I've got ~50 feet of 1/2" and ~20 feet of 1/4" hardline and about 30 pounds of flare fittings waiting to get installed on my '03 silverado.
off the top of my head, here's the obvious:
pros: -corrosion resistance -bling factor -relatively easy to work with (cut, bend, flare) -2500+ psi pressure ratings are conservative -you're less likely to cut/damage/blow out copper than nylon airline
cons: -price -nowhere as easy as nylon DOT airline to install -theft risk? (tweakers will steal ANYTHING made out of copper to bring to the scrap man. for example, someone stole $20 worth of copper drain valving off of a 10000+ gallon xylene storage tank somewhere here in the bay area about a year ago and NOBODY knows how they got away alive. i've also heard multiple tales of idiots who attempt to steal streetlight wiring, etc WHILE IT'S ENERGIZED and they get smoked.) -decent tubing bender = ~$150 (for one die size), 37 degree flare tool = ~$200 (i don't skimp on tools ever) -tube length has to be perfect as hardline can't get curved a little bit to take up the extra length
i've been putting off installing my hardline for a couple months now, but it's going to happen probably this weekend as my vacation is running out. i'll let you know how it goes...
|