What are fittings?

Fittings often referred to as adaptors, are used in plumbing & pipeline systems to connect multiple sections of a pipe and thus adapt them to different shapes and sizes that facilitate and regulate the fluid flow.

Pipe fittings are primarily used in plumbing, enabling easy manipulation of the direction of the water flow. They are also used across commercial and non-commercial settings to enable easy conveyance of liquid, gas or oil.

Types of fittings

There are different types of fittings available. These include but are not limited to:

• Adaptor: Adaptor fittings are used to turn pipes with no special ends into male or female threads.
• Cross: Cross pipe fittings look like a cross and have four openings in four directions, capable of connecting four different pipes and creating a common meeting point.
• Coupling: Coupling fittings are responsible for connecting two different pipes of the same diameter, and can be used when the pipes break or form a leakage.
• Union: Very similar to a coupling, the only difference between union pipe fittings and coupling is that the former can be removed at convenience.
• Elbow: Elbows or ‘ells’ change the direction of the pipeline system typically at a 45-degree or 90-degree bend.
• Tee: This type of fitting looks like the letter ‘T’ and has one inlet with two outlets, arranged at a perpendicular position to the inlet.
• Reducer: Reducer pipe fittings have a gradually decreasing size across their length and reduce the water flow from large to small.

Applications of fittings

Fittings are extremely versatile where their application is concerned. They can be found wherever pipes & pipelines exist. As such, pipe fittings have found their use across almost all industries, including chemical, petrochemical, oil & gas, food processing, dairy, power supply, paper manufacturing, marine, irrigation, and so on. They are widely used across residential as well as municipal spaces for ventilation and sanitation.