TheSamba.com :: View topic - Copper-Nickel brake line

Mon Mar 26, 2012 8:51 am

Two questions on this one...

1. Anyone have any feedback on the copper-nickel metal brakeline? Its really easy to bend, but it costs a bit more.

2. Anyone know which type of flare to use on brake parts? Is it single, double, SAE, American, 30deg, 45 deg etc?

Thanks for the help!

Mon Mar 26, 2012 9:58 am

no link to source
no answers.

sorry, your input is no good.

there is lots more to , two words ,that make up quality brake tubing.
sorry.
is it DOT certified?

Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:04 am

Hi!

i have used steel, copper and copper-nickel. Copper and copper-nickel is easier to bend.
That being said the steel ones can be bent by hand pretty easy. You just have to be careful not to bend them with too small radius.

Mon Mar 26, 2012 11:18 am

there are great choices
and horrible choices, i use the ones that are spec'd for brakes.
you can use what ever you want based on zero input.

its brakes, not a toy.

the whole kit is like nothing ! $$$

the poster never said what he is doing
he never said its bug, a rail , a dune buggy, or one word. a TRIKE?
the context is zero.

btw we can fully spec out the lines and all parts.
even the dynamic pressure ratings.

and even home depot sells the bender that will allow you to bend
any tubing at all with zero risk of kinks.
odd that people think tubing is bent by hand , in a tight radius.

the idiot the bent my main in cab line bent it (new) to a kink,
id like to slap this goon.
its in the trash, and had to pop fora big time german line for 8 bucks.

Mon Mar 26, 2012 11:22 am

copper water pump has no place here.

you said copper,
and i pray you don't kill someone. that was irresponsible . period..

try DOT certified lines, (there are many but can figure out your path OP)

cooper is an element, and is not an alloy
and is very very soft.
and will never never work at BRAKING PSI Dynamics.
please...

Mon Mar 26, 2012 12:58 pm

the flare type is a metric bubble flare. 4.75 mm i believe. the ends are m10x1 thread.

this has been the standard for basically every european car made in the last half-century.

use steel tubing. it bends plenty easy, even with a cheapo 15 dollar tubing bender. copper tubing will fail. do not ever use copper, or any other tubing that isn't specifically spec'd for use as hydraulic brake line!!

cip1 sells complete pre-made brake line kits. search for "metal brake line kit" on their site and you'll see the choices. they're inexpensive.
aircooled.net also sells complete pre-made brake line kits. they're inexpensive.

don't forget to replace all the rubber bulkhead grommets while you're doing this job.

Mon Mar 26, 2012 2:16 pm

Sorry for the lack of info, just thought if you knew what it was, then you would provide some input. But, since some of the replies indicated lack of info on my part:

The copper-nickel tubing starting to show up at auto retail stores under a manufacturer named Nicopp

Even advance sells it:
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/1/1/541686--nicke...c-325.html

What interested me was that it actually does have similar hoop stress performance as legacy steels.
http://www.copper.org/applications/automotive/brake.html

Was going to use it for a a fuel line anyway....

(Just putting the trolling lines out, so if you dont know anything about the item---no need to comment at all.)

Thanks for your input. Vielen dank fuer deinen bemaerkungen.

Mon Mar 26, 2012 2:41 pm

the thing with the copper-nickel brakelines is that they dont kink was well as the steel ones do. They also last mutch longer. Spend the extra cash and get the copper-nicke ones.

Mon Mar 26, 2012 2:49 pm

TjdTaylor wrote: the thing with the copper-nickel brakelines is that they dont kink was well as the steel ones do. They also last mutch longer. Spend the extra cash and get the copper-nicke ones.
last longer than what? steel? i have cars from the 70's with their original steel lines intact and no issues.

brake lines normally rot from the inside out. water in the brake fluid destroys them. change your brake fluid every 2 years like the owners manual says, and they'll last damn near forever. mileage is irrelevant, this is a function of time. do it every 2 years.

Mon Mar 26, 2012 4:36 pm

Man, this thread is full of trolls!
Copper/nickle sounds like something that would outlast regular steel lines, and I've seen lots and lots of cars that have steel lines that have rusted from the outside.
The metric bubble flare is tricky to get right without splitting, but seeing as copper is softer and more flexible, I'd have to assume the flare on a copper/nickle alloy would be a little easier to accomplish.
I'd certainly choose copper/nickle if I was willing to flare my own lines, but with the limited exposure my cars have to the elements, I just use the pre-made steel kits. For a car exposed to road salts, gravel roads and lots of rainy day travel I think these lines sound like the best choice.

And I bend all my brake lines by hand, never kinked one yet.

Mon Mar 26, 2012 4:37 pm

Very common in the Citroen 2CV world. They work well.

Mon Mar 26, 2012 7:44 pm

I used copper / nickel alloy brake line tubing to build the fuel loop on my FI type-3. I expect it to outlast every other component of the fuel system, including the mild steel fuel tank.

http://www.maxwelton2k.net/squareback68/MST3/fuelloop.htm

Max

Tue Mar 27, 2012 3:36 am

I have used it before. It is very easy to bend. You can make all sorts of complicated bends without having to use unions. We bought a spool of 100' and were able to run it down the length of a 50' horse trailer/camper, through crossmembers and around all the other obstructions underneath. One solid line. The only thing that was bad about it was if you were flaring by hand without a hydraulic tool, because it is very easy to kink the end and not be able to get the fitting to slide to the flare. School buses use it around here and after five years they look as good as new. Apparently the locals had a hard time getting permission to use it on the buses in the first place because they had to prove that it could support the pressure in the lines, but it turns out that the line could exceed the pressure of steel lines.

Tue Mar 27, 2012 4:56 am

torsionbar wrote: TjdTaylor wrote: the thing with the copper-nickel brakelines is that they dont kink was well as the steel ones do. They also last mutch longer. Spend the extra cash and get the copper-nicke ones.
last longer than what? steel? i have cars from the 70's with their original steel lines intact and no issues.

brake lines normally rot from the inside out. water in the brake fluid destroys them. change your brake fluid every 2 years like the owners manual says, and they'll last damn near forever. mileage is irrelevant, this is a function of time. do it every 2 years.

brakelines do rust from the outside. Where do you live? Is it a cold winter with salt and saline everywhere? They rot like shit if not taken care of.

Tue Mar 27, 2012 5:49 am

we are all familiar with that product.! not born yesterday. sorry.

but your frist post was devoid of product specs. or links

here is your second post
Quote: Copper and copper-nickel is easier to bend.

do you understand the left word?

you said COPPER.!

so how does responding to Copper, make a person a troll.

there are lots of choices, and lots of pro/cons for each.
there are bad choices.
be more specific, please

Tue Mar 27, 2012 7:57 am

TjdTaylor wrote: torsionbar wrote: TjdTaylor wrote: the thing with the copper-nickel brakelines is that they dont kink was well as the steel ones do. They also last mutch longer. Spend the extra cash and get the copper-nicke ones.
last longer than what? steel? i have cars from the 70's with their original steel lines intact and no issues.

brake lines normally rot from the inside out. water in the brake fluid destroys them. change your brake fluid every 2 years like the owners manual says, and they'll last damn near forever. mileage is irrelevant, this is a function of time. do it every 2 years.

brakelines do rust from the outside. Where do you live? Is it a cold winter with salt and saline everywhere? They rot like shit if not taken care of.
i live in the land of salt and rust. and i've never had a brake line rusting from the outside. the steel lines are not naked, they are coated. unless you compromise the coating, they'll last a very long time. every failed steel line i've seen has been on a neglected car that has waterlogged decade-old brake fluid in it, and rusted it from the inside out.

lets also remember that the beetle has it's lengthwise brake line running through the inside of the cabin, where its protected from the elements, and the lines outside the cabin at the front and rear are mounted up high, where the coating won't be damage from road debris.

how do you define "taking care of" the brake lines? please explain your brake line maintenance process.

Tue Mar 27, 2012 1:00 pm

torsionbar wrote: i live in the land of salt and rust. and i've never had a brake line rusting from the outside. the steel lines are not naked, they are coated. unless you compromise the coating, they'll last a very long time. every failed steel line i've seen has been on a neglected car that has waterlogged decade-old brake fluid in it, and rusted it from the inside out.
I disagree. The brake lines on my 1996 Cherokee are getting scary rusty from the outside... My family had an '02 van where the one of the lines broke in half from rust I replaced it with the copper-nickel lines and it was incredibly easy to use. (I have used both before) I would STRONGLY recommend the Cu-Ni ones over the plain steel for pretty much any situation.

Edit: I live in the salt hell of South-Western Ohio. :/

Tue Mar 27, 2012 3:36 pm

Looks like everyone else was able to read the "Nickle" part of "copper-nickle", so commenting on things you have no clue about makes you a troll.

Everyone else knows that steel brake-lines can and do rust from the outside as well as the inside, so implying that they don't makes you a troll.

Implying that you need a brake-line bender when you don't makes you a troll.

Handing out bad advice makes you a troll.

Tue Mar 27, 2012 3:56 pm

Derek Cobb wrote: ...mindless rambling...
implying that you know what you're talking about, when you clearly don't, makes you a troll.
implying that you don't need a tool when you do makes you a troll.
giving out bad advice makes you a troll.
take your trolling elsewhere, derek cobb troll.

cookrw wrote:
I disagree. The brake lines on my 1996 Cherokee are getting scary rusty from the outside... My family had an '02 van where the one of the lines broke in half from rust I replaced it with the copper-nickel lines and it was incredibly easy to use. (I have used both before) I would STRONGLY recommend the Cu-Ni ones over the plain steel for pretty much any situation.

Edit: I live in the salt hell of South-Western Ohio. :/
ya got me there, ohio is a big flat rust blanket. :lol: still though, here in maryland, most winters are one long snowy salty mess. i've been driving for 30 years, and have always driven cars older than 25 years old, and never had any brake line rust problems. plenty of other rust problems, but none on my steel brake lines. different brands or suppliers perhaps? who knows. if you've found something that works great for you, that's awesome.

Tue Mar 27, 2012 4:23 pm

So are you standing by your statement that steel brake-lines don't rust from the outside, or are you determined that copper/nickle lines aren't less prone to rust than steel, or are you going to admit that you've never used the product and just imagined the properties it did or didn't have?

I don't mind being called a troll because sometimes I do make mistakes in my posts. Ignorant? Not me. I've been working on Beetles for over 30 years.

I find it kind of funny that you say a few stupid things in a thread and think I need to get a life. Perhaps you should do something constructive and learn a little bit about capitalization and punctuation.