Doesn't look like Cunifer brake pipe to me...

[hotrodder]

From a previous thread on the subject...

The history of brake pipes... http://www.copper.org/applications/automotive/brake.html, click the 'hydraulic brake tube' link at the left for a comparative test between steel and cuni

Hard to argue with the numbers... the only place copper wins over cuni is in % elongation and then only slightly given it's large advantage in strength, burst pressure and fatigue life.

If the internet's to be believed it's not just the US that have banned copper for new/replacement/repair of brake lines... add Canada, Australia and New Zealand to the list

 

[rhubarb7]

I still use Copper, it's far easier to get a decent flare and work with.

I've been in the trade 20 years and never come across a problem.

I think the reason Kunifer started being used it because it doesn't rust away.

 

[steveo3002]

bit like the cellulose people i expect

 

[langy]

I still use Copper, it's far easier to get a decent flare and work with.

I've been in the trade 20 years and never come across a problem.

I think the reason Kunifer started being used it because it doesn't rust away.

Copper don't rust either !!! To be honest if someone can't flare Kunifer easily i'm not sure they should be working on something like brakes , It flares as easy as anything i can think of.

 

[PhillipM]

Never had an issue with getting perfect flares on Kunifer tbh, lot easier than stainless lines anyway!

 

[steveo3002]

seems very similar to copper to work with , i didnt struggle at all

 

[rhubarb7]

Copper don't rust either !!! To be honest if someone can't flare Kunifer easily i'm not sure they should be working on something like brakes , It flares as easy as anything i can think of.

Copper brake pipe doesn't rust?! Course it does, that's most of the reason they get changed.

Using a hand held flare tool to flare Kunifer doesn't give good results, hence I stick to using copper.

Fixing cars is my trade and I have been doing so for nearly 20 years, so no need for sly insults.

 

[PhillipM]

It might oxidise, but it doesn't rust

Might hand held tool has no issues at all with kunifer pipe, it'll even do stainless steel if I'm careful about making sure everything is dead square - or are you using one of those cheap and nasty chinese ones?

 

[rhubarb7]

It might oxidise, but it doesn't rust

Might hand held tool has no issues at all with kunifer pipe, it'll even do stainless steel if I'm careful about making sure everything is dead square - or are you using one of those cheap and nasty chinese ones?

Oxidise then It was midnight when I wrote that.

Not a cheap one, a Snap On one.

I find forming/bending Kunifer a pain in tight situations.

 

[PhillipM]

Yeah well, Snap On sell some cheap chinese ****e these days too, just at 10x the price to people who fall for the name, if it's anything like this one:

The best place for it is the bin!

 

[pedrobedro]

I've done Kunifer, copper and steel pipe with my cheap flaring tool no trouble and no leaks. I found my old Moprod flare tool and had to look for instructions on how to use it and made a pipe for a friend's car in Kunifer no problem a couple of weeks ago

 

[PhillipM]

I use the Moprod one too, bloody good bit of kit!

 

[steveo3002]

i use one like this..not too expensive and works well

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Powerhand...t=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item2a28352463

 

[Wallace]

i use one like this..not too expensive and works well

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Powerhand...t=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item2a28352463

Looks like a modern copy of the moprod tool.

 

[langy]

Never had an issue with getting perfect flares on Kunifer tbh, lot easier than stainless lines anyway!

Literally all the brake systems I put these days are stainless, it's actually pretty easy to flare and bend, I can bend it around my thumb but you have to get the right tube, stainless brake line is double annealed and quite soft, get the right stuff and its a breeze to work with.

 

[PhillipM]

I just tend to be very careful 'cause I don't want to mark the former on my moprod, kinda hard to get replacements now!

 

[Cris B]

You have to love it when you start a thread and it finds its own momentum and when you come back to it there's a whole heap of posts

Anyway eventually after having sent the copper back, I received Cunifer instead. Based off advice on here I sourced a second hand Sykes Pickavant flaring tool. Seems like quality kit and as long as I follow the instructions for prepping the tube, the double flares produced seem spot on.

Here is the colour comparison on the tubing for future reference:

Copper

Cunifer

Here's the Sykes Pickavant kit:

I'm sure that there's a better pipe bender out there...

 

[Wallace]

I still kick myself sometimes for not buying that Sykes tool back in the mid 90's on my mates staff discount. It was still expensive but as I was throwing money at my car project left right and centre I couldn't justify it. My Moprod one still works well enough though. Out of interest, how much did you pay for the Sykes tool?

Mike

 

[langy]

You have to love it when you start a thread and it finds its own momentum and when you come back to it there's a whole heap of posts

Anyway eventually after having sent the copper back, I received Cunifer instead. Based off advice on here I sourced a second hand Sykes Pickavant flaring tool. Seems like quality kit and as long as I follow the instructions for prepping the tube, the double flares produced seem spot on.

Here is the colour comparison on the tubing for future reference:

Copper

Cunifer

Here's the Sykes Pickavant kit:

I'm sure that there's a better pipe bender out there...

If your using cunifer you don't really need a bender, It can be bent neatly around your finger, in the old days I used to bend it around the neck of a milk bottle