Difference between downspout crimper and duct/stove pipe crimper?

[Larry Dawson]

I'm redoing a couple of our downspouts to accommodate rain barrels. I
can't find a downspout crimper locally. Guy at Menards insisted the
duct/stove pipe crimper they have is the same thing. It appears to be
the same as the Malco downspout crimper I found online, both are
5-bladed. In looking over Malco's site they have identical looking
crimpers for both purposes. The difference I could find is in the
throat depth, 31.8mm for the downspout crimper, 41.3mm for the round
pipe crimper. That's a big difference in the lenth of the 'crimp'. Any
opinions on whether the one I bought will work as well on the
downspouts? Yep, I know, grab one and see, but I haven't cut or pulled
any down yet, want to have all the stuff I need before I start.

Thanks for your help.
Larry Dawson

[DT]

In article <2009062318143716807-ldawson@macosxcom>, lda...@macosx.com
says...

I use my duct crimper for downspouts, it works OK. It doesn't make the
same kind of crimp as the factory, you will notice the factory
downspouts have heavily indented corners which really helps them slide
together. But it does the job and the downspouts fit together. It helps
if you crimp next to the corner, then twist the pliers to help indent
the corner. The longer length on the duct crimper makes for a more
gradual taper and a tighter fit, I believe.

--
Dennis

[Phisherman]

On Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:14:37 -0500, Larry Dawson <lda...@macosx.com>
wrote:

I can not recall where I saw the plans, but I made a metal crimping
tool from three metal scraps and bolt/lock nut. Does an equal job as
a $40 specialty tool and lasts forever. Great for metal ductwork or
rainspouts. For downspouts I use aluminum rivets to secure them in
place.