Was watching and old episode of ATOH the other day and Rich was with an AC guy in Florida. They were installing AC in a garage. To make the connections the guy just flared the pipe and tightened them down.
I know on cars brake lines will leak if you don't double-flare them. Is the pressure in an AC system that much lower that a single-flare won't leak?
Must be. I typically use silver solder, or silver braze. But, many refrigeration systems I use, have flare fittings.
Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus
I know on cars brake lines will leak if you don't double-flare them. Is the pressure in an AC system that much lower that a single-flare won't leak?
Yup
Brake line pressures: 1,000's of psi. A/C pressures: 100's of psi
short answer: brake lines see ~10x the pressure of A/C lines.
cheers Bob
cheers Bob
Brake lines are steel or stainless steel and a lot less ductile than the copper refrigeration tubing used for air conditioning systems. I'm assuming the double flare is necessary because the harder material may crack if a single flare is used and may not be as strong or suitable for the higher pressures involved in high pressure systems of any type.
TDD
BINGO! Steel brake line will crack with a single flare, it's pretty hard stuff
It has to be to take the high pressures. I've seen the result of Billy Bob the trailer mechanic trying to use copper tubing for a brake line. o_O
TDD
While we're on this subject, the brake line on my mother's car broke when I applied the brakes Just in front of the left rear tire On a '58 Ford.
The mechanic told her that it had broken becaues she needed new brake shoes. There is no truth to that, is there?
uh, negative ghostrider.
I don't see any connection. Unless the shoes were slick, not braking, and you had to push harder on the pedal to make the car stop.
Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus
While we're on this subject, the brake line on my mother's car broke when I applied the brakes Just in front of the left rear tire On a '58 Ford.
The mechanic told her that it had broken becaues she needed new brake shoes. There is no truth to that, is there?
I sort of doubt the line broke because the car needed new shoes. I had the rubber brake line to the rear axle of a 63 Dodge break and I lost all braking because the older car had a single master brake cylinder. I was on an uphill lane when it happened so I lived. ^_^
TDD
That's what I thought, and that's what I told her. Maybe the "mechanic" wanted more work. She ended up selling the car anyhow. It was 1965 and the car was a '58. She fixed the brake line but I can't remember if she did the brake linings. We had no other car, so we couldn't go look at it without asking for another, a third., ride.
Amazingly, I've had my brakes fail 6 times, I think it was, always with single master cyclinder cars. When he went to Viet Nam, my brother lent, then gave me his '65 Catalina, and the cap of the valve at the brake booster popped off the morning after he lent me the car. Several years later, I bought a '67 Catallina, and the next morning, the same valve failed (I think this time the whole valve popped out of its rubber grommet. And the flexible rubber line to one front wheel failed once and I driove into an already falling down wooden fence, held up by bushes, so I didn't do any damage. I think variations of that happened two more times.
Then there was the case above** and evne though I've never gotten hurt or hurt anyone, and barely any property damage total in these 6 failures, I'm glad cars have dual brakes now.
**where I hit the rear of the car in front of me, stopped to turn left, but not very hard. I tried to back my car from his, forgot I had not brakes, reached for the hand brake and opened the hood instead.
The plastic check valve disintegrating on the brake vacuum booster was a common problem on GM cars years ago. My mother drove a 66 Oldsmobile that had the valve come apart and luckily I was driving the car when it happened and I had the strength in my legs to operate the brakes. I got another new and improved valve and spent 10 minutes replacing it. ^_^
TDD
Good to know.
I can't emphasize enough how strange I think it is that mine failed the first full day I had each car.
In one case, my brother drove us to the Philly airport to leave on his commerical flight to meet his army flight to Viet Nam, and I drove the car home to Allentown, Pa.. First thing the next day, the brakes didn't work.
The next car I bought in Queens and drove home to Brooklyn. First thing the nextr day, the brakes didn't work.
BTW, it's a good thing you were driving and not your mother.
They had an improved valve? I guess that's not surprising, given that the other one used to burst apart even though the spring inside was prettty weak!. I think this happened to me about July of '67, with a car bought maybe July of '65.
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