# cutting/ bending titanium tubing



## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

While Marcos did send me something about this in email, it still has a few unanswered questions from first hand experience. Plus, now that my college is closed for a few weeks, I do not have access to cable modem, so it will never load even on hotmail...

I went into Harbor Freight Tools near me, and they told me that titanium tubing can be difficult to bend unless you heat it up. (but according to a website for a DIY chiller, it can be done with pics).

Anybody try to cut into it? That's another option. Then, just use PVC elbows or something like that to put it together.

BTW: I won a 50 pint dehumidifier from Ebay for $156, that's roughly between a 1/4 and 1/3 HP chiller!!! (if I do the project correctly).


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## tkavan01 (Mar 17, 2004)

oh man titanium is hard to work with, it's melting point is like 1700 degrees!
you gotta be careful about working around stuff of that temperature!
did you think about using copper? it's alot less expensive if you make a mistake!

btw i love titanium my wedding ring is made out of it, and i'm saving for a bike! nothing looks better to be [email protected]


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

according to a website to make a DIY chiller, he has used titanium tubing from McMasterCarr and bent it, but it is obviously tougher than copper. However, it can be done with care, as you don't want to snap it.

Additionally, there is the option to cut titanium with a tube cutter and use elbow PVC pipes with some epoxy to seal it, but I don't know if a tubing cutter will work on titanium, but I'd think it'd be easier than using trying to bend it....

I thought copper or aluminum was toxic for aquarium animals, well, at least for saltwater invertabrates. But the main disadvantage with copper is that it will corrode in acidic water or high mineral content. Something to keep in mind if CO2 injection is planned for a freshwater tank...


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

say, i just found some more sites that sell tubing cutters that will cut through titanium tubing.

Question. Will a 1/2" elbow pipe made for PVC connect to a 1/2" titanium tubing (heat exchanger)?

What size powerhead has an output tube that will fit onto that?

I plan to use my tubing bender though to bend the coils from the dehumidifier so I can put it into a sump. Take out the humistat and put a thermostat in place of it, and keep the water cool. Then, I hook up that and my power head to a temp controller and plug it in!

The power head pumps water through the heat exchanger and back into the tank, hehe.

I still don't know if I want to mess around quite yet. I WILL NOT be able to take a 100 gallon into an apartment for college unless I get lucky. :?


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## tkavan01 (Mar 17, 2004)

i think maybe you need to invest in a decent quality tube bender, also get a mapp torch those get pretty hot and would probably make the titanium less brittle... is this cooling system for a saltwater tank?

i think the method of cutting up the tube and using pvc bends is setting yourself up for failure, with that mean cuts and seems your only exponentially increasing your potential failure rate... even the best will have a bad bond somewhere eventually...


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

actually, I'm more confident with cutting and connecting than bending it.

I have marine grade epoxy resin (West System) that i am also using for my a wooden tank that works extremely well. I additionally have the filler to thicken it to make incredibly strong sealants and glues, which I have used numerous times.

The only difficulty here is that elbow joints will take up more space then bending, so I may need to make sure I bend the tubing to the length I need BEFORE I buy the sump. This additionally would be a good idea to mess around with the dehumidifier coils so I will not need to bend the pipes much, which is probably the most important step of all...NOT TO DAMAGE THE COMPRESSOR COILS. One leak, its all over.

This tank is not for saltwater, it is for a Xenopus laevis, err, Pipid biotope tank. It is definitely potentially a viable possibility for those who want to raise caudates or atelopus.

I will keep people updated how it turns out.


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## Blort (Feb 5, 2005)

Some machine shops and places that sell stuff B2B often get a small kick out of doing weird DIY projects for the weirdo hobbyist and might do it for you if you buy the tubing from them and get to know their machinist/pneudraulics folks. That is how I got my first piece of acrylic for free as scrap and cut by their plastics specialist. It just takes finding someone cool who thinks that what you are doing is interesting. You might also be able to get them to do it for free if there is the possibility that you are doing this as a prototype that will in the long run bring them larger volumes of business.


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## HansV (Apr 15, 2004)

Rain_Frog,

Why not using the U-Bend from John Guest?
http://www.johnguest.com/part_spec.asp?s=PIUB_D1


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

have you Hans, or anybody else here tried these?

It would definitely take up less space than PVC elbows. Plus, I'd need another piece of titanium that would connect the two PVCs to make a U turn, something I've kept in mind. (would take up more room, need a bigger sump then).


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## Guest (Jun 1, 2005)

the john guest fittings are very nice. They push in as well so no glue needed.


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## HansV (Apr 15, 2004)

I use for many years several types of the John Guest fittings for tubes, and so far no problems. For test purpose I use them over and over again and also no leakage. So the quality is very good.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Anybody know how safe it is to use the tubing bender to bend the coils of the compressor? (fit it into the sump).

Most of the sites that tell how to use a dehumidifier say they just bend the coils VERY carefully by hand, but I would think aluminum will be actually easier to bend than titanium.

I don't need a freon, (or perhaps, more earth friendly coolant) leak...

Oh yeah, I should be getting my dehumidifier Friday.


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## tkavan01 (Mar 17, 2004)

aluminum is softer and very risky as it fatigues and falls apart very quickly, titanium is super hard and will fight you every step of the way, it is supposed to be one of the hardest materials to work with...


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## HansV (Apr 15, 2004)

Rain-Frog,

You can't use Aluminium in the acid environment of a Vivarium.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

i'm not. The coils would be in a sump. A sump that is NOT connected to the water in the aquarium. 

Instead, a pump will pump water through a set of titanium coils THROUGH the sump, and act as a heat exchanger. So, no water from the tank will come into contact with the sump water and dehumidifier's coils.

The other coils will be titanium as it isn't harmful like aluminum.

However, I came to a road block today.  My dehumidifier is different, and has the coils mounted in the back. I think they are copper too, NOT aluminum like other dehumidifiers.

I could potentially take the grids off and bend the coils, but not sure if I want to try it. I am pretty upset, as this is the final blow to my 100 gallon Xenopus tank.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Well watcha know....

Apparently, one can unscrew the cooling coils and its heatsink off, and easily bend it into a sump.... Just a temp controller, and we're good to go....

But, once again, there is a problem. This is an example of my dumb luck. I managed to unscrew all of them, except one THAT GOT STRIPPED!!! :roll: :x (DOH!!!)

now, any good ideas/ brands of screw extractors I can get? Anybody use them before?

Apparently, from talking to other reef/ saltwater enthusiasts, the dehumidifier is ideal as it can run pretty continuously without wearing out.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Woohoo! I got the coils bent and pulled away! :shock:  

Apparently, I did it without any leaks. I do not know how you can tell if you have a leak in a dehumidifier or AC compressor, but the cold coils actually form ice on them.

The screw tap didn't do crap, so I used my trusty drill and continued to drill the stripped screw out.

Now, I need to buy myself titanium tubing, tubing cutter, two temp controllers, and a powerhead....

I'm not going to put 100% guarantees on anything, as things keep rocketing back from yes, to no, to yes again, but things have certainly took a turn.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

does anybody know how I can hook up a powerhead to the titanium or PVC pipe? I don't know if I can simply hook a piece of 1/2" PVC to a maxi-jet. 

I don't mean to sound ignorant, but where can I locate John Guest pipe fittings?


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