Will a dent in Onion head or column effect results?

[WithOrWithoutU2]

Update: Peter at Oakstills replied to my 3 suggestions and he said whatever I choose as he wanted me to be satisfied. So I opted to for a new one. He said he’s sending it out ASAP.

Good stuff U2, good result and I think you made the right choice on replacing it for new onion.

I could have lived with the dent, but like several here have said, it would have bothered me ever time I used it.

[WithOrWithoutU2]

Good stuff U2, good result and I think you made the right choice on replacing it for new onion.

I could have lived with the dent, but like several here have said, it would have bothered me ever time I used it.

[Copperhead road]

Is he requesting you ship the damaged one back?

He said it would be too much hassle for me and them, so he said not to worry about sending it back. I would image there is no way he could resale with the dent.

Now you have 2 onions, run the dint lol

[WithOrWithoutU2]

Is he requesting you ship the damaged one back?

He said it would be too much hassle for me and them, so he said not to worry about sending it back. I would image there is no way he could resale with the dent.

Now you have 2 onions, run the dint lol

A two onion column. Hmmm

[Yummyrum]

Is he requesting you ship the damaged one back?

He said it would be too much hassle for me and them, so he said not to worry about sending it back. I would image there is no way he could resale with the dent.

Now you have 2 onions, run the dint lol

You so have to do that test


……and I bet your mail box is full of offers for the dented one

Seriously though , great outcome and good customer service .

[Born_Free]

I have made many orders from Peter at Oak Stills and can only say good things about them. Glad it worked out.

[Copperhead road]

I recon yummy is right everyone will want the dint lol

[WithOrWithoutU2]

Is he requesting you ship the damaged one back?

He said it would be too much hassle for me and them, so he said not to worry about sending it back. I would image there is no way he could resale with the dent.

Now you have 2 onions, run the dint lol

You so have to do that test


……and I bet your mail box is full of offers for the dented one

Seriously though , great outcome and good customer service .

LOL. I can imagine you might be right.

I am certainly curious how it might work with the double onion.

And yes, good outcome. I was very impressed with how easy Oakstills was to work with to resolve it. I' definitely have no worries about ordering from them again.

[MooseMan]

That's good customer service, hats off to Peter and Oakstills.

The dented one might make a good mini still for gin...

[Copperhead road]

I see on there website they have a huge range of gear. I could not find the onion by itself or did you buy the potstill with it mate?
Was curious on price and what gauge copper they are made from,

[WithOrWithoutU2]

I see on there website they have a huge range of gear. I could not find the onion by itself or did you buy the potstill with it mate?
Was curious on price and what gauge copper they are made from,

https://oakstills.com/products/copper-h ... 2750412069 It says it's 1.5mm thick. $328 usd for the 3" I got.

[Deplorable]

I still think you should try to remove the dent with water and compressed air. You'd be surprised how easily it will pop out.
But only after you run some experiments.
dented onion
onion without a dent
two onions stacked in the vapor path.

[Copperhead road]

If it’s a thick gauge I don’t think it will pop out that easily. Is it at thick as 4” copper pipe??

[NorthWoodsAb]

If it’s a thick gauge I don’t think it will pop out that easily. Is it at thick as 4” copper pipe??

You would be surprised what few psi of air pressure will pop back out, especially if the metal hasn't creased and it's not a large flat surface, the metal wants to return to original form. We popped a steel 120 tonne cement silo back into shape one time that had imploded because vacuum had been applied due to a faulty valve. It was sketchy as fuck, I won't lie about that, my very first experience in tank repair, could not use water to hydro swell it, water mixed with bulk cement that would have created a whole new set of problems. Tank passed inspection afterwards and we came nowhere close to MWP of the vessel. Type L copper pipe has a burst pressure of 720 psi i seem to recall. I never doubt the integrity of the material, steel, aluminum, copper in this case. I doubt the welds that hold it together. I'd be surprised if your onion took more than 80 psi to pop back into shape. But fill it with water first, that gives you a huge safety factor.
Cheers

Edit: above I said 80 psi. Should have been 30psi. I've had most tanks pop back at 25-30 psi. If working with pressure rated vessels the tag tells you safety factors. Your onion won't have that rating, much like fuel and hyd tanks I've done, but it's relatively low pressure you're dealing with.
Yummy had a good suggestion to heat dinted area first to annealing it.

[Copperhead road]

I had no idea that air pressure could pop out metal so easily NorthWood. My bad
Obviously this is something he would have to take the onion to a professional place to have done???
Not a BIY project for the standard punter

[SW_Shiner]

A small home air compressor, or even a bike tyre pump should be good to use. Provided you have the means to seal it, like a cap for each end, one with a a means to connect to the hose. Easiest way would probably be drill a hole in a cap to fit a schrader valve.

[WithOrWithoutU2]

I still think you should try to remove the dent with water and compressed air. You'd be surprised how easily it will pop out.
But only after you run some experiments.
dented onion
onion without a dent
two onions stacked in the vapor path.

I don't have the fittings or tools at the time. I'd have to borrow an air compressor or power washer which is possible. As has been pointed out, it does have a 1/2 female port to add a thermometer . So getting a 1/2 NPT male adaptor for air/water is possible.

[NZChris]

Search the net for hydroforming.

[Yummyrum]

Just a few things I’ve observed .

The power of compressed air and annealed copper .

When I made the flanges for my Flute , I made rings of 1/4” copper pipe , brazed the ends together and hammered it flat .

When I went to braze the ring to the 4” module , I noticed that as the ring got hit and annealed ( softened ) , the air that had been trapped and compressed when I hammered it flat caused the ring to bulge where the annealing had started .

So I would strongly suggest hitting the area with an Oxy torch to soften the copper before attempting to pump it as the copper will have work hardened during the manufacturing

[quadra]

Well glad that worked out and kudos to Oakstills, I would have settled on the combined cost of shipping the replacement and return and had a good story about the dent
I imagine you might have a few members interested in the old one too! Before you dispose of it it might be worthwhile to do a pair of runs with the two of them...strictly for educational purposes... I bet you a good bottle nobody will be able to tell each apart.

Thanks for the copper porn

Copper will work harden suprisingly hard and can annneal quite easily but requires a lot of heat to become full soft, tapping out a shape like that will be a mess if you do not know how to do metalwork or have the tools... a good autobody tech who does paintless dent repairs would be a better bet and they might even think twice. Have a good look inside the piece before you tackle it, there may be an unfinished seam inside where the upper and lower sections were joined, it might heat differently and be more prone to stress cracks because of the difference between the base metal and material they brazed it with... if the dent is near that area it needs to be a fully annealled. Thin copper does not need a ton of heat.. a soldering touch will easily overheat it. And should air cooled vs being quenched in a liquid

[6 Row Joe]

It would be interesting to see what a good PDR tech could do with that. Many auto body techs weld copper nails to the dented mail and use a slide hammer to pull out the dent. That might be another option.