From: noel shelley (noel@shelley1722.freeserve.co.uk)
Date: Wed Aug 03 2005 - 07:31:54 PDT
Hi Bruce ,
My Mistress {the LARC XV }is all piped in stainless for
the main runs , only going to flex at the ends where needed . BUT it is all
TOP quality and clamped everywhere ----- this includes large hydraulic lines
at 2500psi !
Stainless is at best a funny metal , brittle, hard and not easy to form ,
without the right bender ! The most likely place to fail is the area near
any working ie the flare , a bend , or the area inside a compression ring
fitting ---- all where work hardening has taken place ! IF ones luck is
really out then the length of the run may be on or close to a fundamental
frequency of the engine or machine , work harden due to movement then crack
! The above also applies to any metal !
Metal pipes have a lower drag on the materials moving through them , are
smaller on the OD than flex and carefully made , neater . They must be
clamped at regular intervals .
Flexible pipes are quick , easy , and in the main trouble free ------- your
biggest enemy is chaffing !
Those flex lines that have not chaffed or cracked on the outer rubber cover
,allowing moisture to corrode the steel reinforcing on the LARC are 40 years
old and still like new. They are below deck and therefore suffer NO UV
degradation .
Good luck Noel
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