On Tue, 29 Dec 1998, Mark J Bradakis wrote:
> Stan,
>
> I personally do not believe there is any problem with using copper, but
> the "word" was that copper will "work harden" from the
> expansion/contraction/pounding from the air, but I have not seen any
> articles to support this.
Me neither. We have miles of copper lines carrying compressed gasses of
all sorts in the hospital where I work. And what about heat pumps and air
conditioners? I've seen pressures of 350 psi on these units with *lots*
of compressor vibration. I should clarify that all joints are silver
soldered/brazed. The only time I've ever seen a copper pipe system fail
has been due to frozen water pipes.
Any ME's out there with the definitive word on this?
> As I said in the other post, I used the thick wall copper (can't
> remember the coding) for underground burial.
That would be 'type L' piping.
> The only problem I have had with copper is that when I initially made
> the radiator, the solder would melt and blow out under sustained
> operation. A shop talk lister suggest using silver solder, and it cured
> the problem (this is only an issue if you are sweating in copper between
> the pump head and the tank).
I think that was me...
Martin Scarr
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