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Stainless tube bending


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Anyone got a recommendation for a tube bending company or got any bending gear themselves and able to do some bending for me? More than happy to pay. 

I want to make an arch for some solar panels on the back of the boat. 2 frames made with a 6m length each frame, 90 degree bends 1.6m from each end leaving a 2.8m top section between the bends. 

Will have 2 x 150w pannels around 10kg each. 

I have some 6m lengths of 25mm 1.2mm wall thickness stainless. Hopefully that's strong enough?

20211019_224355.jpg

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9 hours ago, B00B00 said:

Anyone got a recommendation for a tube bending company or got any bending gear themselves and able to do some bending for me? More than happy to pay. 

I want to make an arch for some solar panels on the back of the boat. 2 frames made with a 6m length each frame, 90 degree bends 1.6m from each end leaving a 2.8m top section between the bends. 

Will have 2 x 150w pannels around 10kg each. 

I have some 6m lengths of 25mm 1.2mm wall thickness stainless. Hopefully that's strong enough?

20211019_224355.jpg

Give Sam a call 027 447 5017.

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Thanks for all the info guys.

Yeah I did think that tube might not be up to it but I already had the tube kicking around home so might just give it a go if the bending is not too expensive. I was going to make the bends less than 90 degrees so the top was actually forced into a slight bend to help stabilise it a bit. If it doesn't work I can make a proper MKII version. 

It needs to be light enough that I can remove it easily for racing. It's just s summer cruise temporary setup. 

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51 minutes ago, Black Panther said:

I wrestled with this and finally went for thin flexible panels on top of the canvas Bimini. The cost of the extra framing negated the extra cost of the panels.

The economics change when you consider that the flexible panels arent nearly as efficient and will most likely need to be replaced within 5 years

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If you remind me tomorrow Booboo i might have a frame already bent up that could work. The old Bimini top off the flybridge of the launch when we converted to hard top might be close to your measurements.

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How are you planning to connect it at the base?

For my 1020 I made a 3-panel arch that matches the curve of the cabin top - which is where it lives most of the time. The three panels are connected in parallel, so at least one panel is producing well even with some shading from the boom.

The curve is intended to also work as an arch behind the back stay, supported on posts from the pushpit. But I haven't got around to building the supports yet.

Downsides so far: sharp corners on the panels; less standing room on the cabin top; doesn't provide summer shade

Must get around to finishing the project....

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I made this out of 25mm tube, it flexes a little but strong enough to winch a small outboard up. I would be reluctant to go much bigger without increasing the tube size. The pipe bender I used needed a 2m piece of scaffold to get enough purchase to bend the tube.

 

20210330_133244_resized_2.jpg

completed arch.jpg

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