Copper tee ?

[Tōtōchtin]

I was about to try and bend the T part of my tee up at a slight angle to stop any pooling. Just as I'm getting ready to try, the thought of throwing away 45 bucks on a tee,added some doubts. I was planning on heating that section up with a pipe inside and pry it upwards. Anyone here tried that. I know copper is malleable but can't afford another tee right now or the time to get one shipped.
Tōtō

[Salt Must Flow]

If it's the vapor takeoff portion of the tee, I wouldn't bother trying to bend it. Any amount of pooling is bound to be so minimal that it's probably not going to be an issue at all. That portion of the tee is going to be so hot that it will likely vaporize any falling reflux that touches it anyway. If in the future you feel the need to make alterations, you can do that then. Right now, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[Tōtōchtin]

That's were this tee is located. There is about a 6" of pipe coming off the tee were I want to cap it when running the still as a flute. I believe that will cause the pooling.
Tōtō

[Salt Must Flow]

That's were this tee is located. There is about a 6" of pipe coming off the tee were I want to cap it when running the still as a flute. I believe that will cause the pooling.
Tōtō

Would you be using a dephlegmator? If so, what would cause pooling above the dephlegmator? I just don't see it being a problem at all.

[elbono]

You may be able to solder the pipe in "crooked" but that usually only happens if you don't want it.

You would probably have more success bending the pipe than the tee but that would still be difficult.

If you end up getting another tee try to find a sanitary tee they have slope built in for drainage. 1/4" per foot I believe.

https://www.supplyhouse.com/Elkhart-465 ... nitary-Tee

[Tōtōchtin]

The tee is for the VM take off, that 6 inches will cause condensation. I wish I had a vent tee but I got a wrot copper tee for the strength. This evening when it cools down I'll chuck that in a vise put a 6' 2inch pipe in it and give it a couple of jerks after heating it up a little. It will work, just being a little paranoid because I'm broke and it took 6 weeks to get here.
Tōtō

[Windy City]

The tee is for the VM take off, that 6 inches will cause condensation. I wish I had a vent tee but I got a wrot copper tee for the strength. This evening when it cools down I'll chuck that in a vise put a 6' 2inch pipe in it and give it a couple of jerks after heating it up a little. It will work, just being a little paranoid because I'm broke and it took 6 weeks to get here.
Tōtō

I would heat it a lot!
Heat where you want it to bend ie: the base of the cup for the branch.
But heat it to brazing temps (metal turning red) and it will bend very easy.
Let us know how it works out.

[Windy City]

The tee is for the VM take off, that 6 inches will cause condensation. I wish I had a vent tee but I got a wrot copper tee for the strength. This evening when it cools down I'll chuck that in a vise put a 6' 2inch pipe in it and give it a couple of jerks after heating it up a little. It will work, just being a little paranoid because I'm broke and it took 6 weeks to get here.
Tōtō

I would heat it a lot!
Heat where you want it to bend ie: the base of the cup for the branch, but all the way around the base.
But heat it to brazing temps (metal turning red) and it will bend very easy.
Let us know how it works out.

[Yummyrum]

I agree with Windy , heat it to red hot in the area you want to bend . If in the process you have also annealed the rest of the Tee , you’ll need to put pipes in all three ports . I’d probably secure a hose clamp around them to maintain shape while bending .
If you don’t , you will end up with a mangled piece of copper . Unless you anneal it ( heat it to cherry -red hot) it won’t bend .You’ll just deform the port .

BTW , I haven’t done this in a Tee but I have with an elbow.

[elbono]

I would worry about deforming the cups too. Dead soft copper you can flatten it with your fingers.

Full hard copper is still malleable but acts differently from soft (annealed) copper. Annealing it will make the job much easier but you don't have to get it glowing red to anneal it. Time and temperature is what does it. Get it good and hot for a few minutes and the whole tee will be annealed. Red hot takes a few fractions of a second to anneal, soldering temperatures takes a minute or more, room temp it will be soft in a few hundred years.

You can't really heat just one spot of copper, it conducts heat too well. Expect the whole tee being soft after annealing.

I would play with a short piece of pipe first to get a feel for how it acts. You can make it curve fairly easily. If you can get a piece to act as an anvil inside and hammer on the outside that spot will get thinner and longer. Play with a piece of pipe and you'll see what I'm talking about. You can make a flat piece curve by hammering on one side. You can do the same on other shapes like pipes

[shadylane]

First question, is the Tee already soldered on?
If it is, it's too late to try annealing, you would melt the solder joints.

I'd anneal the copper Tee.
Then stick two pieces of tubing in the Tee to use as levers to bend it a little.

Plan B.
Don't bend anything, lean the still over slightly to take care of any possible pooling in the fitting.

[elbono]

Plan B.
Don't bend anything, lean the still over slightly to take care of any possible pooling in the fitting.

That would be my plan A but that starts a whole different discussion...

[Yummyrum]

That would be my plan A but that starts a whole different discussion...

Indeed
viewtopic.php?p=7683367#p7683367

Heres a teaser

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