EasyBend tubing /lineset bender

[pcmeiners]

1/4" to 5/8" EasyBend Lineset Bender Minisplit Kit w/ 26’' Mandrels



Easy Bend 26ft set……

https://www.supplyhouse.com/Easybend-EZBK26-1-4-to-5-8-EasyBend-Lineset-Bender-Minisplit-Kit-w-26-Mandrels?utm_source=google_ad&utm_medium=Shopping_withoutdata&utm_campaign=Shopping_Without_PLTV_data&gclid=CjwKCAjwyqWkBhBMEiwAp2yUFowTV6wwVnCRtOBOOvEn2kCwybqtPedZHmh2DCsb9KnqhAxGjnSXJxoC9dEQAvD_BwE

Easy Bend 13ft set……

https://www.supplyhouse.com/Easybend-84381-1-4-to-5-8-EasyBend-Lineset-Bender-Minisplit-Kit-w-13-Mandrels

Purchased a 26 foot mandrel set a couple weeks ago. Makes tube bending mindless and basically fool proof . I purchased the set for 2 reasons, first it makes bending tubes simple and with or without lineset insulation on the tubes. I dislike removing insulation temporally to bend tubing, I dislike bending tubing with the insulation on even more. I sweat bending/reshaping tubes in tight places without mandrels. Second reason I purchased the set, one of the last 50ft linesets I purchased was maliciously played with. After snaking the set in an interior wall, cutting for length at the outside unit, I peeled back a foot of insulation to maneuver the ¼” line. Someone hammered the line 12”back from my cut, 4 hammer blows, 2 areas of the tube were flattened enough to cause major restriction; this was no accident, a hammer was definitely used, none of the insulation showed any marks/indentations; it took me a couple hours to pull 12” of tubing to make up for the cut out damaged area. Anyway, now I trust no lineset I get, with the 26 foot mandrels I can run down both ends of a 50ft set and make sure the linesets have not been accidentally/or purposely damaged .

A couple downsides sides of the mandrel set is price and the mandrels need to be immaculately clean when inserted into the tubing via a de-burred tube end, easier said than done due to the necessary cleanliness, also it would be nice if some lubricant could be used but that is not possible, sure would be nice if the mandrels were made from extruded Teflon..... tough not living in a perfect world .

All said and done, I consider the mandrel set a must have, especially bending tubing already in place, in tight areas. If the mandrels are in the tubing while running it there is no worry due to rough handling. There are limits to the bend radius, with a 4 ¼“ 180 degree bend, pulling the mandrel out from the tube was a bit of work, not a struggle , but that is a pretty tight bend, made without worrying about damaging the tube. Aside from the price a great product.

 

[pcmeiners]

Review.....

Just put in a 1/4" 3/8" lineset, expensive high quality from Italy. Now for the lines I ran into a snag as to running the lines within floor joists which required multiple bends in both lines, 7 in each line, a couple of the bends were a bit tight 90 degrees bends, the rest were easy bends. 4 of the bends would have been tough by hand. 3 were in tight surroundings, which would have been impossible by hand, extremely tough with a tub bender due to the enclosed space limitation. Total lineset length 22',
Anyway I used the Easy bend mandrels, inserted about 15 feet in the lines. 1/4" went in very easy, the 3/8" needed a push toward the end. Since I never used these before as I made a few bends I made sure I could remove the mandrels, their was some resistance but no issue.
I made the last and tightest bends on each line. The 1/4" mandrel was a bit tight but no issue in it's removal. Then I came to the 3/8" and it would not come out, started to feel a sinking feeling. Here I have an expensive lineset, already within the wall upstairs, took me hours to maneuver the lines in the wall and between floor joists.
Was thinking air pressure would not push the stuck mandrel it out if I tried it so the only option was to pull, Basically the mandrel is a rubbery plastic, if pulled hard it stretches a little. Had to put a lot of force on it while praying it would not break.

Lucked out, it very slowly started to move, very slowly. It took me about 15 minutes of applying force before it started to come out of the line with any speed, took another 4 minutes after that to remove the mandrel.

Are the Easybend mandrels worth it.... definitely. There is no way I could have completed the bends without them . On the other hand, there should be warnings about possible limitations using them. Admittedly I was pushing it with so many bends.
I do not plan in creating a situation where I have the same number of bends in the line runs but if I run into a tough situation again, I would run the mandrels from both ends of the lines, bending 1/2 the bends from running the mandrels from one end, then remove them and run the mandrel from the other end, and completing the remainder of bends.
The other possible solution if a mandrel get stuck is to run some dish detergent down the line, I am sure that would work, but the line would need thorough washing out, only to be done if all else fails.

 

[gshawn]

I also used the EasyBend kit during my mini split install and can easily recommend it. Made me feel much safer about bending the lineset without kinking it, having never worked with copper linesets before. Also agree that it can be difficult to remove, thankfully I only had a few bends in my install. Just have to be patient and pull slowly.

 

[LXCam]

That’s an interesting product. That one will need to get packed away in the memory bank. Thanks for the review

 

[pcmeiners]

"Also agree that it can be difficult to remove, thankfully I only had a few bends in my install. Just have to be patient and pull slowly."

Did you get that sinking feeling in your stomach? I had to pull really hard to get it slowly moving. What really got me was i keep checking the ability to remove the mandrels with each bend, no issue until the very last bend.

If your doing a typical outside the wall install or doing easy bends a usual installer would not need this tool. Now when the bends get tight or in tight place, as in walls/joists, these mandrels are a stress saver, especially with the high cost of quality linesets.

With the lineset I was installing, if I had crushed a tube, and I had multiple chances of doing it, the cost to correct it in time and money would have far exceeded the mandrels.