BreakFree® Power Tube Expander by NAVAC (NTE11L)

Bryan and Eli show off the battery-powered BreakFree® Power Tube Expander by NAVAC (NTE11L). The BreakFree® Power Tube Expander won gold in the Hand Tools category of the Dealer Design Awards because it's fast, long-lasting, and compact, and it lets you make perfect swaged fittings in the field.
You can use the BreakFree® Power Tube Expander on copper lines between 3/8" and 1 1/8" in diameter. The tool also comes with instructions right on the side, which lets you know that you can only use it with soft or annealed copper, copper must be reamed or deburred, operation can be stopped at any time by pressing the sole button on the tool, and you can reset the tool at any time by pushing the slider forward.
The battery is also long-lasting, meaning you can get many uses out of the tool before you need to recharge it, and the tool also has a battery life indicator to let you know roughly how much longer you can use the tool before you need to recharge it.
This tool makes swaging very easy in the field, and it comes with a light to help you see the copper tubing in dark places or at night. To use the tool, merely ream or deburr your copper, insert the expander head into the copper, press the button, and hold the copper in place. The tool will expand the tubing and stop automatically once it has finished.
You can get the NTE11L at many supply houses or order it online at www.trutechtoo.... Be sure to use the code GETSCHOOLED at checkout for a discount!
Read all the tech tips, take the quizzes, and find our handy calculators at www.hvacrschoo....

[@coldfinger459sub0]

Excellent for large VRF installations when you have to swage 100 or 200 lines.

[@Silky_boi]

It’s a cool concept but nothing beats the good ol Hilmor expander

[@davejohnsonnola7908]

Recently gifted the Hilmor set which quite literally beats the hell out of my old skul stone age hammer swedges. However in my limited use of the Hilmor have found that the swages can easily made excessively loose. Curious to know the tolerances / automatic stop point of the Navac in comparison.

[@videos10]

Nothing beats the manual expander and a good ol hammer

[@davidbriz7066]

Does this leave a lot of metal shavings in the copper tubing?

[@jaysonhines1]

The battery does last forever. Installs everyday, and still going 3 months later with 50% left. Does not lose torque with lower battery capacity.

[@israelquintanilla2784]

Any maintenance you gotta do?

[@madzmadeit]

I have one, i dont like it. The release button is difficult to press and in very inconvenient location, easy to crack smaller diameter copper

[@ronhaefner7833]

Reminds me of my PEX A expander. Looks very handy and a lot easier to use than swaging tools.

[@MarlonAcosta]

Very nice tool. Definitely would get one.

[@davidmoss5186]

I’m not a plumber, but know how to work on copper pipes, my house has all pex, but man, I need this tool!!!!

[@YoungDaggerDick69]

This is for ac most plumbers use crimp fittings nowadays

[@lookItsJayden]

My 60$ hydro expander I got from eBay works just fine and I drop it off ladders all the time.

[@cesarmoore7996]

That’s why you need a $60 tool, your clumsy ass can’t take care of good tools

[@ЮтюбПетрович]

Absolutely 👍🏻. And you don't need to charge battery.

[@cesarmoore7996]

@@ЮтюбПетрович so I assume you don’t use battery powered drills or impacts?

[@ЮтюбПетрович]

@@cesarmoore7996 I use, but my battery not compatible with Navac.

[@cesarmoore7996]

@@ЮтюбПетрович why would you use a battery powered drill when you can use a screwdriver. With a screwdriver there’s no need to charge a battery

[@vincentgelles3805]

The laziness in our trade sometimes baffles me. To tools like that Zoomlock garbage, to those garbage press on refrigerant fittings, to this tool. I like Navac a lot and I have the Navac hydraulic swage tool which to me is easy enough. I haven’t gotten so lazy that I can’t just squeeze a handle a few times to make a swage or use a torch and flow some nitrogen to braze some joints. I change a lot of reversing valves and compressors and that zoomlock trash wouldn’t work in those situations anyway. I actually enjoy brazing and don’t ever intend to stop. Sorry for the rant I do really enjoy your channel and the education you provide.

[@markbeiser]

So too lazy to hold the pipe in a flaring block, and hammer a swage tool in, or use the lever arm style swage tool, but an electric one is just a step to far?😜 Now imagine you have a coil to replace above the ceiling in a downtown office/condo building in a metropolitan area that requires hot work permits if any brazing is involved. You can either do it the old way, pay the money for the permit and fireman to stand fire watch while you work, and hope that you don't run into scheduling issues coordinating thing, or you can break out a Zoomlock and get the job done with no hassles. Or you are working in a tight space between the top of a walk in box and roof deck, and there is spray foam, wires, and other flammables everywhere around where you need to put fittings together. It isn't the ideal thing for every piping job, but it definitely has its uses.

[@TheWiery322]

Nah thisll let you bust shit out for sure. This and the auto bender they have. All you old guys don't get it anymore. The market is changing and it's all about speed now. It sucks dick but that's how it is. Adapt or die.

[@mikechiodetti4482]

Nice tool!

[@metsrus]

any downside to using this?

[@numchux2]

designs like this will sometimes split your 3/8ths copper tubes, not sure about how well this one performs.

[@cesarmoore7996]

There are downsides to everything, that’s a silly question

[@metsrus]

@@cesarmoore7996 thank you captain obvious. but you could've been more helpful by pointing out the downsides.

[@cesarmoore7996]

@@metsrus or you could use your common sense 🤔

[@metsrus]

@@cesarmoore7996 I don't have any.

[@ebuzek3648]

$475 I'd rather use my spin twist. Granted it only goes to 7/8". I only paid about $80

[@SilverBackELTorro]

Wow. Outstanding

[@Z-Ack]

I had an older guy bring me a pipe expander but was an old model that had a ratcheting deal inside.. guy said it needed calibrated because it kept breaking the pipe.. well they dont calibrate.. they work until the motor or gears break. But wasent broken. Turned out this guy was trying to use it on pvc lines.. for whatever reason.. dunno what he did for a living using half inch and 3/8 inch pvc.. but he thought you could expand the pvc with it to make splices and then use the cement to weld em together.. kept saying the heater works but doesnt get hot enough or something. They dont have heaters, he was doing something to heat up the motor thinking it was a heater for the pipe.. lol. Is hard to tell an older guy that they been doing something pretty dumb...

[@ЮтюбПетрович]

Every one expender is "breakFree" if you prepare pipe right.

[@damnitdang]

2nd guy expanded it way too big guarantee it was way too loose

[@pablor9423]

Nice but too bulky. Manual Hilmor better

[@JahonCross]

Extremely pricey for something you'll be using once lol

[@cesarmoore7996]

Why would you only use it once?

[@billa7606]

Just bought one. I will only use during cooling season here in MI, but I don’t ever plan on buying copper fittings anymore. At $3-5 per fitting, it will pay for itself quickly. I always have spare line set laying around. Will save quickly having apprentice practice his brazing. Definitely not a tool for average homeowners.

[@Oscarbm1234]

Seems over engineered.

[@416RG]

$500 tool lol

[@cesarmoore7996]

Idiotic comment lol

[@videos10]

Comes with cocaine and prostitutes

[@mf7306]

Nice. Not that much faster than the hydraulic sweater I’ve had for 30 years. By the way, please take off those stupid gloves. You just show everyone you’ve never been on the field

[@videos10]

Damn millennials, wearing gloves, and eye protection.. I weld, do sheet metal work, never wear gloves