Hello,

I thought I'd ask before I try because it's too expensive to waste!
Can chrome plated 15mm copper pipe be bent, either with a spring or a
proper bender or does something terrible happen to the chrome plate?

If I have off cuts and take them to the scrap yard, does the chrome
plating carry a premium or is it just bundled with "plain" copper?

TIA

Fred
wibbled on Saturday 02 January 2010 22:58

Hello,

I thought I'd ask before I try because it's too expensive to waste!
Can chrome plated 15mm copper pipe be bent, either with a spring or a
proper bender or does something terrible happen to the chrome plate?

I asked this last year and people said it bent fine. I'll find out in due
course. They also said the appearance of the chrome might change on the
bend, but it shouldn't flake off.

If you want the fanciness of chrome, you probably want to use a pipe bender
rather than a spring - the latter would leave ripples, unless the bend is
hidden.

If I have off cuts and take them to the scrap yard, does the chrome
plating carry a premium or is it just bundled with "plain" copper?



--
Tim Watts

This space intentionally left blank...

On Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:58:11 +0000, Fred
wrote:

If I have off cuts and take them to the scrap yard, does the chrome
plating carry a premium or is it just bundled with "plain" copper?

I know that copper with brassware on it gets a lower price than plain
copper so I'd expect chromed copper to be treated the same .

Fred wrote:

I thought I'd ask before I try because it's too expensive to waste!
Can chrome plated 15mm copper pipe be bent, either with a spring or a
proper bender

Both work fine, provided you can bend copper tube using either method
you'll have no trouble with chromed tube.

Fred wrote:

I thought I'd ask before I try because it's too expensive to waste!
Can chrome plated 15mm copper pipe be bent, either with a spring or a
proper bender or does something terrible happen to the chrome plate?

It is fine, so long as you do it slowly, and dont make the bend radius
too tight. A better solution is to bend copper pipe to shape, then take
it to be chrome plated.

If I have off cuts and take them to the scrap yard, does the chrome
plating carry a premium or is it just bundled with "plain" copper?

It'll be classed as mixed copper or brazier copper. This is 30% or so
cheaper than plain copper. I've dealt with 3 scrap dealers, they all
only pay for mixed copper. It has to be brand new, or look brand new to
get plain copper prices. One joint, or a bit of solder on it, and it is
mixed. I thought about sorting out all my copper last time I weighed in,
but it was just not worth the extra £30ish I may have got.
Alan.
--
To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.

"Fred" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I thought I'd ask before I try because it's too expensive to waste!
Can chrome plated 15mm copper pipe be bent, either with a spring or a
proper bender or does something terrible happen to the chrome plate?

If I have off cuts and take them to the scrap yard, does the chrome
plating carry a premium or is it just bundled with "plain" copper?

TIA


The chrome plated stuff I got from Screwfix a few years ago was hopeless
any bend over about 10 degrees and the pipe just snapped. The stuff from
wickes I have never had a problem with.

On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 12:07:41 +0000, (A.Lee) wrote:

It'll be classed as mixed copper or brazier copper. This is 30% or so
cheaper than plain copper. I've dealt with 3 scrap dealers, they all
only pay for mixed copper. It has to be brand new, or look brand new to
get plain copper prices. One joint, or a bit of solder on it, and it is
mixed. I thought about sorting out all my copper last time I weighed in,
but it was just not worth the extra £30ish I may have got.
Alan.

What actually happens to scrap copper plain and mixed .I guess it gets
melted down but does melted down plain get put to a different use than
melted down mixed ..I'd have thought the impurities would rise to the
surface and get skimmed off but probably doesn't work that way ...any
experts on melted copper in today? :-)

On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 12:17:06 -0000, "Stewith"
wrote:


"Fred" wrote in message
.. .
Hello,

I thought I'd ask before I try because it's too expensive to waste!
Can chrome plated 15mm copper pipe be bent, either with a spring or a
proper bender or does something terrible happen to the chrome plate?

If I have off cuts and take them to the scrap yard, does the chrome
plating carry a premium or is it just bundled with "plain" copper?

TIA


The chrome plated stuff I got from Screwfix a few years ago was hopeless
any bend over about 10 degrees and the pipe just snapped. The stuff from
wickes I have never had a problem with.

The complete pipe just snapped ???

Usenet Nutter wrote:

On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 12:07:41 +0000, (A.Lee) wrote:

It'll be classed as mixed copper or brazier copper. This is 30% or so
cheaper than plain copper. I've dealt with 3 scrap dealers, they all
only pay for mixed copper. It has to be brand new, or look brand new to
get plain copper prices. One joint, or a bit of solder on it, and it is
mixed. I thought about sorting out all my copper last time I weighed in,
but it was just not worth the extra £30ish I may have got.
Alan.

What actually happens to scrap copper plain and mixed .I guess it gets
melted down but does melted down plain get put to a different use than
melted down mixed ..I'd have thought the impurities would rise to the
surface and get skimmed off but probably doesn't work that way ...any
experts on melted copper in today? :-)

No, the mixed copper does not have 'impurities' float up (well, it does
in small amounts, the various oxides will float), the zinc, lead and
other elements in brazier copper will mix with the pure copper giving a
different alloy.
This resulting alloy, will, in most cases, result in a poorer quality,
and can only then be reused in a copper alloy such as brass, gunmetal or
other Cu based alloys. It can never be reused for copper pipe.
Alan.
--
To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.

In article ,
Fred wrote:
Hello,

I thought I'd ask before I try because it's too expensive to waste!
Can chrome plated 15mm copper pipe be bent, either with a spring or a
proper bender or does something terrible happen to the chrome plate?

If I have off cuts and take them to the scrap yard, does the chrome
plating carry a premium or is it just bundled with "plain" copper?

I put some mild S bends in a pair chrome plated pipes a few years back
using a spring. The plating is still doing fine... The pipes were from
BES I think...

Gordon

"Tim W" wrote in message
...
Fred
wibbled on Saturday 02 January 2010 22:58

Hello,

I thought I'd ask before I try because it's too expensive to waste!
Can chrome plated 15mm copper pipe be bent, either with a spring or a
proper bender or does something terrible happen to the chrome plate?

I asked this last year and people said it bent fine. I'll find out in due
course. They also said the appearance of the chrome might change on the
bend, but it shouldn't flake off.

If you want the fanciness of chrome, you probably want to use a pipe
bender
rather than a spring - the latter would leave ripples, unless the bend is
hidden.

It will not leave ripples.

"A.Lee" wrote in message
...
Fred wrote:

I thought I'd ask before I try because it's too expensive to waste!
Can chrome plated 15mm copper pipe be bent, either with a spring or a
proper bender or does something terrible happen to the chrome plate?

It is fine, so long as you do it slowly, and dont make the bend radius
too tight. A better solution is to bend copper pipe to shape, then take
it to be chrome plated.

A better solution is buy quality chrome pipe and bend it.

On 3 Jan, 12:17, Usenet Nutter
wrote:

What actually happens to scrap copper plain and mixed

Copper is used because it's ductile and electrically conductive.It's
alloys are less so.

So in practice, mixed copper scrap won't re-enter the food chain for
copper, but it will go for use in casting alloys (various grades of
brass) instead.

On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 12:07:41 +0000, (A.Lee) wrote:

It is fine, so long as you do it slowly, and dont make the bend radius
too tight. A better solution is to bend copper pipe to shape, then take
it to be chrome plated.

Thanks. I wanted to fit a new radiator but SWMBO would prefer visible
horizontal runs of chrome rather than boxing out the skirting board to
hide copper. I wanted the pipe to continue into the other room, which
means the tee from the bottom pipe needs to go up and over the top
pipe; the only way I can see to do this is with a bend, hence my
question. Unless anyone can think of a better way to do this?

It'll be classed as mixed copper or brazier copper. This is 30% or so
cheaper than plain copper. I've dealt with 3 scrap dealers, they all
only pay for mixed copper. It has to be brand new, or look brand new to
get plain copper prices. One joint, or a bit of solder on it, and it is
mixed.

I never knew that. I wasn't sure whether the chrome was more expensive
than the copper and hence would have got a better price; obviously
not. I once took a bag of copper pipe to the scrap yard; all the pipes
were bare except one had a stuck lock shield valve on the end. They
told me the whole lot was mixed copper because of this. Next time,
I'll cut it off before I go! I don't know why they couldn't have
weighed the other pipes separately.

I was interested in the other reply that mixed copper gets melted down
and used in alloys. I naively thought there was a production line
where men with angle grinders cut off all the joints before the pipe
was melted.

Thanks again.

On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 12:17:06 -0000, "Stewith"
wrote:


The chrome plated stuff I got from Screwfix a few years ago was hopeless
any bend over about 10 degrees and the pipe just snapped. The stuff from
wickes I have never had a problem with.

Beware of Focus, who used to sell (and may still do) something that
looked like chrome but was in fact steel, which quickly blunted my
cutters. Now I always check the inside of the tube before I buy

In article ,
Fred writes:
On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 12:17:06 -0000, "Stewith"
wrote:


The chrome plated stuff I got from Screwfix a few years ago was hopeless
any bend over about 10 degrees and the pipe just snapped. The stuff from
wickes I have never had a problem with.

Beware of Focus, who used to sell (and may still do) something that
looked like chrome but was in fact steel, which quickly blunted my
cutters. Now I always check the inside of the tube before I buy

Are you sure it wasn't a clothes rail someone put back in the
wrong place?

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On Wed, 6 Jan 2010 18:37:09 +0000 (UTC),
(Andrew Gabriel) wrote:


Are you sure it wasn't a clothes rail someone put back in the
wrong place?

IIRC I bought two, so unless someone put two clothes rails... hold on,
I suppose a Focus employee could have filled up the wrong space with
the wrong item. There's a thought!

在 2010å¹´1月3日星期日UTC+8上å�ˆ6æ—¶58分11ç§’ï ¼ŒFred写é�“：
Hello,

I thought I'd ask before I try because it's too expensive to waste!
Can chrome plated 15mm copper pipe be bent, either with a spring or a
proper bender or does something terrible happen to the chrome plate?

If I have off cuts and take them to the scrap yard, does the chrome
plating carry a premium or is it just bundled with "plain" copper?

TIA



I'm the sales manager f King Joins Industrial Limited. The manufacturer of chrome plated steel pipes in China. We could sure that the chrome plated cooper pipe can be bent. It's no problem. Even the chrome plated steel pipes which we produced can be bent to shapes. They are not copper pipe but steel pipes. And it's no problem to bent. The copper pipes are more soft, so we can sure that the chrome plated copper pipes can be bent.

Or if you have any questions, welcome you to contact with me. My E-mail address is

On Wed, 30 Oct 2013 00:05:30 -0700, janet wrote:

I'm the sales manager f King Joins Industrial Limited. The manufacturer
of chrome plated steel pipes in China.

Well, I'm very pleased to meet you, Janet. Is "Janet" a very common name
in China?

We could sure that the chrome plated cooper pipe can be bent. It's no
problem. Even the chrome plated steel pipes which we produced can be
bent to shapes. They are not copper pipe but steel pipes.

So, just to be clear, the chrome-plated copper pipes are copper, whilst
the chrome-plated steel pipes are steel, and steel isn't copper? But
they're all plated. With chrome?

phew I'm so glad you clarified that. I was confused.

And it's no problem to bent.

Unless you're Russian, of course.

wrote in message
...
? 2010?1?3????UTC+8??6?58?11?,Fred??:
Hello,

I thought I'd ask before I try because it's too expensive to waste!
Can chrome plated 15mm copper pipe be bent, either with a spring or a
proper bender or does something terrible happen to the chrome plate?

If I have off cuts and take them to the scrap yard, does the chrome
plating carry a premium or is it just bundled with "plain" copper?

TIA

No. The chrome is quite stiff and cracks/shells off.
The cracks are not immediately apparent until the copper beneath corrodes a
bit.
So you have to buy joints and elbows etc.

Makes the whole thing quite expensive and sometimes unsightly too.

On Wed, 30 Oct 2013 09:12:16 +0000, harryagain wrote:

I thought I'd ask before I try because it's too expensive to waste! Can
chrome plated 15mm copper pipe be bent, either with a spring or a
proper bender or does something terrible happen to the chrome plate?

If I have off cuts and take them to the scrap yard, does the chrome
plating carry a premium or is it just bundled with "plain" copper?

No. The chrome is quite stiff and cracks/shells off.
The cracks are not immediately apparent until the copper beneath
corrodes a bit.
So you have to buy joints and elbows etc.

Makes the whole thing quite expensive and sometimes unsightly too.

It is possible. I bent some chrome-plated copper about ten+ years ago -
and it still looked just fine when we sold the house earlier this year.

I did have to have a couple of attempts, yes - but that was largely to
get the bends in the right place...

"Adrian" wrote in message ...

I'm the sales manager f King Joins Industrial Limited. The manufacturer
of chrome plated steel pipes in China.

Well, I'm very pleased to meet you, Janet. Is "Janet" a very common name
in China?

We could sure that the chrome plated cooper pipe can be bent. It's no
problem. Even the chrome plated steel pipes which we produced can be
bent to shapes. They are not copper pipe but steel pipes.

So, just to be clear, the chrome-plated copper pipes are copper, whilst
the chrome-plated steel pipes are steel, and steel isn't copper? But
they're all plated. With chrome?

phew I'm so glad you clarified that. I was confused.

And it's no problem to bent.

Unless you're Russian, of course.


Why was that reply necessary Adrian? Its obvious English is not Janet's
first language yet they went to the trouble of trying to supply useful
information.
What use was your reply?

Janet, if you are still following this. Don't be put off by ****s like
Adrian, many of us appreciated your effort.

Mike

On Wed, 30 Oct 2013 10:13:15 +0000, Muddymike wrote:

I'm the sales manager f King Joins Industrial Limited. The
manufacturer of chrome plated steel pipes in China.

Why was that reply necessary Adrian? Its obvious English is not Janet's
first language yet they went to the trouble of trying to supply useful
information.
What use was your reply?

Since when did taking the **** out of spammers have to be "useful"?

On Wed, 30 Oct 2013 10:36:24 +0000, Adrian wrote:

What use was your reply?

Since when did taking the **** out of spammers have to be "useful"?

(And I probably should add that the OP's question hadn't actually reached
my server at the time, making it spam-out-of-context)

"Muddymike" wrote:
"Adrian" wrote in message ...

I'm the sales manager f King Joins Industrial Limited. The manufacturer
of chrome plated steel pipes in China.

Well, I'm very pleased to meet you, Janet. Is "Janet" a very common name
in China?

We could sure that the chrome plated cooper pipe can be bent. It's no
problem. Even the chrome plated steel pipes which we produced can be
bent to shapes. They are not copper pipe but steel pipes.

So, just to be clear, the chrome-plated copper pipes are copper, whilst
the chrome-plated steel pipes are steel, and steel isn't copper? But
they're all plated. With chrome?

phew I'm so glad you clarified that. I was confused.

And it's no problem to bent.

Unless you're Russian, of course.


Why was that reply necessary Adrian? Its obvious English is not Janet's
first language yet they went to the trouble of trying to supply useful information.
What use was your reply?

Janet, if you are still following this. Don't be put off by ****s like
Adrian, many of us appreciated your effort.

Even if it is over three years after the question was asked.

Actually, I don't really appreciate the effort. So far, to best best of my
knowledge, NOT ONE of these "late responders" has ever engaged in any
dialogue after they post their one message. It would seem that their only
motivation is to tick a box on their "read and respond to a usenet message"
exercise.

Tim

On Wed, 30 Oct 2013 10:38:23 +0000, Tim+ wrote:

Even if it is over three years after the question was asked.

Ah, that'll be why the reply appeared out of nowhere.

On 30/10/2013 09:12, harryagain wrote:
wrote in message
...
? 2010?1?3????UTC+8??6?58?11?,Fred??:
Hello,

I thought I'd ask before I try because it's too expensive to waste!
Can chrome plated 15mm copper pipe be bent, either with a spring or a
proper bender or does something terrible happen to the chrome plate?

If I have off cuts and take them to the scrap yard, does the chrome
plating carry a premium or is it just bundled with "plain" copper?

TIA

No. The chrome is quite stiff and cracks/shells off.

Must be your technique or equipment harry, I have always found it easy
to bend and keep looking nice. Never had chrome flaking off.

The cracks are not immediately apparent until the copper beneath corrodes a
bit.

Not had that problem either...

So you have to buy joints and elbows etc

Makes the whole thing quite expensive and sometimes unsightly too.


Another reason to bend and avoid the need for elbows.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 30/10/2013 15:01, John Rumm wrote:
On 30/10/2013 09:12, harryagain wrote:
wrote in message
...
? 2010?1?3????UTC+8??6?58?11?,Fred??:
Hello,

I thought I'd ask before I try because it's too expensive to waste!
Can chrome plated 15mm copper pipe be bent, either with a spring or a
proper bender or does something terrible happen to the chrome plate?

If I have off cuts and take them to the scrap yard, does the chrome
plating carry a premium or is it just bundled with "plain" copper?

TIA

No. The chrome is quite stiff and cracks/shells off.

Must be your technique or equipment harry, I have always found it easy
to bend and keep looking nice. Never had chrome flaking off.

I expect it you try and make a really tight bend eventually something
has to give and it might well be the chrome plating.

The cracks are not immediately apparent until the copper beneath
corrodes a
bit.

Not had that problem either...

So you have to buy joints and elbows etc

Makes the whole thing quite expensive and sometimes unsightly too.


Another reason to bend and avoid the need for elbows.

I agree. The old village hall tea boiler we retired after 25 years when
its element started tripping RCDs and outlet tap leaking about the same
time was plumbed in directly to mains water using chrome plated copper.
It was bent in arcs of about 6" radius without any difficulty and showed
no signs of corrosion at all after 25y in a kitchen environment.
YMMV

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On Wednesday, October 30, 2013 8:53:03 AM UTC, Adrian wrote:
Well, I'm very pleased to meet you, Janet. Is "Janet" a very common name
in China?

Most mainland Chinese people I know take an "English" name for dealing
with westerners. Off the top of my head: Dan, Norah, Echo, Crystal,
and Sean (although that was very close to his actual name).

[Rest of praise-worthy ****-taking of spammer snipped]

On Wednesday 30 October 2013 09:12 harryagain wrote in uk.d-i-y:


wrote in message
...
? 2010?1?3????UTC+8??6?58?11?,Fred??:
Hello,

I thought I'd ask before I try because it's too expensive to waste!
Can chrome plated 15mm copper pipe be bent, either with a spring or a
proper bender or does something terrible happen to the chrome plate?

If I have off cuts and take them to the scrap yard, does the chrome
plating carry a premium or is it just bundled with "plain" copper?

TIA

No. The chrome is quite stiff and cracks/shells off.
The cracks are not immediately apparent until the copper beneath corrodes
a bit.
So you have to buy joints and elbows etc.

Makes the whole thing quite expensive and sometimes unsightly too.

I disagree -

I have bent 15mm chromed with a pipe bender. No issues. Maybe it has
microcracked but it's not obvious and nothing has happened after 3 years.
Certainly did not flake.


--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage