coil as a HD chiller from Midwest.

Trust me, you arent going to bend 1/2" SS tubing that nicely, it is VERY HARD! I hope the rest of the build goes a little easier."

I've bent a fair bit of SS tubing in the last few weeks, but with a bender. Without a tube bender, what I would do is cap one end, and fill it with sand. Cap the other end, and clamp the non coiling end to what you are wrapping it around, then wrap. SS kinks fairly badly even in a tube bender, I don't envy trying to do this.

I've bent a fair bit of SS tubing in the last few weeks, but with a bender.

Click to expand...

What kind of bender do you use? I've been looking at them, but unless you go higher end it doesn't look like you can control the bend radius.

Fortunately, Im big into cars as well. I used a 1/2 inch tube bender that we use for fuel lines to bend my HERMS coil. Its not the prettiest thing, it leaves small kink looking bends instead of the nice roll that you will see with copper, but there was absolutely no other way to bend the stuff. Its tough!

Also the bender was kind of pricey, around $140 but I cant see there being any other way...

HTH

jjyoung said:

What kind of bender do you use? I've been looking at them, but unless you go higher end it doesn't look like you can control the bend radius.

Click to expand...

I'm in school right now, and my instructor likes beer. I've been able to use anything I want to for brewery equipment.

http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/Geared-Ratchet-Bender

Yeah, I've seen a number like that. Unfortunately it has a 3" bend radius, which is too small. I'm thinking of building a makeshift roller bender. Or possibly an inexpensive conduit bender would work. I believe a lot of them have a 5" radius which would be just about right.

It is too small for the overall radius' required, but would be a life saver for the bend at the bottom of the incoming water flow, as well as the two at the connection points to the hose. I'll have to try the conduit bender next week when I'm back to that shop. I have a 3' length of 9/16" OD in my trunk.

I wouldn't try to make the bends at the top and bottom. I'm planning on using compression fittings into an elbow. Also, my coil is going to be installed into the pot with 1/2" couplings soldered (or welded if I can find someone to do it) into the side of the pot.

I'd be interested in your test results. If a standard pipe bender would work that would be a great way to go.

A mechanic at the local industrial fluid supply company told me to freeze water in the SS tubing. In this case we were talking about 1/2" thin walled stainless but only a short length with a 90 degree bend. Not sure how practical that would be with an IC set up. I did 1/2" copper around a keg and it was not a simple task, went a bit haywire after the first 30 feet or so. It works but not pretty. I would think putting sand in will work as I have done that in the past with good results.

IMO save your money and buy a plate chiller if your setup allows it. 210*+ wort cooled down to 68* ....one minute a gallon. I've never used an immersion chiller but it seems like a PITA way to chill wort. I bought one off of ebay with the same dimensions as the therminator for 110.00 shipped.

ILOVEBEER said:

IMO save your money and buy a plate chiller if your setup allows it. 210*+ wort cooled down to 68* ....one minute a gallon. I've never used an immersion chiller but it seems like a PITA way to chill wort. I bought one off of ebay with the same dimensions as the therminator for 110.00 shipped.

Click to expand...

Do you gravity feed your plate chiller or did you include the pump in the 110 price?

I went for it and attempted to bend the SS coil around a Cornelius Keg. I didn't fill it with sand, but just used some care. I put the coil over the keg and clamped it between my legs. I went real slow, clamping the left side of the tubing against the keg with my left hand and using the right hand to bend the tube around a very short arc of the keg, less than 1/8 the circumference at each bend. Below are the pictures of the final product with a couple mistakes I made, which I'll describe.

This image is the end product. Not beautiful, but definitely usable.

I initially tried clamping the end of the tube into the top of the cornelius keg...not a good idea unless you want the crimp in the tube.

In addition, when bending the tube around the keg make sure your right hand isn't too far out on the tube. If you do then you may put a crimp in the tube. Forunately, I caught it in time before it got too serious.

I always thought metal is easier to bend if it was heated first, not "iced"...ice cold metal would be more brittle and more susceptable to breaking and kinking, yes, no?

I don't think you did all bad. It took some power to bend that stuff and still maintain discipline in you movements.

It's easier to bend if hot but that's not the reason for freezing it with water inside. The ice or sand is to help keep the tubing from crimping during the bend. Heating the metal aneals it which reduces the hardness

homebrewer_99 said:

I always thought metal is easier to bend if it was heated first, not "iced"...ice cold metal would be more brittle and more susceptable to breaking and kinking, yes, no?

Click to expand...

The ice is to provide a constant pressure against the inner wall, thus the option of sand.

dantodd said:

Do you gravity feed your plate chiller or did you include the pump in the 110 price?

Click to expand...

Oh no....the plate chiller is 110.00, the pump I already had.

GreenMonti said:

I don't think you did all bad. It took some power to bend that stuff and still maintain discipline in you movements.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I flattened the tube a bit since I didn't use a mandrel but it came out reasonably well. I needed to round the ends some with a pair of pliers and needed some "persuasion" to get the compression fittings on, but I'm reasonably happy with the results