Pipe fittings are essential components in any system of pipework no matter what physical size and scope. Pipe (often called tube if small in diameter) is made in long lengths then cut to a size compatible with transportation and storage handling.
Those lengths might well require cutting again to a final length when the pipe is installed. Pipe will be required whenever there is a need to move a fluid – either liquid or gaseous – by continuous flow from one position to another. This could be pumping fuel out of a storage tank and delivering it to the burners within a furnace or it could be large scale like moving crude oil around a refinery for the process of turning it into a finished product like gasoline.
Choosing Your New Pipe
Having made a decision to install some new pipe for whatever purpose, the first step is to specify the pipe bore size and how much pipe you need. Then consider the environment within which your new line of pipe will be used. The main factor here being what is the fluid that will be inside the pipe? The conditions outside the pipe should also be factored in; for example if you are placing your pipe in a marine environment (such as the deck of an oil tanker), exposure to seawater spray and salty air might corrode the outside of the pipe.
From both these considerations, your choice of material for the pipe can be made. These range from plastic materials through the full range of metals (iron, steel, copper, brass and exotic alloys, etc).
What Else Will You Need?
Even if you do not need to join lengths of pipe together, you will need to secure one end of it to the supply point and the other end to the delivery point. It is quite likely that you will need to insert a valve into the line and, possibly a pressure gauge or other instrumentation. Whenever you are joining pipe (to itself or something else) you will need pipe fittings to complete the task.
Materials For Pipe Fittings
Basically, for each and every material that is made into pipe, someone will be making fittings in that same material. A general rule of thumb is that you do not mix dissimilar materials. Thus, if your application requires you to use brass pipe then Brass Pipe Fittings are the obvious choice to go with your pipe.
