Splicing into a coolant pipe, would copper pipe be ok?

[Sphinx]

Hi guys, hoping some of you might be able to help.

One of the hoses connected to the rad on my car is...well...crap; the end is soo faigued that it doesn't seal anymore and there's no extra length to play with in order to cut off the end and join it further up. The pipe is a convoluted ****** which goes deep behind the engine towards the bulk head so replacing the whole thing for this one bad end would be a) a pain in the **** and b) pointless.

I can get another hose from my friends car (same car as mine and he's breaking it), if I was to cut the hose and join the new bit to it, what sort of pipe would be best?
It would only need to be a few inches long with barbed ends but would normal copper house pipe be OK or would is contaminate the system at a later date? any other suggestions welcome

Thanks

Tom

 

[shenion]

I used copper pipe to bypass my heater with no problems.

I put a bead of solder on the edge of the pipe to act as a barb.

 

[tigler]

Copper is fine, rads were made from it at one time.

 

[Sphinx]

Good point, I'd forgotten about that lol

Thanks guys, that puts my mind at rest. I didn't want it reacting and filling my already delicate bmw coolant system with crap.

 

[rtbcomp]

I've used copper, cut a straight Yorkshire joint (CU 1?) in half to form two barbs and solder one on each end of the pipe.

 

[BeeJay99]

...would normal copper house pipe be OK...

I don't see why not, if you can get a bit the right size, I have seen a race car plumbed entirely with copper in the past. It would be good if you could get some compression joint olives onto the ends as an alternative to swaging.

 

[Windy Miller]

I don't see why not, if you can get a bit the right size, I have seen a race car plumbed entirely with copper in the past. It would be good if you could get some compression joint olives onto the ends as an alternative to swaging.

I've used this method plenty of times in the past and had no problems, but soldering on an olive is definitely a good idea to help stop the hose from slipping off.

I did it the other week in fact, but I had run out of olives, so I soldered a ring of copper wire on the end of the pipe, just to provide a little 'grippage' for the hose. It's not fallen off or leaked yet!

 

[voipio]

If you do decide to use copper, just remember to keep it from making any sort of metal to metal contact with any other part of the vehicle, since this will encourage electrolytic corrosion.

 

[Sphinx]

Thanks again guys and gals. When I start ripping apart from friends car I might have a change of heart and replace the whole pipe but if not I know it's perfectly safe to use some form of copper connection.

 

[Emmsy]

ive used aluminium pipe in the past