'steam pipe' where to get, what to ask for, how much to pay

[Shifty]

yeah i'm ok, few bruises and shit and fucked my wrist... felt pretty ok at the time but woke up after 4 hours sleep and fucking killing me / can't move it.

nice pics of manifold work.

[the_random_hero]

I'd only use stainless if it's relatively short, equal-ish length and you have thick bends. Steam pipe mild steel is cheap as chups from most places that do pipe and won't have the issues that stainless tends to get.

[Sam_Q]

I paid $4 each from Reece plumbing

[jeffro ra28]

Just a note on the stainless idea. If available try to use 321 stainless as it resists cracking much more then 316 or 304 stainless. Thats why aircraft exhaust systems are made from it, but also being "aircraft grade" it is probably a little more expensive.

[mullett]

Interesting that those stainless bends were $4 each, that's insanely cheap! They also look quite thick, 2mm or so?

I pay about 3-5$ for steam pipe bends, 5mm thick. Heavy as hell, but they'll never crack.

-RM.

[Disturbed1]

they are 2.7mm thick - not sure what schedual that makes em.

midway steel is where u want to go

[takai]

Semi on the same topic, where would people recommend to get standard exhaust tubing and bends from in SA? In the past ive used AAA Exhausts and the Truck place in Wingfield, but from the sounds of these prices i was paying a bit too much.

[JP]

Just a note on the stainless idea. If available try to use 321 stainless as it resists cracking much more then 316 or 304 stainless. Thats why aircraft exhaust systems are made from it, but also being "aircraft grade" it is probably a little more expensive.

Also worth noting if you're going to go with stainless pipe for the manifold, it really should be backpurged when welded and done in a couple of passes to get full weld penetration. If it's not backpurged you can't get full penetration without the inside of the pipe sugaring up, and if you use less amps for less penetration then you end up with a weak weld anyway...

Using the mild steel bends you can go for full weld penetration without backpurge and the inside of the weld will still be OK, you can also backpurge the mild steel weld if you've got the argon to spare.

Plenty of pics on the web of what a non-backpurged stainless weld looks like

[Disturbed1]

theres about 6 in this thread hahaha :S

[Ben Wilson]

Semi on the same topic, where would people recommend to get standard exhaust tubing and bends from in SA? In the past ive used AAA Exhausts and the Truck place in Wingfield, but from the sounds of these prices i was paying a bit too much.

Check the prices for stainless from Midway Metals, they do stainless cheaper than most exhaust shops charge for mild..

[3jcelica]

In adelaide Try bennet enterprises for your but weld fittings both stainless and black. 25NB 90deg elbow in black is $5.40, steem pipe to suit is ~$14/m and $3 for cutting to length.

As per Takai, still looking for a good place that does exhaust bends, unfortunately midway metals is not in adelaide.

Roger

[takai]

Yeah, Bennet is pretty good for steam pipe, but it seems that exhaust pipe is a bit of a different story.

[50RTD]

Sorry to hear about the off Shifty.

For the sake of the topic, I get steampipe/buttweld bends from Metalcorp. They've even got a little booklet with the various sizes, wall thicknesses, inner/outer dimensions etc. Good little reference.