To answer the question, how is copper different from bronze?, let us turn to the properties and origin of copper and bronze.

This is why copper is often used in electrical wiring. In your home, you may see wires made of plastic with copper wire inside.

A very long time ago, people began to think about how to make copper tools more durable. To achieve this, man began to combine copper with various other metals. More often, people experimented by mixing copper with tin, which resulted in bronze- one of the oldest alloys ever made by man.

Thus, bronze became known to humans a long time ago. In different parts of the world it was smelted in its own way. Thus, in West Africa, scientists found 40% tin in bronze items. At that time in Central Asia, the amount of tin in products very rarely exceeded 20%.

Nowadays, a little lead and zinc are added to bronze. With these additives it becomes more fluid and soft. This alloy can be used to make various items, for example: sculptures, medals, and even ship propellers.

What is the advantage of Viega bronze fittings over brass ones, which are sold in huge quantities here. And is it there?

Let's start with the most important thing - reliability. It's no secret that many people have already experienced the consequences of using low-quality fittings. And it’s good if the consequence of this is a small leak. What if there are 10 floors below you? And also expensive repairs. In this case, small savings can lead to significant costs. And how many nerves will be lost.

But brass fittings were used back in Soviet times and nothing leaked. That's how it is. But, unfortunately, that brass is now becoming increasingly difficult to find on sale. The market was filled with Chinese products. And the brass in these products does not always meet the standards. And some domestic and European manufacturers make their products in China. And everything would be fine if the quality of these parts was constantly monitored. But judging by the number of accidents that occur, this is not happening. So is it worth the risk? Moreover, such parts can collapse in 2-3, or even 5 years. Have you already done the repairs? And now everything is new.

And now about bronze fittings from Viega. This German company has more than a century of experience in casting technology. This allows us to ensure highest quality products. All bronze fittings are produced using our own modern automated equipment. The result is 100% quality. This means that when using such fittings in your system, you don’t have to worry about them. The bronze fitting will not experience corrosion cracking. Zinc that is not there will not be washed out. These will not get into your water. heavy metals, like nickel and lead.

Well, now about technical features bronze fittings from Viega. The external thread of the fittings is made conical. And the inner one is cylindrical. As a result, when twisting two parts by hand, you will not be able to twist them more than halfway. But then only from the key. This improves connection reliability with less compaction and less force. And the corrugation of the external thread simplifies the work even more.

Another plus of Viega bronze fittings. Nowadays, systems often contain components made from different materials. And this leads to electrochemical corrosion. To eliminate this phenomenon, it is enough to place one bronze separator between two various materials. And the transition from one system to another will be carried out safely.

Thus, to meet hygienic requirements, reliability and durability standards, it is difficult to do without bronze.

Well, the last argument in favor of bronze fittings is the price. Let's compare at least one position - nipple 1/2. The price of a Chinese fitting in our store is 40 rubles. IN retail stores approximately 50 rubles. And the price of a 1/2 bronze nipple is 60 rubles. Think and make your choice. It's up to you to decide.

It is a double or multi-component copper-based alloy, where the main element is zinc, sometimes lead, nickel, manganese, tin, iron or other elements are added. According to the metallurgical classification, it does not belong to bronze.

Methods for producing brass were already known to the ancient Romans; they smelted copper with zinc ore. Pure zinc was only used to make brass in 1781 in England, and in the 19th century the special color of this metal allowed it to be used as counterfeit gold, a practice that spread to many countries. Currently, this alloy is used to produce steel-brass bimetal - this is very convenient and guarantees resistance to rusting, abrasion, and in addition, the products are quite ductile. In addition to its industrial value, the so-called tombak (a type of brass) is used in the manufacture art products, accessories and insignia.

Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, aluminum, silicon, lead, beryllium and other elements. However, it is tin that is most often used to produce high-quality bronze. There are also alloys that use zinc and/or nickel. They are called spiater and, in fact, are a cheap analogue of bronze.

Man learned to smelt traditional tin bronze at the beginning of the Bronze Age and it was widely used for a very long time; even with the advent of the iron age, bronze did not lose its importance and (in particular, until the 19th century, guns were made from gunmetal The name "bronze" comes from the Italian bronzo, which in turn probably came either from the Persian word "berenj", meaning copper, or from the name of the city of Brindisi, from which this material was transported to Rome. Depending on the presence of a particular metal, there are tin, aluminum, beryllium and silicon bronzes. Based on this feature, bronze can be divided into two large groups- tin and tin-free. Arsenic bronze once even existed, but it did not become widespread.

Although bronze and brass are different materials, distinguishing them is quite difficult. So that even he could do this a common person, you will need both alloys, scales, or more complex methods using various chemical reagents.

In order to distinguish these alloys most in simple ways, you can weigh both elements or at least estimate their weight, bronze is heavier. In addition, brass is distinguished by its rich yellow tint.

When using complex methods that are the most reliable, you can heat the materials up to 600 degrees Celsius, after which zinc oxide with an ashen tint will appear on the brass, and no plaque will form on the surface of the bronze. When bent, a brass product will retain its shape, but a bronze product will break.

The difference between brass and bronze in the chemical component is that it is a copper-based alloy, where the main element is zinc, which is not an alloying element, sometimes with the addition of tin, less than zinc, otherwise traditional tin bronze is obtained. According to the metallurgical classification, brass does not belong to bronze.

If you have scrap brass or bronze and want to sell non-ferrous metal scrap at a competitive price without any problems. We will be happy to help you!

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It is no coincidence that the question of how to distinguish bronze from brass interests many, because products made from these copper alloys are very similar in appearance. Meanwhile, having decided to use products made from such materials for a specific purpose, one should distinguish between these two metals, since they have serious differences in many respects.

What are bronze and brass

Bronze and brass are alloys based on copper. Moreover, individual brands of such alloys are very similar in color, but their characteristics may have significant differences. In order to have a good understanding of the question of in which cases to use brass and in which to use bronze, it is necessary to become more familiar with their properties and chemical composition.

Chemical composition of tin bronzes (click to enlarge)

A material such as bronze has been used by humanity for several millennia, and its popularity is not decreasing. Initially, man learned to produce bronze alloys, the basis chemical composition which constitute . Later, with the development of the metallurgical industry, bronzes began to be produced, in which tin was replaced by other chemical elements - aluminum, lead, iron, silicon, beryllium, phosphorus, etc. Bronzes of the first type began to be called tin (they are often called bell bronzes, because they used to made bells), and the second - tinless. A change in the chemical composition of bronze leads to a change not only in its characteristics, but also in color.

Brass is also a copper alloy, but its main alloying element is zinc. The chemical composition of various brands of brass may contain elements such as nickel, lead, iron, tin, manganese, etc., but their content is insignificant and is only necessary to give the finished alloy certain characteristics. It is known that the ancient Romans knew how to produce brass, who obtained it by mixing molten copper and zinc ore. More effective technology production, which involves mixing molten copper and pure zinc, was developed in England, and this happened in 1781.

Physical properties plain brass (click to enlarge)

Physical properties of tin bronzes (click to enlarge)

For a long time, brass, which has a beautiful light golden color, has been used to make decorative items, including those that were given out as gold. However, manufacturers could not help but pay attention to other, no less significant characteristics of this alloy, which include high corrosion and abrasion resistance, ductility, combined with fairly high hardness and strength.

That is why brass, which also has good casting properties, began to be actively used not only for decorative purposes, but also for the manufacture of products successfully used in various industries industry.

Comparative characteristics

The basis of bronze and brass, as mentioned above, is the same metal - copper. The difference between these alloys lies in their chemical composition and, accordingly, in the characteristics that they possess. Naturally, the differences between these copper alloys also determine their areas of application.

Due to the fact that bronze is a stronger and more durable material when compared with brass, bells, sculptural compositions, elements of fencing, landscape and interior structures have been made from this material since ancient times. It is also important that many grades of this alloy are characterized by good fluidity in the molten state. This makes it possible to cast products of even very complex configurations from them. By adding various chemical elements to the chemical composition of bronze, you can change its color in a fairly wide range, which is also of great importance in the production of decorative products.

Brass differs from bronze in its higher ductility and, accordingly, lower strength and wear resistance, which limits the use of this alloy in many areas. In addition, brass is less resistant to aggressive environments, in particular salty sea water, which does not allow the use of brass products in shipbuilding, where bronze is used very actively and successfully.

There is also a noticeable difference in the color of these alloys and in their internal structure. Any experienced specialist can tell you how to distinguish brass from bronze: to do this, just look at the fracture of products made from these alloys. Brass has a lighter color when fractured and a distinct fine-grained structure, while bronze is easily identified by its dark brown fracture color and coarse-grained internal structure.

Summarizing all of the above, we can highlight the following differences between brass and bronze.

1. The main alloying element in bronze is tin, and in brass it is zinc. Moreover, both alloys are created on the basis of one metal – copper.
2. Bronze (even with a classic chemical composition) perfectly resists the effects of aggressive environments, in particular salty sea water. In order to improve the corrosion resistance of brass, additional alloying elements must be introduced into such an alloy.
3. The strength and anti-friction characteristics of bronze are also better than those of brass. Such qualities significantly expand the scope of which not only strong and durable decorative elements are made, but also critical parts for use in various industries. Brass is more often used for the production of bimetallic elements (“steel - brass”), which demonstrate high resistance to the formation and development of corrosion processes.
4. Bronze products have a dark brown color and coarse grain when broken, while brass products have a yellow-golden color and a fine-grained structure. This difference in color and internal structure makes it easy to determine what alloy the product is made from.
5. Bronze, like brass, although they are based on a metal such as copper, are divided into completely different categories. Thus, bronze can be tin or tin-free, while brass can be two- or multi-component.