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I am sorry if there is an introductions area, I didn't see one, nor did the intro message I received mention one.

I am a plumber for a large plumbing and heating firm. I also do some heating work. I do almost all service work as well as all of the drain snaking calls.

At this point you're probably thinking, "Get the heck out of here you American.". I came here for one question which few if any American plumbers and answer.

Who makes the best lever bender? I see that all of the videos about bending copper pipe are made by you Brits. I have a draper 34212 lever bender which works well since I have fixed the inherent problems, but the movable arm is slightly bent towards the 1/2"/15mm side from bending larger pipe.

If it's a crap shoot I understand, you guys probably have more "brand names" not made in Asia than we do.
 
Hi Skoronesa
I have a Rothenberger bender since I started out in 08. Lots of plumbers I know have a Hilmor.
Cheers
 
Here you go buddy with out doubt the best pipe benders in my opion welcome to the forum . cheers kop

Screenshot_2017-11-21-05-21-48.png
 
Another vote for Benditnow. Small firm, so you'll probably get more sense from them than the others if you explain what you are bending, as not sure how similar your pipes are to ours. Modern Hilmors are made in the far east, and not as good as the old ones.
 
If it's a crap shoot I understand, you guys probably have more "brand names" not made in Asia than we do.

Unfortunately UK brand names like Hilmor are now also made in Asia with the same consequences. Benditnow as referenced earlier use original Hilmor tooling ( which is why "older plumbers" love them), I should know I wasted my money on three other benders to get around to buying one one.
 
Bend it now for me (old hilmor)
 
Who makes the best lever bender? I see that all of the videos about bending copper pipe are made by you Brits. I have a draper 34212 lever bender which works well since I have fixed the inherent problems, but the movable arm is slightly bent towards the 1/2"/15mm side from bending larger pipe.

If it's a crap shoot I understand, you guys probably have more "brand names" not made in Asia than we do.

Coincidently, I watch the videos of a plumber in Dartmouth, Mass on Youtube, and (no offence to UK plumbers) all I have to say is that his skill levels are way above what an average UK plumber would have. He does general plumbing, wells, gas, oil, heating, air conditioning, threaded iron pipe fitting. All of which he is licenced for, or he can't work in any of these fields.

But the one thing that surprised me is that in his 100+ videos, I have never seen him bend a pipe. All bends are soldered elbows.

Watch this guy's videos (link below). You will be surprised at what he turns his hand to, and he's a bit of a character. Even seasoned hands can learn a lot from him.

steven lavimoniere
 
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Coincidently, I watch the videos of a plumber in Dartmouth, Mass, and (no offence to UK plumbers) all I have to say is that his skill levels are way above what an average UK plumber would have. He does general plumbing, wells, gas, oil, heating, air conditioning, threaded iron pipe fitting. All of which he is licenced for, or he can't work in any of these fields.

But the one thing that surprised me is that in his 100+ videos, I have never seen him bend a pipe. All bends are soldered elbows.

Watch this guy's videos. You be amazed at what he turns his hand to, and he's a bit of a character. Even seasoned hands can learn a lot from him.

steven lavimoniere

Very good old chap one thing that gets me is he wipes his joint too soon after soldering which spreads the excess solder around the pipe / fitting which makes them look a lot worse
 
Very good old chap one thing that gets me is he wipes his joint too soon after soldering which spreads the excess solder around the pipe / fitting which makes them look a lot worse

Glad to see I'm not the only fan. ;)

Yes, I have thought the same. Gives the pipe a silver coating. Would usually look better if he hadn't wiped it at all, but I think he's too much of a perfectionist to leave it as it is.

She's a leaker, mama!! NEXT LEVEL!!!!!!!!!!! :):)
 
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I have Hilmor also. But I am still looking for a decent reasonably priced floor standing one.
 
Coincidently, I watch the videos of a plumber in Dartmouth, Mass on Youtube, and (no offence to UK plumbers) all I have to say is that his skill levels are way above what an average UK plumber would have. He does general plumbing, wells, gas, oil, heating, air conditioning, threaded iron pipe fitting. All of which he is licenced for, or he can't work in any of these fields.

But the one thing that surprised me is that in his 100+ videos, I have never seen him bend a pipe. All bends are soldered elbows.

Watch this guy's videos (link below). You will be surprised at what he turns his hand to, and he's a bit of a character. Even seasoned hands can learn a lot from him.

steven lavimoniere

Maybe, someone forgot to tell him,
Joints LEAK, Bends DON'T!
 
Maybe, someone forgot to tell him,
Joints LEAK, Bends DON'T!

Naa they have a different hardness of copper so impractical to bend and some places don't allow it in there code
 
There seem to be several types of copper used in pipes in The States going by the videos. Steve Laimoniere who makes the vids mentioned above is always wary when plumbing on a property with type M copper pipes, which seem to be the cheapest and least durable of the different types.

When working on systems with type M, he often has to cut the copper pipe a way back, because type M seems to go thin. He has to cut back until he finds pipework that hasn't thinned. He often says that places with type M throughout will need to be re-piped soon for the same reason. Also some of the places he works on draw their water from wells which also seems to be bad for the copper.
 
Thank you all for the suggestions, looks like the benditnow hand bender will be it.

I guess you guys know as little about our plumbing as we do about yours.

That steve guy does seem to be more skilled than most but not really an oddball. Most one man(plus apprentice) operations around here are just like that, do it all types. When you are someones plumber/heating guy they expect you to be able to service it all. The company I work for has a couple guys with the same expansive skill set though we have dedicated roles and rarely perform outside of them.

Bending pipe versus using fitings is a cost comparison, Labor isn't cheap, fittings are faster for most.

Bending copper pipe(water PIPE) is a rare thing here in the states. By some codes it is illegal outright, others require at least a K or L thickness pipe. M is for heating. Some places allow it for potable water but it is almost always frowned upon. Truth be told it's really a matter of water quality, where I live we don't have to worry about sediment erosion or pinholing much at all. The pipes get a good inner coating of lime and at that point you might as well have cement pipes. Leaving flux on or antifreeze that has gone sour is much more of a concern. Galvanic reaction is a common problem.

Copper tubing(for HVAC) is very commonly bent, either by hand or with a ratcheting bender. ACR(Air conditioning & Refrigeration) tubing is K thickness, the thickest.

As for whether you can bend it physically, Nothing thinner than L or K can be bent, even if you anneal it without kinking or creasing. M and baseboard finntube(which is terribly thin) can not be bent. Baseboard finntube can't even be used with press fittings. Most L is Hard temper. Most if not all K is at least semi-soft which is sometimes called bend-quality. If it is a straight stick sold as ACR it can be bent with a bender but not by hand without kinking it. Rolls are always soft copper. Some brands of L sticks(for potable) are bendable, namely Mueller streamline or Wolverine brass. Those two brands have a long history and are favored by older plumbers, many of whom have bent or still bend hard pipe.

Where I live there are at least 3 master plumbers who actively bend copper pipes. This is uncommon in the states, but around here we have a long history of highly skilled tradesmen.
 
Dont think you will regret it they form a good ripple free bend and last along time if treated with respect the only other bender i would consider would be a Record bender . Regards kop
 
Thank you all for the suggestions, looks like the benditnow hand bender will be it.

I guess you guys know as little about our plumbing as we do about yours.

That steve guy does seem to be more skilled than most but not really an oddball. Most one man(plus apprentice) operations around here are just like that, do it all types. When you are someones plumber/heating guy they expect you to be able to service it all. The company I work for has a couple guys with the same expansive skill set though we have dedicated roles and rarely perform outside of them.

Bending pipe versus using fitings is a cost comparison, Labor isn't cheap, fittings are faster for most.

Bending copper pipe(water PIPE) is a rare thing here in the states. By some codes it is illegal outright, others require at least a K or L thickness pipe. M is for heating. Some places allow it for potable water but it is almost always frowned upon. Truth be told it's really a matter of water quality, where I live we don't have to worry about sediment erosion or pinholing much at all. The pipes get a good inner coating of lime and at that point you might as well have cement pipes. Leaving flux on or antifreeze that has gone sour is much more of a concern. Galvanic reaction is a common problem.

Copper tubing(for HVAC) is very commonly bent, either by hand or with a ratcheting bender. ACR(Air conditioning & Refrigeration) tubing is K thickness, the thickest.

As for whether you can bend it physically, Nothing thinner than L or K can be bent, even if you anneal it without kinking or creasing. M and baseboard finntube(which is terribly thin) can not be bent. Baseboard finntube can't even be used with press fittings. Most L is Hard temper. Most if not all K is at least semi-soft which is sometimes called bend-quality. If it is a straight stick sold as ACR it can be bent with a bender but not by hand without kinking it. Rolls are always soft copper. Some brands of L sticks(for potable) are bendable, namely Mueller streamline or Wolverine brass. Those two brands have a long history and are favored by older plumbers, many of whom have bent or still bend hard pipe.

Where I live there are at least 3 master plumbers who actively bend copper pipes. This is uncommon in the states, but around here we have a long history of highly skilled tradesmen.
I'd be more worried about what was in the water if I was in Flint, MI !
 
I'd be more worried about what was in the water if I was in Flint, MI !

Yeah, that was really dumb of them. Unfortunately it is a common thing here in the states. Lots of leaded brass fittings and even lead service lines. Sometimes we still have to connect to them.

A municipality near me still has wooden mains under the streets. They just repaved the main drag as well, granite curbs and all. They have to put out something like 375 psi at the pump house to get 75 at the houses because it leaks so bad. Some of our guys had to redo a connection off it to a house. They had to shut half the town down to do it. The old hole just got a wooden plug pounded in.

Luckily we have very basic water so the lead doesn't leach out.
 
Thanks for your extensive answers, Skoronesa. Never hears of wooden water mains, but Googled it, and seem quite common in the States. Some are just hollowed out tree trunks, others look like very long barrels with wood fillets and steel bracing around the outside. Can't imagine how much they must leak.
 
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