What Are Pipe Fittings? And its types And Their Functions in Piping System.

Pipe fittings are used in the plumbing system to inner join pipes at different points. They are made of various materials such as plastic, brass, stainless steel and copper. Pipe fitting also comes in various sizes and shapes. Fittings are available in pipe fitting manufacturers.

Pipes transport various substances such as water, gas, and petroleum. These substances require different fitting materials. For corrosive substances like gas and petroleum, it is advisable to use stainless steel pipes and fittings. Water, in most cases, uses plastic pipes and fittings.

Types of pipe fittings

Pipe fittings normally come in various sizes and shapes. They take time to install and require various materials and tools. They play an essential role in piping and plumbing systems. Each pipe or tube needs its unique form of fitting, yet most pipe fittings have several qualities in common. The following are various types of pipe fittings and their functions.

Reducer pipe fittings.

There are two types of reducer pipe fitting, concentric and eccentric. The concentric reducer is cone-shaped with a wide opening at one edge, gradually decreasing towards the other end, reducing the pipe’s size. Eccentric has one edge at the same level with the pipe while the other edge slightly sags below the edge of the pipe. The sagged edge creates a depression that accumulates air. They are available in copper, PVC, stainless steel and plastic.

Function: the function of reducer pipe fittings is to reduce the speed of the flow.

Elbow pipe fittings.

Elbows fitting, as the word suggests, resemble the elbow of the hand. They have different bending angles, which can be 90, 45, or 22.5 degrees. The 45 degrees is mainly used in the water supply system, while 90 degrees is commonly used to connect pipes in deck drains, valves and water pumps.

Function: elbow pipe fittings are used to change the direction of flow between two pipes.

Coupling pipe fittings.

Coupling pipe fittings are of two types, slip and compression coupling. Compression coupling connects two pipes using rubber seals to seal both sides. Slip coupling has two pipes that slide into each other. It combines the pipes by sliding them through the inner part of the pipes up to some length.

Function: they are used to repair leaking or damaged pipes. They are also used to join two pipes with the same diameter.

Adaptor pipe fittings.

The adaptor fittings are mainly used on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and copper and steel pipes. There are two types of adaptor fittings, male and female adaptors. Male adaptor contains male threads and is used to make male threads on a plain pipe. The female adaptor has female threads.

Function: they are used to make male or female threads on a plain pipe.

Tee pipe fittings

As the word suggests, these pipe fittings are T-shaped. The T-shape represents three outlets which are arranged at a right angle to the main inlet. There are two types of tee pipe fittings, equal tee and unequal tee. Equal tee has a similar size of the three sides while unequal tee has either side not identical to the rest.

Function: they are used to bring together the flow of two inlets to one outlet. Besides, they are also used to supply substances in another direction.

Pipe fittings are important components in plumbing and piping systems. They are available in different materials. Most plumbing systems use stainless steel pipe fittings because they are resistant to corrosion. All type of fittings is available in pipe fitting manufacturers.