Copper Tubing for Heater Lines

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Oh Man, that's neat stuff. I just talked to Duda Diesel, where I bought the heat exchanger and was told the connection between copper and stainless was fine, just don't use brass. I've got to use some type of metal to metal, at the firewall and at the heat exchanger. No matter what hose I use, they almost all have brass or copper fittings.

I looked at a stainless steel, 3/4 female thread, 90 degree hose barb and it was $176! Can't do that. I might just use what I have and keep an eye on it, if ever corrodes, just replace.
 
I'm actually surprised this hasn't been brought up, but I've been looking at using the FJ60 rear heater and it already uses copper lines that run under the body.

rear-heater-piping-jpg.319090


I'm sure there are a lot of threads in the 60 section, but this was one of the first that came up

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/fj60-heater-and-coolant-hose-reference.280992/

Just another direction to consider.
 
Justchillinout,

Thanks for posting that. Delancy got me thinking about running mine under and that's how I got started on copper. I'm still going to use some, just because the layout of valves, etc., makes it a lot easier to fit in.

I'd like to hear more on your thoughts, when you get to it.
 
justchillinout said:
I'm actually surprised this hasn't been brought up, but I've been looking at using the FJ60 rear heater and it already uses copper lines that run under the body.
Click to expand...

Note the 6" of rubber line at each end of the copper pipe.
 
You're right, fixes the corrosion problem and helps with any vibration issues. I'm trying to isolate the different metals, as much as possible, but using what I have in way of valves. They will be stainless in between the copper.
 
Jim
I've got all the stainless tube you'd need. Any size. I'd go 316L stainless. I might be able to get the fitting too. If you can find a Parker Fitting in the style you need, no problem.... I plan on using it for all my plumbing...
Let me know...
Pat
 
Alright, for some comical relief, I'll post up what I've been talking about. It's not done and will be fastened in several areas to the body. I haven't decided on what type of lines to make the long runs, still open for debate. Let me add, I was a beer bottler for 36 years, so let it fly, I can take it, just please leave out comments on my heritage. :)

Question.... If it were you and had to make this setup, what would you do different? Materials wise. I used the stainless valve because it has mounting bosses on it and it was in my stash pile.

IMG_2797.webp
 
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Hi,
I would replace long portions of copper with rubber ones, to avoid as much as possible the stress on the welds due to vibrations because the more the part is heavy, the more inertia is important, and it is always the week point who fails.
The negatine point is it add connections between rubber and copper. why not just insert copper in rubber hose and screw a collar to assure waterproofing. less weight= less inertia. less welds= less corrosion. ?
Not sure I am clear
Pascal
 
Thanks Pascal,

My thought was to have the area with the shut offs, be rigid and run flexible lines for the long hauls.
 
scrapdaddy said:
Question.... If it were you and had to make this setup, what would you do different? Materials wise. I used the stainless valve because it has mounting bosses on it and it was in my stash pile.
Click to expand...


I would have made a simple manifold and used one three way ball valve and two standard ball valves. With a couple T’s you could attach all three ball valves together and mount them securely and rubber hose the rest, way more compact and less prone to give you issues. I wouldn’t trust the solder joints as a structural joint in a high vibration environment, might want to look at Sil-Braze if you have issues down the road.

Ron,

I like and respect you and your build and I mean no disrespect, please take my opinion with a grain of salt. Your pluming looks great I just think it may not be best suited for this application.
 
The two blue valves look redundant since they're in the same section. Just an observation since I don't know what exactly the flow paths and options need to be on this.
 
NikP said:
The two blue valves look redundant since they're in the same section. Just an observation since I don't know what exactly the flow paths and options need to be on this.
Click to expand...


Good catch.



Ron,

Could you accomplish the same thing with two valves?

If you connect a standard ball valve to a three way valve you could use the standard valve as your on/off and the three way to select the system to energize, then just daisy chain your returns back to the block and they wouldn’t even need to be connected to supply side.
 
Alright, let me try to put words to my thoughts. The two blue valves are for infeed and return to the rear heater. If I open up the yellow valve , so as to run hot water to the exchanger, it will back feed into the heater and cause unneeded heat in the Summer. I couldn't think of any other way to shut both sides down.

I thought about some type of manifold, but wasn't sure how to make one and what to make it out of. I know there has got to be an easier and cleaner way. I'm not happy with this one. A more robust system would certainly be better.

Please, no offense taken, I need all the help I can get. If you know of a manifold system, ready to buy, let me know and I'll do some looking.

Thanks Guys!
 
No need to valve the returns, you can do the same thing with less valves.
 
Just have a manifold for the infeed and a valve for each run. The returns can be run together with a couple tees, right?

I need to call Restomod, because I believe, they want their valve in the return line. I Don't understand why.
 
Looking at the different manifolds for sale, thought I could make one. Here's a piece of alum. bar 2x2, same as the manifolds.

Question for the metal guys, Is this type of alum. good to use. It's not as heat resistant as say brass or stainless, but they go for $150 and up.

IMG_2800.webp


Had this in my stash, they don't call me Scrapdaddy for nothing!
 
2024 has poor corrosion resistance but I doubt that would be an issue the way you are using it, if you think you need to you could send it out and have it anodized and improve its corrosion resistance or better yet anodize it at home in a bucket of sulfuric acid (AKA battery acid) and a battery charger.
This video shows the process, I don't have time right now but can give you more info if it's something you want to do.




Heat is a non-issue for what you want to do with the aluminum.
 
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