Copper Pipe vs Hard Copper Tubing

[Brown23]

I have a question about the differences between copper tubing and copper pipe.

If one supplier site is selling 3/4" type 'L' copper pipe 20' lengths, and another is selling 3/4" Hard Copper tubing type 'L' 20' lengths, is there a difference in the product other than their brand?

I'm asking because I'm putting together a supply list for a closed loop cooling system and there is a HUGE price difference. Also, if I go with the tubing, can you bend hard tubing or are you only supposed to bend soft tubing?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[DRWeig]

Here's a start:

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/pipes-tubes-d_347.html

Best to you,

Goober Dave

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[MikeHalloran]

Soft copper tubing comes in coils, and can be bent by hand.
Hard copper tubing comes in straight 'sticks' and cannot be bent, so you must use elbows.

A quick search should net you a nice Wikipedia article on copper tube, and the CDA's Copper Tube Handbook, which wouldn't fit well in your hand.




Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[Brown23]

Thanks, I do have another question, according to the engineering toolbox page, both pipe and tubing have actual diameters slightly larger than they are labeled(such as 3/4" pipe actually has an OD of 7/8"), so the main difference if wall thickness. If they are both type 'L', would that mean the same thickness? and the website DRWeig linked to said pipes are generally less expensive to produce, so why would a site sell tubing for roughly 20 times cheaper than an 'equivalent' length of pipe? Does a brand name really make that big of a difference?

 

[cvg]

ASTM B88 is tubing
ASTM B42 is pipe

annealed is soft
drawn is hard and stronger

there are other standards, so you need to compare apples to apples. suggest you ask your vendor why the price is different and what pipe or tubing spec he is supplying

 

[DRWeig]

I agree with cvg, ask the supplier.

Here's a Jim-dandy copper handbook, though: www.copper.org

Best to you,

Goober Dave

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[DRWeig]

I think I see a source of your confusion.

Look at MikeHalloran's post above.

"Soft copper tubing... Hard copper tubing."

I'm pretty sure you are looking at those two choices, not copper pipe.

In the US, at least, we call out tubing wall thickness by its type (K, L, M, DWV), whether it is hard tubing or soft tubing. That's ASTM B88, as cvg pointed out.

Pipe wall thickness we describe with Schedule 10, 20, 40, etc...

Type L tubing should be the same whether hard or soft.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

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[MikeHalloran]

As has been noted, copper pipe is much heavier than copper tubing of the same nominal diameter. There's so much confusion about schedules and such that it's generally better to specify the exact dimensions you want, or think you should be getting.

Unless there is some material compatibility issue, stainless steel may be a better choice because of peripheral costs associated with copper tube or pipe regardless of size, wall, or quantity.

Peripheral costs include a budget for attack dogs and ill-tempered armed guards to watch the copper from the instant it is delivered until it is irrevocably and irretrievably installed within a continuously secured perimeter.

... you will find the security cost easier to justify after the junkies have stolen your first shipset and you are faced with ordering it all, all over again.





Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA