How To Connect Two Different Size Pvc Pipes

This entry was posted on May 27, 2016.

pvc fittings on white background schedule 40 and schedule 80 different kinds As a company with "PVC Fittings" in our name, we receive a lot of questions about fittings. These questions often have to do with pipe fittings sizes and dimensions, which makes sense considering those topics can exist confusing! Other questions are nigh the fittings themselves and what they are meant for. Compatibility and general pipe fitting noesis tin exist overwhelming to someone who is new to the world of PVC! If you are trying to expand your PVC noesis, you lot tin use this blog post as a pipe fitting report guide! This pipe fittings guide will outline all the major types of PVC fittings also as how and why to use them. This is a long mail service, so you can utilise the "Contents" department to navigate information technology!

>Pipe Fittings Sizes
>PVC Finish Types and Adhesives
>Piece of furniture Grade Fittings Vs. Regular Fittings
>PVC Fittings - Descriptions and Applications
---->Tees
---->Elbows
---->Crosses
---->Couplings and Unions
---->Caps and Plugs
---->Adapters (Female and Male)
---->Bushings
---->Nipples
---->Flanges

Pipe Fittings Sizes

pvc pipe sizes chard id od inner diameter outer diameter As mentioned in a previous blog post about PVC pipe outer bore, PVC pipe and fittings use a nominal system for standard sizing. This is so all parts with the same size in their proper noun volition exist compatible with each other. All i" fittings will fit on i" pipe, for instance. That seems pretty straightforward, right? Well here's the confusing part: the outer diameter (OD) of PVC piping is greater than the size in its proper name. That means that i" PVC pipe will have an OD that is greater than 1", and a 1" PVC plumbing equipment will have an even larger OD than the pipe.

The about important affair when working with PVC pipe and fittings is the nominal size. A ane" fitting will fit on a 1" pipe, regardless of whether either one is schedule twoscore or 80. So, while a one" socket plumbing equipment has an opening wider than 1" across, information technology will fit on a 1" pipe considering the OD of that piping is also greater than 1".

There may come a time when you lot want to use a PVC plumbing fixtures with non-PVC pipe. The nominal size, in this case, is non equally important as the OD of the pipe you are using. Equally long as the OD of the pipe is the aforementioned as the inner diameter (ID) of the plumbing equipment it is going into, they volition be uniform. However, a 1" fitting and a ane" carbon steel pipe may not be compatible with each other just considering they have the aforementioned nominal size. Be sure to practice your research earlier spending money on parts that may not exist compatible with each other!

Click here for more than information on PVC outer diameter.

PVC Stop Types and Adhesives

Without any adhesives, PVC piping and fittings volition fit together quite snugly. They volition not, however, be watertight. If you are going to have any fluids passing through your pipe, you will desire to ensure that at that place will be no leaks. There are several different means to practice this, and the method you choose will depend on what you are connecting.

PVC pipe itself does non usually have threaded ends. This is just i reason that almost PVC fittings have skid ends. "Slip" in PVC does not mean the connectedness volition be glace, but rather that the plumbing fixtures will sideslip right over the pipe. When putting pipe into a slip fitting, the connection may seem tight, but to ship whatever liquid media, it will need to be sealed. PVC cement seals pipe through a chemic reaction that bonds the plastic of ane part to another. For a guaranteed seal on a sideslip fitting, yous will need both PVC primer and PVC cement. The primer softens the inside of the fitting, preparing it to bond, while the cement keeps the two pieces stuck together tight.

Threaded fittings need to be sealed differently. The main reason people use threaded parts is and so that they tin be taken autonomously if necessary. PVC cement bonds pipe together, then if it is used on threaded joints, it volition brand a seal, but the threads will become useless. A proficient way to seal threaded joints and keep them working is to use PTFE thread seal tape. Just wrap it around the male threads a few times and it will keep the connection sealed and lubricated. And if you want to come up back to that joint for maintenance, the fittings will still exist able to unscrew.

Want to know about all the different PVC cease types and connections? Click here for more information on PVC end types.

Furniture Grade Fittings vs. Regular Fittings

Frequently our customers ask united states, "What is the difference between article of furniture grade fittings and regular fittings?" The reply is pretty elementary: our article of furniture course fittings have no manufacturer printing or bar codes. They are make clean white or blackness with nothing printed on them. This makes them peachy for applications where the pipe will be visible, whether or not information technology is really for furniture. The sizes are the aforementioned equally regular plumbing equipment sizes. For case, a 1" piece of furniture grade fitting and a 1" regular fitting will both fit on a ane" piping. Also, they are merely equally durable every bit the residue of our PVC fittings.

Click here for more information on our furniture class pipe and fittings.

PVC Fittings - Descriptions and Applications

The following is a list of some of the most normally used PVC fittings available. Each entry contains a clarification of the fitting also as possible uses and applications for it. For more than data on any of these fittings, visit their respective product pages. It'southward important to retrieve that each fitting has a countless amount of iterations and uses, so proceed that in mind when shopping for fittings.

Tees

PVC tees are a fitting with 3 ends; ii in a straight line and one on the side at a 90-degree angle. Tees let a line to exist split up into two dissever lines with a 90-degree connection. As well, tees tin can connect two lines into ane main line. They are also often used for PVC structures. Tees are an extremely versatile plumbing fixtures that are some of the most widely used parts in plumbing. Almost tees have slip socket ends, but threaded versions are bachelor.

Schedule 40 PVC tee connected to pipe on white background

Elbows

If you need your piping system to get turn or get around something in the mode, you will need to curve your pipeline around with PVC elbows. Elbows are most commonly available in 90-degree angles and 45-degree angles, so your pipeline can be directed however yous desire it. Side elbows are a slightly different piece that are normally used equally corners in projects such as canopies, tents, displays, and boxes. They have three ends instead of two. Most elbows have slip socket ends, only threaded versions are available.

schedule 40 PVC elbow fitting 45 and 90 degree on white background

Crosses

Crosses are a slightly less common type of fitting that join four pipe sections. They have 4 slip connections (S ten Due south x S ten South) that run into at ninety-degree angles, forming a "plus" shape. PVC cantankerous fittings are usually used when edifice framework out of PVC pipe. Crosses tin add together a great deal of structural integrity to a framework. They tin can too be used to split fluid menstruation in different directions.

schedule 40 pvc cross fitting connected to pipe on white background

Couplings and Unions

Couplings are one of the almost uncomplicated (and inexpensive) types of PVC fittings. They are a small role that connects or "couples" 1 part to another, usually permanently. They can connect pipe to pipe and piping to fitting. Some of them even reduce so y'all tin can connect a modest pipe to a large pipe or vice versa. Couplings are bachelor with slip or female-threaded ends, depending on what you need them for.

schedule 40 pvc coupling fitting connected to pipe

Unions, like couplings, connect things, but they are a not-equally-permanent solution that tin be hands taken apart. PVC unions are often used in building temporary structures, such as tent supports, and tin can exist taken apart when the construction is no longer needed. They feature a ring in the center that separates the two ends from each other, allowing for like shooting fish in a barrel deconstruction and maintenance.

schedule 40 pvc union fitting connected to pipe

Caps and Plugs

Caps take a very simple job: finish the flow. They are put on the finish of a pipeline that does not need to be connected to another pipe. They can stop a pipeline that you plan on expanding later or give you piece of cake access to a system when needed. They tin also add a finished look to pipage in PVC building projects. Caps get around or outside the pipe, and so they can accept either a socket or female-threaded end.

schedule 40 pvc cap fitting on pipe

Plugs are like caps, simply instead of stopping the flow in a pipe, they stop the catamenia in a fitting. Because of this, plugs go within the plumbing equipment. This means they either accept a spigot or male-threaded cease.

schedule 40 pvc plug fitting in tee with pipe

Adapters (Female and Male)

Adapters, sometimes called reducing couplings, are a versatile fitting. These fittings are designed to modify the stop type of a pipe, allowing it to connect to fittings and pipes of many sizes. They can accept threaded or sideslip socket ends to connect to an endless variety of pipes and fittings. Adapters can be either male- or female-threaded, besides equally socket or spigot.

schedule 40 pvc adapter fitting connected to pipe and bushing

Bushings

Bushings are a lot like adapters, but with a focus on connecting pipes of dissimilar diameters by reducing the fitting. (Bushings cannot reduce pipe.) Bushings are too typically threaded, which sets them apart from other types of fittings. This allows for different kinds of connections and makes maintenance and pipeline customization easier. Bushings are often seen in landscaping and aquaculture applications because they piece of work improve with water than metal fittings that may rust.

schedule 40 pvc bushing fitting connected to elbow and adapter

Nipples

There are some situations in which two female ends in a PVC system need to be connected. The fitting for this job is a nipple. A nipple is a fitting with ii male-threaded ends. Considering a fitting such as this requires a tight fit, they are well-nigh commonly made with schedule 80 PVC. They are withal compatible with schedule 40 parts, however.

schedule 80 pvc nipple fitting attached to two bushings

Flanges

Flanges are fittings that allow the zipper of accessories and other items to pipage. They can also increment the force of pipe. The most common blazon of flange is found at the base of a toilet. Flanges are a disc-like fitting that create a tight seal by pressing two surfaces together with bolts, clamps, edges, or a compressive force. Most flanges, nonetheless, utilise bolts to join the ii surfaces together. PVC flanges are available with sideslip or threaded ends. Because of the forcefulness required of flanges, they are normally made with schedule 80 PVC.

schedule 80 pvc flanges connected with bolts and gasket

These are simply a handful of the more popular PVC fittings. If you continue to learn about PVC pipe and fittings, you lot will stumble upon many other types of fittings and different varieties of the ones covered here.