Feed heat pipe length

[Philippe-J.]

I need your feedback about the length of the "LH Feed Pipe Assembly, behind Dash Top Panel, between Water Control Valve and Heater Radiator".
I first bought a kit of 3 pipes. Two of them were ok but the above mentioned one was too long, by say 10 mm.
Or was it the holes in my bulkhead that are too close to each other? I am wondering as the second pipe I sourced from another supplier exhibits the same problem.
Can one of you guys check the distance between the 2 exit holes?
I also need an advice how to bend the pipe to the proper dimension, knowing that I choose a stainless steel quality.
Thanks for your help.

[rfs1957]

Sounds like this is ripe for pictures so we can understand exactly what you are asking for.

In my experience, people put more effort into replying to me when I’ve put more effort into asking the question

My tape measure is ready.

[rfs1957]

I exchange so many PRIVATE messages with Philippe that I don't even recognise him on the Forum !

His question relates to this distance, I think.



Hard to measure on a built-up car without calipers, but I reckon 273mm give or take a chouia, 11-1/8" ?





Stainless tube is a bitch to bend without the correct kit, in my (limited) experience.

If it's too long between the centres, you might put a slight bend across the centre to bring them closer together ? Is there room ?

But then back plate and hole-orientations will be off ...........

To me, copper is way sufficient - mine are 66 years old and look good for another 66 - and it's a piece of cake to tweak them.



Plus you can use one of these plumbers' tools to give them a slight swage, which gives a better anchorage of the heater pipes.



Getting the flanges to sit true and flat against the back of the bulkhead, when I did mine, and before riveting, seemed very important.

For anyone looking to reference other exchanges on this subject :

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=19824&hilit=heater

[Philippe-J.]

Thank you so much Rory for taking time on my problem.
And sorry for being unable to post photos to illustrate my case, I am facing troubles posting images.
You summarized the case, and answered it, perfectly.
I think I will elect a slight bend across the centre of the tube despite the problem with the back plate and hole-orientations being off. I guess I'll have to drill new holes in the bulkhead and in the back plate.
As for my choice for stainless steel, I admit it was not the best.
Anyway I use the old trick of the rope inside the tube to pull it to insure the flanges to sit true and flat against the back of the bulkhead. It gave good results with the first 3 tubes.

One question remains, though: why on earth providers can't bend their tubes at the right dimension?

[Series1 Stu]

To me, copper is way sufficient - mine are 66 years old and look good for another 66 - and it's a piece of cake to tweak them.

I thought the standard pipes were steel, hence the problem of them rusting out?

I fitted a set of aftermarket copper pipes that were so badly made (yes, from one of the usual suspects) that they were too short where they poked through the bulkhead, making it impossible to get the flexible pipes to seal. So I replaced them with stainless steel items.

Yes, copper would be a good choice, as long as they are well made.

Regards

[JerryL770]

And sorry for being unable to post photos to illustrate my case, I am facing troubles posting images.

I think lots of people have difficulty with this, using the "add image to post" link just below the text box I am typing in, now. Or using one of the picture storing sites like Imgur.

I prefer to use the Attachments tab just below the Preview and Submit buttons for the post. This way you can easily upload pictures from you PC (or I presume phone/tablet which I don't use). The only difficulty with this method is you will need to be able to resize your pictures down to (I think) less than 250kB. I use Picture Manager from an early version of MS Office but there's lots of free picture managing apps available.

HTH. Jerry

[Allrand]

I had copper pipes bent and cut at an industrial hydraulics shop, prefectly matched to the original sample & dimensions, I just had to remove the flanges from the old & braze them onto the new.

[Philippe-J.]

Dear Jerry,

thank you for your comment about how to load pictures.
That is my try in order to show the difference in length between the original and the new tubes.
Just to illustrate the manufacturer mistake, that is not small, is it?

Philippe

[bitsobrits]

What you have was clearly not made correctly. But as someone has suggested, a slight gentle bend in the middle can effectively shorten the end to end distance.

[Allrand]

[JerryL770]

What you have was clearly not made correctly. But as someone has suggested, a slight gentle bend in the middle can effectively shorten the end to end distance.

I suspect one would be surprised at how much bend and straighten would be required even to reduce the end to end distance needed. Easier (?) than trying to lengthen a short pipe - possibly. Cold working SS is very difficult, it soon work hardens.

For me, I'd try to find a sleeve that will fit over the pipe, cut a bit out and the get the pieces brazed together to the correct length.

[bitsobrits]

Using the provided 11.125" correct width and your desire to shorten the effective length by 10mm, it looks like a single bend on the order of 30 degrees would be required.