I doubt that will work, copper is expensive and it doesn't look like it will hold 800 psi. It looks very thin. Stick to steel braided or macroline.
__________________ "I have no mercy or compassion in me for a society that will crush people, and then penalize them for not being able to stand up to the weight"- Malcom X
Here is what i have planned the gun iam using is a view loader maxis rg with a factoru drop forward (2"drop 2" forward) and a vl pro series regulator
2 1/8" elbow (though the elbows may be elimanited altogether)
costs:
for a 1' long section of 1/4" copper line was $1.63
and 2 1/4" compression x 1/8" male pt $1.19 each
so i made it out of the store for under $5
safty concern:
i chose 1/4" coppr tube instead of 1/8" because the 1/8" has a burst pressure of ~1200 psi where as 1/4" has a burste pressure of 3000 psi well above the 1100 psi variant that co2 could possibly acheive.
the second thing is grandpa buys his copper line from motion auto supplies meaning they are break line rated.
when i have time tomorrow @ work i will hopefully finish this and get it tested by thursday and pictures will be posted.
Remember burst pressure isn't working pressure which is mostly much lower. Are the fittings rated for the pressure also? That's the problem some people will tell you plastic macroline has- the tubing can take the pressure but the fittings are not rated for what we often give them. I haven't had any fitting (or tube) pop yet but it happens.
We run copper tubing on things at work sometimes (but mostly SS)...and we only go to 100psi because that's what the shop air is at. No problem with using it for an air line if you're in the pressure range it is rated for. Bends a lot easier than SS hardline too, of course!
Copper looks neat for what its worth.
Store didn't have any 90-degree fittings, or you didn't want them?
For what its worth, Tippmann still does (did?) use copper for some things- the 98C vertical adapters in their expansion chamber kits are soldered brass/copper if you brush the black paint off of them.
I want to go with the 90 compression but we are currently out of them at the hardware store.
The issue i ran in to today is that with the 90 degree elbows (the current ones you can see in the picture coupled with the compression fittings is that its about 2" of copper tube because of the height of the fittings
When I get time I will be heading in to town to find some 1/8" pt x 1/4" compresson elbow.
If i havent said it befor i work in my grandpas hardware store so parts are redily available and beings i spend most of the day afro engineering stuff for customers all day i get lots of ideas going through my head and dealing with suppliers all day rating are almost always discussed.
Seeing the stuff people engineer all day it quite supprising the safty issues some of them create by trying to solve an issue
this is what i have bent up so far i will be removing one of the elbows tomorrow and replacing it with the compression line.
i would attempt to finish it tonight but i forgot my pipe cutter @ work i guess i will finish it there.
opperating pressure of the copper line is something like 1500 psi and the fittings are rated @ 1200 psi and ~2800 or so psi burst and if i remember micro line is only rated @ 250 or so psi with an 800 or so burst rating
for safty and cost reasons all testing has been done with a 12 gram co2 quich change adapter
If you can see the picture clearly i chose to do a twist desgn to accomidate for using 6" of tube in a space that should have only had 3" @ the most
when i remember to bring home the pipe cutter or take my gun to work i will finish this and get some large pictures posted.
For those of you wondering why i chose to go hardline when ss line and microline is so redialy available simple microline isnt rated for pb pressure simply it is only rated for 300psi and those who dont use microline use ss line.
Quote:
Originally Posted by martix_agent
I'm worried about it bending easily and then snapping when you try to bend it back.
sorry i missed your post
for the sharp bends i will be using a hand held tube bender and then slowly bendint them in to position.
working with copper is sometimes troublesom but if you work wth it a little @ a time you can get it to do what you want.
I bought some more copper line today (rigid instead of coiled) and am going to try several different ideas and maby find a diff les complicated way to do this thers isn't enough room to do a straight double bend
I do work in refrigeration, but I only deal with pressures from around 10-250 psi. The highest pressures I've seen so far is with R-410A, which runs around 400-500 psi and retards at 900. The copper pipe we use in the industry probably isn't worth using in paintball unless you're using it AFTER routing the gas through a low pressure kit of some sort.
The copper pipe strength depends on the type of copper you're using (the width of the actual pipe).
Plus, copper is a soft metal, easily malleable. If it weren't for it weakening and leaking all the time, I wouldn't have a job. If Joe Schmoe at Wal Mart can bang on a coil to get rid of ice and cause a rupture in the line, or if some moron tightens a connection too tight and cracks a flare, and the refrigerant leaks profously at pressures as low as 50 psig, I wouldn't use it for an ASA line that needs to withstand around 800 psig.
As cool as it may look in the end and as cool as it may sound in your head of using solid copper pipe instead of a flimsy threaded ASA line, I doubt copper as an ASA line would work that well.
On the contrary, though, my cousin modded his Tippmann 98 Custom so that the ASA hooked up to an expansion chamber and then a 1/8" steel pipe curved around into the tank adapater, which was inverted so the tank was under the marker and not behind it. But alas, he used steel pipe, plenty of teflon tape and lock-tight, and still used a regular ASA line to go into the expansion chamber.
I like the idea, and if you can do it, that's great. In my honest opinion though, copper is an inferior metal for those pressures.
__________________
"In a world of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." ~George Orwell
"I have no mercy or compassion in me for a society that will crush people, and then penalize them for not being able to stand up to the weight." ~Malcom X Tippmann 98 Custom, CAR stock, Evil Pipe Kit, Double Trigger, Response Trigger, Flatline Barrel (bleh).
the copper tube iam using is rated for break line where pressures can exceed 800-900 psi (the electric trailer break on my dads new horse trailer is rated for like 1200 psi is it dosen't work ill have learned something
if i cant get the 1/4" tube to work i will upgrade to 5/16" the fittings come in 1/8" npt
and like always the fittings are only wrench tight
it all just an idea that came around when i was looking @ pictures of tippmann's cause they have "sucessfully" used copper line in several of there products
UPDATE: i pulled the drop forward off my vl and put it on my autococker wich allows use of more copper tube making it easier to use
the copper tube iam using is rated for break line where pressures can exceed 800-900 psi (the electric trailer break on my dads new horse trailer is rated for like 1200 psi is it dosen't work ill have learned something
if i cant get the 1/4" tube to work i will upgrade to 5/16" the fittings come in 1/8" npt
and like always the fittings are only wrench tight
it all just an idea that came around when i was looking @ pictures of tippmann's cause they have "sucessfully" used copper line in several of there products
UPDATE: i pulled the drop forward off my vl and put it on my autococker wich allows use of more copper tube making it easier to use
I looked it up today after reading this thread, and inside a book of copper pipe ratings at my company shop, 1/4" type L annealed (soft) copper tubing is rated for 914 or 1406 psig. They have a burst rating of 6000 psig at 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Steel is much better than copper in this regard. But if you still intent on copper, let me know how it works! Note: My memory isn't good so the numbers are probably a few psig off, I read it several hours ago.
UPDATE: As a matter of fact, my uncle and I got into a discussion about this and he even mentioned brake lines being made from steel because of the pressure rating being much higher than copper. If I'm not mistaken, it's illegal for companies to manufacture cars with copper brake lines, they have to have a high pressure rating (in the thousands), thus they're made with steel.
__________________
"In a world of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." ~George Orwell
"I have no mercy or compassion in me for a society that will crush people, and then penalize them for not being able to stand up to the weight." ~Malcom X Tippmann 98 Custom, CAR stock, Evil Pipe Kit, Double Trigger, Response Trigger, Flatline Barrel (bleh).
Last edited by Nikolai 77 : May 23rd at 12:16 AM.
Reason: Remembered something while drinking some orange juice. The pulp helps.
coper line vs vs SS braided hose
