[A/S] Freeze-proof Stainless

[Mike E Geld <kentgeld@xxxxxxxx>]

Jim,
I have never done a complete Airstream but will tell you what I know.
I ran fifty feet of stainless tubing over the last four days with
many,many bends in it.
I am hooking up the instruments at a new power plant in Yuba City CA.
It is much harder than copper in that it has to be bent with a tubing
bender and not "the hands" method.
One option I have seen done in "other" travel trailers is to bend a hook
of some sort on the end of a twenty foot stalk of stainless, fish-tape a
strong rope thru the place where the new tubing will run (in a
Airstream's case like mine this would mean under the sink to the back)
and pulling the stainless thru with the rope.
With stainless this would have to be a straight shot with NO turns in the
existing tubing.
Hard stainless will not follow bends at all. I would have to look at a
schematic of the water system if one could be had to spot any turns to
know if it is even possible.
Another note to consider is wall thickness and country of origin of the
tubing. Get the thickest wall you can (.065 or so) and make sure the
tubing was made in Sweden or Germany. That is currently the best out
there.
One more thing to consider is the cost.
3/8th 316 stainless goes for around $45 for ten feet so you can't mess up
too much.
The fittings you will need are also outrages. A stainless tee is around
$50.
Add to this the cost of the benders (you cannot use copper benders-or the
kind you get at the hardware store) The last set of 3/8ths benders I
bought cost around $80 or so. Get the brand name Rigid or better yet
Parker (more $ but the best).
If you can bend copper pretty good you should not have too much trouble
with stainless.
Practicing cost too much with stainless so you really should have bending
down.
Hope this helps and write back with any questions,
Mike Kent