# bending copper with EMT benders



## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

Ever do it?


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## user4 (Jun 12, 2008)

Protech said:


> Ever do it?


Yes why?


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

Dunno. Does it make the pipe ovular instead of round?


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## user4 (Jun 12, 2008)

Protech said:


> Dunno. Does it make the pipe ovular instead of round?


Not if you use soft type K, it does distort type l a bit.


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

If you have the room to do it, it's prolly better than a short radius 90 eh? Less turbulence, no flux corrosion.


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## user4 (Jun 12, 2008)

Protech said:


> If you have the room to do it, it's prolly better than a short radius 90 eh? Less turbulence, no flux corrosion.


You can't have soldered joints on underground copper here, so the bender saved us a lot of time over brazing fittings on remodels with copper in the slab.


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

Protech said:


> Ever do it?


When I was a young apprentice (when copper quality was excellent) we used to hickey bend L hard copper all the time. You can't do it now. The crappy copper these days just kinks.

You can do it with soft copper of course. If you live in an area with aggressive water that erodes the copper away, like I do, the bends will usually be the first to fail. Bending seems to make weak spots in the pipe that fail first.

Where I live the water is so pure (and very soft) that it's much like distilled water. The engineers say, "It has no buffering qualities". Harder water deposits a mineral coating on the inside of the pipe (buffering?) that protects the copper. Our water does not. Between the soft, acidic water and the oxidizing chlorine, copper pipe here often pinholes as soon as 15 years or less after installation.


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## PipeRain (Sep 14, 2009)

futz said:


> When I was a young apprentice (when copper quality was excellent) we used to hickey bend L hard copper all the time. You can't do it now. The crappy copper these days just kinks.


Yep! I actually split some Home Depot copper with a swedger.


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## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

Rothenberger makes a pipe bender that will do 3 sizes. 1/2,5/8 and 3/4 o.d's. It costs around 100 bucks.


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

TheMaster said:


> Rothenberger makes a pipe bender that will do 3 sizes. 1/2,5/8 and 3/4 o.d's. It costs around 100 bucks.


My size 12 works good..


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## user4 (Jun 12, 2008)

TheMaster said:


> Rothenberger makes a pipe bender that will do 3 sizes. 1/2,5/8 and 3/4 o.d's. It costs around 100 bucks.


Ridgid makes several different styles of them, including ratcheting ones, but they don't make the tight bend you can make with a Hickey style EMT bender.


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## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

Killertoiletspider said:


> Ridgid makes several different styles of them, including ratcheting ones, but they don't make the tight bend you can make with a Hickey style EMT bender.


 Rothenberger 5/8 benders will bend a 1 7/8" radius. Can the hickey emt bender do that? The ridgid rachect bender has a 3" radius for 5/8" tube.


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