There seems to be some confusion about copper pipe used for brake lines.
Copper (100%) tube is and has been used for brake lines. This can be a
dangerous practice as copper hardens when deformed making it brittle and
prone to cracking. This deforming takes place continuously when braking,
as the pipe will expand and contract a bit every time you brake.
If you use Cunifer, a copper alloy, there is no problem and this type of
brake line has been around and used successfully for many years and
several manufacturers use it as standard equipment.
Copper can be recognized by its reddish color and its softness, cunifer
is pale yellowish/white and much tougher.
Copper coated steel brake lines (if they exist, I never came across
them) are not a good idea because of electrolytic corrosion, the steel
is sacrificed first and can fail after a fairly short time in wet and/or
salty conditions. Zinc or cadmium plated lines are fine and used
throughout the industry. The steel only corrodes if the zinc or cadmium
has been sacrificed first and that only happens after many years.
Stainless steel can be used as well but also has some issues. It is hard
to get in the right (aircraft) quality, it is hard to bend and it is
difficult to make the required double flanges. A lot of people make
single flanges, and although this works OK generally, it is illegal in
many countries. These single flanges can be prone to fatigue cracking if
not executed properly.
Kees Oudesluijs
NL
[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type text/x-vcard which had a name of
coudesluijs.vcf]
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