Copper price and suitability 2"boka

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Copper price and suitability 2"boka

Postby NFI » Fri Jun 04, 2021 9:00 am

I was at the big green hardware store the other day and I thought I'd ask if they could get in some 2" copper pipe but then they asked me all the questions I did not have answers for and just had to wing it.
"Is it just for plumbing" - Yes
"Annealed copper" - Yes
"What length" - I probably only need 2M but I think it is likely to come in a 6M length
"What type of copper" - Unsure [They said type B is the most commonly used so we went with that]
So with that they organized a quote which came back as
50.80OD x1.22WT HD STR CU
Tube 6m AS1432
with a costing of a little over $370

Now that is a lot better than some of the prices I have seen on the forum (i.e. $130/m)

Not sure if I will go down the building route but wanted to get an idea of what I would need and what it would potentially cost.
I would be aiming to build 2" Boka with a pot head to suit.
I have seen it written many times on the forum "copper is copper" but is what they have given me the price of the right material to use (or is it over or under rated for the job)?
I realize that if I can get some from a scrap yard it should be a whole lot cheaper but to know how cheap I need to know what it would cost new.
Also what would be a normal length for a boka column (or is that just as long as possible)
NFI
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Re: Copper price and suitability 2"boka

Postby Sam. » Fri Jun 04, 2021 10:15 am

If they quoted for annealed you will find it is "soft" copper usually in a roll. Good for making coils for a boka in a small size.

Wasn't aware that they even did rolls in 2 inch?

What you want is "hard drawn" copper if this is for a column.

If you know any plumbers get them to order it as they will get the best price. Your big stores like reece, tradelink etc will rape you on the price if you just walk in off the street.
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Re: Copper price and suitability 2"boka

Postby LikkerSheWillLoveIt » Fri Jun 04, 2021 11:58 am

:text-+1: Stainless suppliers do the same.
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Re: Copper price and suitability 2"boka

Postby Dude » Fri Jun 04, 2021 3:58 pm

Swan plumbing in Brisbane sell 6m of 2 inch for $210 from memory.
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Re: Copper price and suitability 2"boka

Postby NFI » Fri Jun 04, 2021 4:55 pm

Sam. wrote:If they quoted for annealed you will find it is "soft" copper usually in a roll. Good for making coils for a boka in a small size.

Wasn't aware that they even did rolls in 2 inch?

What you want is "hard drawn" copper if this is for a column.


Yeah a coil of 2" would be a sight to see, and you could well be right that they don't.
The lady serving me said annealed and I went along with it however when I re-read the quotation it lists it as:
50.80OD x1.22WT HD STR CU Tube 6m AS1432
So I would have to say that the quote is actually for HD = hard drawn, str = straight and the 1.22mm wall thickness would make it type B

I have looked at other suppliers and the 2" comes in a type A,B and D as Hard drawn with the main difference being wall thickness A=1.63mm, B=1.22mm and c=0.91mm and so the respective working pressures go from 2310kpa for the A grade down to 1260 kpa with the D grade

There is a crowd in Victoria selling for just $185 but you can only pick it up down there (I'm QLD), every other price I have seen for a 6m length has started with a 3.
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Re: Copper price and suitability 2"boka

Postby Sam. » Fri Jun 04, 2021 5:45 pm

To the best of my knowledge the majority of household plumbing is B grade.

A grade is like you said for high pressure application like steam etc.

I don't think I would want to go below B grade...
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