Bending 15mm Copper Pipe

1. Normally accepted maximum bend radius is 4 x pipe diameter, so a minimum radius of 60 mm for 15 mm pipe.
2. You can bend 180 degrees with a spring. It can be awkward to get the spring out afterwards, but grease it a bit before use, then twist it to "tighten" the spring usually works.
3. The difficulty will be getting a smooth curve. You could use a wooden (MDF) former curved correctly. There'll be a bit of spring back, so make the radius of the former a bit smaller than the required curve.
4. While you can bend normal (half hard) 15 mm copper pipe with a spring, its much easier if you anneal it first. Just anneal the bit which is going to be curved.
5. With the right bender you can bend it with no difficulty at all. See if you can find someone with an old fashioned stand bender. Most of the modern hand held ones won't do 180 degrees.
 
"jeez" - the OP specifically said he was using a "bending spring".
 
annealing works well but given its a first time DIY user with a spring i'd hesitate to give such advice even with the qualifier to allow the annealing to cool off before manipulating the tube.

there's info we dont know - such as the required length of the u-bend legs? eg long legs and a 150mm span wont work with a spring.

nothing to stop the OP having a go and risk losing the copper & distorting the spring - this when he's trying to earn a few bob.

the guy in the video does a fair job but he's wrong.
when bending over your knee you keep your thumbs up tight to and touching your knee - not widely spread out, which can cause ripples.
 
I hope those saying you can't do a 180 with a spring are not in the trade as its one of first things you learned as an apprentice
 
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