It can be challenging to determine which one to choose if you are looking for the right hydraulic fitting. Among the many fitting types you will come across during your search are swaging, one-piece, and reusable fittings.
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This post will look at the three fitting types, their differences, and if they are interchangeable.
Swaging is one of the many forging processes used in manufacturing hydraulic fittings. Most often than not, it&#;s a cold working process and involves altering the fittings&#; dimensions using die stamping. A few manufacturers employ hot working.
Hydraulic fittings made via this procedure are what we call Swaging Fittings &#; also, more simply, Swaged Fitting.
These fittings follow the MSS SP 95 standard, set by the Manufacturers Standardization Society. They come in different materials, including stainless steel, alloy steel, and carbon steel.
Swaging fittings are suitable for flared hydraulic hoses and pipes. These pipes and hoses are mainly designed to work with hydraulic fittings of this type.
Usually, you need a swaging machine to install swaging fittings on hydraulic hoses. The machine will compress the hose to fit the fitting, so one advantage of swaging fittings is that they connect with hoses of different sizes.
But a notable factor driving the popularity and adoption of swaging fittings is the price. They are relatively less expensive than other popular hydraulic fitting types.
One reason why swaging fittings are more affordable is that they are available in smaller sizes. Also, they come in more end sizes, even though they fit with almost any hose.
One-piece hydraulic fittings come with a pre-assembled shank and ring out, forming a single piece. They are different from two-piece hydraulic fittings with individual shanks and ring-outs.
With one-piece hydraulic fittings, you don&#;t have to worry about the collar slipping out of the alignment &#; one of the common causes of flange leakage. Also, there&#;s a low risk of matching the ferrule with the wrong hydraulic fitting type.
Like other fitting types, one-piece hydraulic fittings are mainly available in stainless steel and carbon steel. These hydraulic fittings are the go-to for quick assembly situations and basic applications.
Since the shank and ring out are one, you don&#;t need any specialized installation tool. It is possible to tighten them with your fingers, like rotating a nut. For this reason, some people refer to them as Fingertight Fittings.
However, not all one-piece fittings require rotating the fitting to tighten. There are also No Twist one-piece fittings, which come with an extra ferrule that snaps into the nut.
Such No-Twist one-piece fittings that don&#;t require rotating come in materials other than stainless steel and carbon steel. Most of them come in plastic materials like polyetheretherketone (PEEK).
Generally, there are better options than one-piece fittings for critical and high-pressure situations. In recent times, some manufacturers have attempted to produce high-pressure one-piece fittings. While some may work, a two-piece fitting is always a more reliable and safer alternative to a one-piece fitting for critical situations.
Reusable fittings are exactly what the name says: Reusable. They often work as temporary replacements for damaged hydraulic fittings during on-site repairs. But this doesn&#;t mean they are not reliable. Reusable fittings still form a strong seal against the hydraulic hose when tightened.
We call them reusable fittings because you can use them many times with different hoses. Hence, they come in different sizes to match different hydraulic hose types. Other names for this type of fitting are Attachable Fittings and Field-installable Fittings.
The most common materials for reusable fittings are brass and steel. In particular, the fitting will feature a brass component with a steel body. Such sturdy materials enable them to withstand low to medium pressures.
Since they are temporary replacements, reusable fittings are relatively easy to install. Unlike many other fittings types, you don&#;t need a crimping machine for the installation. You only need a wrench.
Reusable fittings are must-haves for any hydraulic system to avoid downtimes. Rather than shutting down the entire system for a basic repair, installing reusable fittings will keep the system running.
The primary difference between swaging fittings and one-piece fittings is their installation process. For reusable fittings, on the other hand, the difference is the application.
As explained earlier, swaging involves using die stamping to alter the dimension of the fittings. But for one-piece fittings, the installation process is usually crimping.
Contrary to swaging, crimping involves deforming metal pieces to bind them together. This deformation requires a special connector. And the connector is either screwed on or attached to a metal plate with a different screw.
Nevertheless, it&#;s possible to install some one-piece fittings using a swaging machine. It is not entirely wrong to refer to such hydraulic fittings as swaging fittings.
Swaging fittings are more dependable for high-pressure and critical applications than one-piece fittings. In fact, some swaging fittings are particularly optimized for critical applications.
But one-piece fittings are only suitable for basic applications, which makes them notably different from swaging fittings. For reusable fittings, they are not ideal for critical or basic applications. You should only use them as a temporary replacement if any of your hydraulic fittings develops a fault during operation.
Swaging fittings and one-piece fittings are not interchangeable, even though there are one-piece fittings that are also swaging fittings. Only a one-piece fitting, with a pre-assembled shank and ring out, can serve its function. Any other type of fitting won&#;t work.
For reusable fittings, however, it&#;s difficult to say they are not interchangeable with swaging or one-piece fittings. This is because there are both reusable swaging fittings and reusable one-piece fittings.
As a result, reusable fittings will work as replacements for swaging and one-piece fittings during repairs. But you shouldn&#;t rely on them as full-time alternatives.
Swaging fittings, reusable fittings, and one-piece fittings all have their significant differences. Understanding how they work is essential so you use them in the correct application.
To recap, swaging fittings come in different sizes and will work for various hydraulic applications. Reusable fittings work as a temporary replacement when a hydraulic fitting is faulty. One-piece fittings work for basic hydraulic applications.
Should you require further clarification on which fitting type your system needs, do not hesitate to contact us.
If you&#;re a homeowner or a gardener, you know that a reliable garden hose is essential for maintaining a beautiful lawn and garden. And when it comes to connecting your hose to a water source or accessories, garden hose couplings are an essential component. In this article, we&#;ll take a closer look at garden hose couplings and tell you everything you need to know about them, from how they&#;re designed to how to properly care for them.
Garden hose couplings are used to connect a garden hose to a water source or accessory, or to join two pieces of garden hose together. Garden hose couplings are also referred to as garden hose fittings or connectors, which is perfectly acceptable. However, the term &#;fittings&#; technically refers to the individual components that make up a garden hose coupling, while &#;coupling&#; refers to the entire assembly. For the following in-depth description of garden hose couplings, we&#;ll be using the more specific terms&#;fitting and coupling&#;for clarity.
A typical garden hose has two ferrules, one male coupling and one female coupling.
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The Ferrule
A ferrule is a cylindrical fitting that goes over each end of a garden hose before inserting the male and female fittings into the hose ends. Ferrules can be either ribbed in design, for use with internally expanded male and female fittings, or smooth, for use with barbed fittings.
For smooth-style ferrules, a barbed male and barbed female fitting are inserted into each end of a garden hose. A die is then used to crimp down the ferrule, pinching the garden hose between the ferrule and the barbed fittings. Because a barbed fitting is usually machined and thicker, it creates a smaller interior hose diameter, and thus a greater water restriction.
Swan typically uses ribbed ferrules in its garden hoses, along with internally expanded male and female fittings. When the male and female fittings are inserted into each end of a garden hose, they expand outward, which pinches the garden hose between the ferrules and the fittings.
The Male Coupling
The male coupling on a garden hose is either a one-piece or two-piece design, which has a &#;tail&#; (or &#;stem&#;) on one end of the fitting and male threading on the other. The tail of the fitting is inserted into one end of a garden hose. These tails can be designed to be barbed or expanded as previously described. The threading, meanwhile, appears on the outside of the fitting and screws into a female coupling on a watering accessory such as a nozzle, sprinkler, or even another garden hose.
The Female Coupling
The female coupling on a garden hose is typically a multi-part design consisting of a &#;tail&#; similar to those on male couplings. The tail of the female fitting is inserted into the other end of a garden hose. It also has a rotating component that contains female threading on the inside that screws onto a male coupling, such as that on a water source. The female coupling also needs to have an O-ring or a garden hose washer inserted for sealing purposes.
It&#;s important to note that garden hose couplings don&#;t seal to what they&#;re attached to based on the threads of the fittings. It&#;s the pinching of the washer in the female coupling that creates the seal. Because of this, care needs to be taken not to over-tighten the couplings, or you can damage the washer and cause leaks.
Traditionally, all the components of garden hose couplings were made out of brass, from the tails to the threaded fittings.
However, regulations such as Prop. 65 in California&#;officially known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of &#;put a limit on certain materials used in products. This included brass because of the lead it can contain (however, the amount of lead in brass is well-below the regulation&#;s threshold). At the same time, the price of brass skyrocketed. The industry therefore began to utilize other materials in garden hose couplings such as aluminum, plastic, coated steels and even stainless steel.
Today, you&#;ll typically find garden hose couplings made of durable materials such as aluminum, brass, plastic or steel, which ensures they can withstand frequent use and exposure to the elements.
Garden hoses in general are made with interior diameters of &#;&#;, ½&#;, &#;&#; and ¾&#;, with the tails of the male and female couplings sized appropriately to fit within these diameters.
The threads on the garden hose couplings, however, on all residential and most commercial garden hoses in the United States and Canada, are made with one standard size to be able to connect to the threads on all spigots and watering accessories.
This standard thread size is the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for garden hose fitting thread size, which is ¾&#;&#;11.5 NH or NHR. NH stands for American Standard Hose Coupling Threads of Full Form (used for a standard machined thread), and NHR stands for American Standard Hose Coupling Threads for Garden Hose Applications (used for rolled or formed threads such as Swan&#;s rolled male thread).
Other thread designations you might see include GHT (Garden Hose Thread), GHM (Garden Hose Male) and GHF (Garden Hose Female), but all of these are made to the same standard.
In contrast, there are special hoses used for commercial applications that have their own thread sizes, while outside of the United States, metric sizes are used.
Attaching a garden hose coupling to a water source is a relatively straightforward process. First, place the female coupling of the garden hose onto the male coupling of the water source (such as a spigot or faucet). Then, twist the female coupling clockwise with your hand until a connection is made to its washer, and then just a quarter-turn to half-turn more to fasten the male and female couplings securely.
With smaller round or octagonal-shaped female couplings, you might need the aid of a wrench. Just be sure not to over-tighten the coupling because you can damage the washer and create a leak.
Some of Swan&#;s garden hoses, such as our PROScape Hose and SoftTOUCH Hose, include our plastic Ergonomic Female Grip on the outside of the female coupling. This can be used like a wrench to tighten the connection to the water source. We also use larger ergonomic aluminum couplings on our heavy-duty hoses, which don&#;t require a wrench or other tool to tighten the connection.
Removing a garden hose coupling from a water source is just as simple as attaching it. First, turn off the water source. If a watering accessory is attached to the garden hose such as a nozzle, squeeze the trigger or open the nozzle to release any water pressure. Then, twist the female coupling counterclockwise to loosen it and gently remove it from the water source.
When garden hose couplings are attached to a water source (as well as accessories), it&#;s essential to care for them to ensure they remain in good condition. To do so, disconnect the couplings from the water source and any accessories at a minimum of three to four times per year and clean the threads. Never leave your garden hose couplings connected all year long.
Also, regularly inspect your garden hose couplings for signs of damage or wear and tear, such as cracks or leaks. If you notice any damage, replace the coupling with a new one immediately.
Once you&#;ve finished using your garden hose for the season and removed the couplings from the water source and any accessories, it&#;s essential to care for the couplings properly to ensure they&#;re in good condition when you need them again. First, remove any dirt or debris from the couplings by wiping them down with a clean, damp cloth. Next, dry the couplings thoroughly to prevent rust or corrosion.
Over time, garden hose couplings can become corroded due to exposure to water, dirt and the elements. Periodically disconnect the female coupling from the water source and the male coupling from any accessories or other garden hoses and inspect for corrosion. Pay close attention to any residue in the threads.
Depending on whether your water source is public, well or other, you can see different types of corrosion. If caught early, most types of corrosion can be removed by scrubbing the couplings with a small bristled brush and mild soap and water. Remember to thoroughly rinse with clean water and dry.
In more extreme cases of corrosion, you can find cleaning-solution recipes online that recommend using lemon juice, as well other natural acids, to remove the corrosion.
Garden hose couplings are an essential component for any gardener or outdoor enthusiast. By understanding how to properly attach, remove and care for them, you can ensure they remain in good condition for years to come. Remember to regularly inspect and replace damaged couplings, clean, dry and store them properly, and remove any corrosion promptly. Happy gardening!
For more general information on hoses, read the following articles:
&#;&#;Understanding Burst Strength in Garden Hoses: A Comprehensive Guide
Garden Hoses: An Essential Tool for Cleaning Up After Natural Disasters
Garden Hose Buying Guide
Get to Know Garden Hose Layers Before You Buy
Drinking From a Hose
The Flow Rate of a Garden Hose
Best Garden Hoses: Our Recommendations
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