Been trying to bend 3/4 ACR copper tube for a compressor - have been filling with sand and bending over knee. The sand definitely stops it from collapsing but the bends aren't uniform or consistent. considering using a conduit bender after filling with sand, anybody have any experience getting clean bends with a bender or any other method?
Bending 3/4 ACR Copper Tube
- Thread starter K Powers
- Start date
Yes, I should have said that -its soft Ive been rolling it straight and then bending
zmaxmotorsports
Well-known member
A ratchet bender works good for that if you somebody in the hvac trades you can borrow one from.
Ron Lombardo
Well-known member
yes i use a Ridgid 368 or 378 ratchet bender works great.
No, but I think I paid less then that for the Yellow Jacket I have.
Nice, Ill check em out - I googled the ridgid and it was pretty pricy
I did a lot of pneumatic control tubing back in my powerhouse days. We used to use a beam clamp or nail to fix one end and attach a come along to the other. Once stretched straight it was easier to get a good looking job. Just make sure that your bender is the right OD. With the larger diameter, you may want to try a bend with and without the sand.
bsaint
Well-known member
Believe it or not this kit works great. I can show you an example later. I never used it until a realized how expensive it is for the benders I used to use at a shop I worked at.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Imperial-3-Piece-120-Degree-Steel-Tube-Bender-Set-89019/100647978
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Imperial-3-Piece-120-Degree-Steel-Tube-Bender-Set-89019/100647978
I agree I have have a set, I used them on the 1/4 inch copper lines on the front of the pump - cant really see them in the pics. but I couldn't get anywhere with the 3/4 though
csp
Well-known member
See if a rental store has a bender like the HVAC guys use.
I borrow a friend's ratchet bender occassionally and they work great.
I borrow a friend's ratchet bender occassionally and they work great.
This is what I use. It won't do a 90* most of the time on 3/4, so I don't try.
Wont do a 90? I have done hundreds of 90's on 3/4- 7/8 with that same bender.
hunter1151
Well-known member
Pour lead in the tube............let it cool........you can tie it in a knot if you want to, I've seen it done. When you get it bent to your liking simply melt the lead back out of it.
I've done hundreds with mine as well.
We will pick up a lineset from a different supplier then normal once in a while and it won't bend as clean as our normal brand, I think the annealing is different.
Mike007 do you use the reverse bending attachment often? My kit didn't come with them and I've wondered if they are really worth the cash.
FWIW my yellow jacket kit was around 165$ and worth every penny.
Got a yellow jacket ratcheting bender and finally made the bends I needed. The top piece was still a PITA getting the returns to line up was tough. Many thanks for the ratcheting bender advise 
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I missed responding to this thread. Better late then never. My Yellow Jacket kit will some times do a 90*, but there are a lot of what I would describe as mini kinks on the inside radius. Other times it flat out kinks the tube. Ive tried spraying the shoe with wd-40 and Ive smoothed the shoe with emery. It just won't do a good consistent 90*.
A friend of mine in the trade had the same issue with his. He finally gave it to an apprentice at a supply house and bought another German made bender that looks very similar and he tells me it makes perfect bends.
I had my first yellow jacket bender stolen (along with sbout 5k in other tools), it would leave the little tiny kinks on some occasions, this one is almost aways perfect. I think a lot depends on the quality of the copper.
I don't know. Ive used a lot of different brands of copper, all USA stuff and had issues. After reading about your success and others here I reached out to my buddy who gave his away. He said his local United Refrigeration was getting a lot of complaints. His new bender is a Rems and he's using the same copper he couldn't bend and his bends look great. My bender has never made a 90* that looks nearly as good as the OPs bends.
I'm going to give Yellow Jacket a call on Monday and see if there's a known issue.
This is the Rems bender.:
I did get wrinkles on the interior of some bends. I think what made the difference is how well the tube fits in the tool. Basically I got it as straight as possible and bent it up, but it I went even a hair past 90 it would start to wrinkle no matter how straight the peice.
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Nice! Mine will never make a bend that clean. When I get a free moment I'm going to bend up some scrap and post a few pics.