Copper tubing
Copper tubing is available in two basic types of tube—plumbing tube and air conditioning/refrigeration tube, and in both drawn and annealed tempers. Because of its high level of corrosion resistance, it is used for water distribution systems, oil fuel transfer lines, non-flammable medical-gas systems, and as a refrigerant line in HVAC systems. Copper tubing is joined using flare connection, compression connection, pressed connection, or solder.
Types
Soft copper
Soft copper tubing can be bent easily to travel around obstacles in the path of the tubing. While the work hardening of the drawing process used to size the tubing makes the copper hard or rigid, it is carefully annealed to make it soft again; it is, therefore, more expensive to produce than non-annealed, rigid copper tubing. It can be joined by any of the three methods used for rigid copper, and it is the only type of copper tubing suitable for flare connections. Soft copper is the most popular choice for refrigerant lines in split-system air conditioners and heat pumps.Rigid copper
Rigid copper is a popular choice for water lines. Rigid or "Hard" copper tubing is generally referred to as "pipe". Copper "piping" is referred to by nominal pipe size, or the inner diameter. It is joined using a solder/sweat, roll grooved, compression, or crimped/pressed connection. Rigid copper, rigid due to the work hardening of the drawing process, cannot be bent and must use elbow fittings to go around corners or around obstacles. If heated and allowed to cool in a process called annealing, rigid copper will become soft and can be bent/formed without cracking.Connections
Soldered
fittings are smooth and easily slip onto the end of a tubing section. The joint is then heated using a torch, which is usually propane gas, and the solder is melted into the connection. When the solder cools, it forms a very strong bond that can last for decades. Solder-connected rigid copper is the most popular choice for water supply lines in modern buildings. In situations where many connections must be made at once, solder offers much quicker and much less expensive joinery than compression or flare fittings. The term sweating is sometimes used to describe the process of soldering pipes. The filling material used for the joints has a melting point that is below 800 °F.Brazed connection
is a metal-joining process in which two or more metal items are joined by melting and flowing a filler metal into the joint, the filler metal having a lower melting point than the adjoining metal.Brazing differs from welding in that it does not involve melting the work pieces and from soldering in using higher temperatures for a similar process while also requiring much more closely fitted parts than when soldering. The filler metal flows into the gap between close-fitting parts by capillary action. The filler metal is brought slightly above its melting temperature while protected by a suitable atmosphere, usually a flux. It then flows over the base metal and is then cooled to join the work pieces together. A major advantage of brazing is the ability to join the same or different metals with considerable strength. The filling material used for the joints has a melting point that is above 800 °F.
Compression
use a soft metal or thermoplastic ring, which is squeezed onto the pipe and into the fitting by a compression nut. The soft metal conforms to the surface of the tubing and the fitting and creates a seal. Compression connections do not typically have the long life that sweat connections offer but are advantageous in many cases because they are easy to make using basic tools. A disadvantage in compression connections is that they take longer to make than sweat and sometimes require re-tightening over time to stop leaks.Flare
require that the end of a tubing section be spread outward in a bell shape using a flare tool. Only soft copper can be flared. A flare nut then compresses this bell-shaped end onto a male fitting. Flare connections are a labor-intensive method of making connections but are quite reliable over the course of many years.Crimped
Crimped connections, also called pressed fittings, are special copper fittings that are permanently attached to rigid copper tubing with a manual or powered crimper. The fittings, manufactured with sealant already inside, slide over the tubing to be connected. Thousands of pounds-force per square inch of pressure are used to deform the fitting and compress the sealant against the inner copper tubing, creating a water-tight seal. The advantages of this method are that it should last as long as the tubing, it takes less time to complete than other methods, it is cleaner in both appearance and the materials used to make the connection, and no open flame is used during the connection process. The disadvantages are that the fittings used are harder to find and cost significantly more than sweat-type fittings.Push-to-connect
Push-to-connect, also known as push-to-lock or simply push, fittings are simply pushed onto the end of a tube, and are kept in place by teeth inside the fitting. No wrenches or other special tools are needed to install, other than tools to cut and deburr the tube. Unlike soldered fittings, they can be installed on tubes that are wet at installation time.Sizes
United States, Canada, and Brazil
Common wall-thicknesses of copper tubing in the U.S., Canada and India are "Type K", "Type L", "Type M", and "Type DWV":- Type K has the thickest wall section of the three types of pressure rated tubing and is commonly used for deep underground burial, such as under sidewalks and streets, with a suitable corrosion protection coating or continuous polyethylene sleeve as required by the plumbing code. In the United States, it usually has green-colored printing. This pipe designation is used in the Refrigeration Industry.
- Type L has a thinner pipe wall section and is used in residential and commercial water supply and pressure applications. In the United States, it usually has blue-colored printing.
- Type M has an even thinner pipe wall section and is used in residential and commercial low-pressure heating applications. In the United States, it usually has red-colored printing.
- Type DWV has the thinnest wall section and is generally only suitable for unpressurized applications, such as drain, waste, and vent lines. In the United States, it usually has yellow or light orange colored printing, common sizes being,, and 2-inch copper tube size.
Note: Types "L" and "M" are often mistakenly identified as purposed for "hot" or "cold" applications by novice home repairers by their red and blue printing. This is an incorrect assumption. The printing only references the gauge thickness of the pipe, which may affect application choice and address quality/durability concerns for the product selected.
In the North American plumbing industry, the size of copper tubing is designated by its nominal diameter, which is th inch less than the outside diameter. The inside diameter varies according to the thickness of the pipe wall, which differs according to pipe size, material, and grade: the inside diameter is equal to the outside diameter, less twice the wall thickness.
The North American refrigeration industry uses copper pipe designated ACR pipe and tubing, which is sized directly by its outside diameter and a typed letter indicating wall thickness. Therefore, one-inch nominal type L copper tube and th inch type D ACR tube are exactly the same size, with different size designations. ACR pipe and tubing is cleaned after manufacturing and then capped and sealed, to ensure that the tubing is free from grains of metal and processing residues that could degrade components of a refrigerant system, the circulating refrigerant itself, or the compressor oil. Type ACR tubing may be high purity copper without any trace residue of de-oxygenating material, low trace phosphate residue, or high trace phosphate residue, while tubing made to carry water is either level of trace phosphate deoxygenating residue.
Except for those differences between ACR and plumbing pipes, the type only indicates wall thickness and does not affect the outside diameter of the tube. Type K inch, type L inch, and type D inch ACR all have the same outside diameter of inch.
In both the U.S. and Canada, copper pipe and fittings are sold in imperial units only as metric sizes are not manufactured for use in North America. Many Canadian merchants give approximate metric sizes for construction products, but in the case of copper pipes and fittings, these approximations are not interchangeable with metric components.
Europe
Common wall-thicknesses in Europe are "Type X", "Type Y", and "Type Z", defined by the EN 1057 standard.- Type X is the most common and is used in above-ground service, including drinking water supply, hot and cold water systems, sanitation, central heating, and other general purpose applications.
- Type Y is a thicker walled pipe, used for underground works and heavy duty requirements, including hot and cold water supply, gas reticulation, sanitary plumbing, heating and general engineering.
- Type Z is a thinner walled pipe, also used for above-ground service, including drinking water supply, hot and cold water systems, sanitation, central heating and other general purpose applications.
Tubing in 8 mm and 10 mm outside diameters is called a "micro bore" and is easier to install, although there is a slightly increased risk of blockage from scale or debris. It is sometimes used for central heating systems, and 15 mm adapters are used to connect it to radiator valves.