A/C hoses (?)

[theoldwizard1]

Every one knows that AC (or heat pumps) use copper tubing and for best result ll joints are brazed. Mini-split installation kits come with tubes that are pre-charge which is very handy (assuming you measure correctly and don't com up short or have more than a couple feet too much).

A few years ago, when the lines for the rear A/C in my van blew, the independent shop replaced them at about 1/3 the cost of what it would have cost to have the OEM, metal (aluminum ?) lines reinstalled. They used a special hose made by Goodyear and strapped it to the frame rail (with extra padding at rub points).

Has anyone tried this with residential refrigeration ? I'm guess it is probably more expensive than annealed copper, but you can pull it through a large enough conduit.

 

[monkeyspanners]

The pressures are about 2 or 3 times higher in residential ac than automotive. Plus the rubber lines leak as the material is permeable. So it is probably not a good idea.

 

[rlitman]

I do not believe "barrier hose" is permeable.

 

[Brian_WK]

Trane/GE did this on A/C units awhile back. It was a disaster. You ordered line-sets to the exact length you needed and prayed you didn't need more or less. Not to mention the suction line on a 3 ton unit was 2 inchs across in diameter and the bend radius was atrocious. Not to mention the fact that if you got a leak in the line you had to change out the whole thing not just weld it up.

Brian

 

[LS6 Tommy]

The old "rubber flex lines" used in the late 70's for residential HVAC were an unmitigated disaster. 8-10 years down the road they all disintegrated. IIRC, they were made by Aeroquip (?).

Tommy

 

[theoldwizard1]

So how do you pull a hard line through a conduit that has a radius in it ?

 

[troyks]

Goodyear Galaxy is a darn good AC hose, but it's use in residential AC systems would generally be a bad idea because it's not available in certain sizes which are pretty standard for central air (like 3/8" for the liquid line), and the 5/8" and 3/4" sizes that are common for suction sides have a working pressure rating of 350 PSI which should not be exceeded on the suction side of a R410 system, but it's generally lower than what you'd want to have for a pressure rating factoring in some safety margin. The other issue is varmints tend to love rubber and plastic coated things, so something gnawing through the lines is a real possibility whereas I've never seen varmints chomp on copper.

 

[Brian_WK]

So how do you pull a hard line through a conduit that has a radius in it ?

Why are you pulling anything through a conduit? The only times I have put linesets in a pipe is when burying them. Usually 3 inch pvc push the copper insulation and t stat wire through the pipe bend up both ends and work the elbows down glue them on. Slip your riser pipes over, glue them on and done. Soft copper is pretty workable until you hit 1-1/8" that stuff is a bear in soft. We usually just piped it in acr hard sticks.
Can't see any other reason to run it in a conduit if that answers your question.

Brian

 

[theoldwizard1]

Why are you pulling anything through a conduit? The only times I have put linesets in a pipe is when burying them.

Yes !

Usually 3 inch pvc push the copper insulation and t stat wire through the pipe bend up both ends and work the elbows down glue them on. Slip your riser pipes over, glue them on and done. Soft copper is pretty workable until you hit 1-1/8" that stuff is a bear in soft. We usually just piped it in acr hard sticks.

Your comment on "ACR sticks" lead me to do some research. From Wikipedia

The American refrigeration industry uses different copper pipe called ACR (air conditioning and refrigeration field services) pipe, which is sized directly by its outside diameter (OD) and a type letter indicating wall thickness. Therefore, 1 inch nominal type L copper tube and 1 1⁄8th inch type D ACR tube are exactly the same size with different size designations. ACR pipe is manufactured without processing oils that would be incompatible with the oils used to lubricate the compressors in the AC system.

 

[Brian_WK]

Sorry I use HVAC slang ha-ha. "Sticks" is basically hard copper pipe instead of soft copper rolls.

Brian