Hi All.
Can someone explain to me why thinner walled flexible copper 3/8 tubing (e.g., .025, .032 inch) is (is it?) considered less safe or appropriate than thicker-walled. I'm talking about a mobile-home furnace installation. The pump pressures involved are less than, say, a water line.
Dennis
The line pressure will be and damn well better be less than a water line. If the tank is above ground, then the only real pressure on the line will be that of the weight of the oil on the line, as the pump pulls the oil from the tank. Either copper will work, but its up to your local jurisdiction as to the type that you have to use. The pressures on the line past the pump, however, are normally in excess of
100PSI, and thats not a worry....so long as you donthave to replace your feeder line off the pump.Thanks. Very helpful.
I wondered too about the sturdiness of thinner walls in extremely cold weather of the sort we're having now in New England. Sub-zero.
Dennis
.032" (or better) is used to reduce possibility of corrosion through or puncture of or other damage to the line. If buried in a concrete (or other) floor it should be run through a plastic flex (or ridgid) conduit as some concretes can be corrosive to copper. The pressure is only that of the head of the oil in the tank perhaps 0.5-5 psi depending on tank elevation and amount of oil in it, in fact it can run at slight vacuum when the burner is running due to pressure drop through the filter.
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