Swagelok tubing and accessories

When selecting a type and size of tubing for a job, we recommend you consider:

1. Surface finish
2. Material
3. Hardness
4. Wall thickness

With just those four factors you can come up with thousands of permutations. To help you narrow down your choices, Swagelok has developed tubing data sheets. There are separate sheets for more than a dozen different materials such as carbon steel, copper, aluminum and a variety of alloys.

Watch out for bends. When installing fittings near bends in the tubing, you need to make sure that you leave enough straight length in the tubing to properly bottom the tubing out in the fitting. How much is enough? The tubing data sheet provides a handy chart to help you.

To get our tubing data sheet, see the "Download Tubing Documentation" option at the top of this page.

Tapered pipe threads are one of the most common end connections in the industry. They are relatively easy to make, but they always need a sealing compound because there are designed gaps between the male and female wires.

This video covers preparation, tape size, winding procedures and subsequent tightening.

Indeed, the quality of tubing can vary greatly between different manufacturers. Here are some important points to look out for before installing tubing in a Swagelok fitting:

• Seamless or welded: Check whether the tubing is seamless or welded.
• Hardness: What is the hardness of the tubing?
• Surface finish: Make sure the surface is free of scratches.
• Ovality: Check the ovality of the tubing.
• OD and ID: Check the outer diameter (OD) and inner diameter (ID) to make sure they are free of burrs.
• Wall thickness: Make sure the wall thickness is adequate for the pressure the system will see.
• Concentricity: Check that the wall thickness is the same throughout.

The pressure rating of a Swagelok tube fitting depends on the lowest rated component in the system in which it is installed. Sometimes the lowest pressure rated component is a pipe thread, a pressure gauge, or a valve. Other times it will be the pressure rating of the tubing itself, and that will vary depending on the tubing's size, wall thickness and material of construction.

In general, it is best to use the same materials. There are exceptions.

Example: if you have stainless steel pipes, use stainless steel ferrules and fittings. For plastic pipes, use plastic ferrules and fittings. The reason for matching materials is simple: you want the ferrules to be stronger than the pipes, so the ferrules can clamp onto the pipes and stay in place. This video explains more:

If the ferrules are made of a softer material than the tube, you won't get that clamping effect. Brass, for example, is softer than stainless steel. So brass ferrules will not give full clamping action on stainless steel pipes

When properly installed, Swagelok fittings produce a repeatable, leak-tight seal even after being reassembled multiple times. Before disassembly, mark a line along the nut and body flat and use these marks to ensure that the fitting is reinstalled properly. Please watch the video demonstration below for the proper instructions:

If you have made changes in the system design, by moving a fitting to a new location or changing the tubing, you can't re-use the nuts and ferrules, but you can still re-use the fitting bodies. Even on a simple connector, you are saving a big percentage of the cost of using all-new parts. Think of a cross or a tee that is more robust - there is a huge cost savings opportunity there.

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