Brass Flare Compression Fittings Are The Industry Standard In Leak Prevention
Brass flare compression fittings offer a degree of convenience in terms of the processes of installation, maintenance and repair unmatched by soldered copper or brass joints. Indeed, the workings of brass flare compression fittings are so simple that they can be easily understood and repaired by the layperson without the professional assistance usually called for under such circumstances.
Compression fittings are used to join any two thin walled pipes or tubes together, meaning that they have applications to both plumbing and electrical conduit systems. Essentially, compression fittings work just the way you might suppose from the name: by applying compressive force to a pipe, a force sufficiently great that it eliminates the space that remains around the joint in which the fitting is used. Any such fitting is composed of an external compression nut and an internal compression ring, usually known as an ‘olive’ or ‘ferrule’. The vertical force of the nut, when it’s tightened so as to clamp down on the ferrule, causes the ferrule to conform to the shape of the pipe’s circumference. When this occurs, the compression ring, which began life as a pair of curved brackets, is made to curve over a smaller distance than before, becoming more concave, in the way that a the mid-point of a sheet of paper will raise itself vertically as the ends of the sheet are curved together. The physics of water pipe compression result in the pipe becoming somewhat thicker, in the process creating creating what in the majority of cases will be a leak-proof seal.
At least, that’s the opinion of flow control experts in the oil, R&D, chemical, semiconductor and biotechnology industries, where, along with plastic PVC, compression fittings stand as the industry standard in ensuring the safety of workers and scientists from chemicals that could frequently be deadly if exposed to open air. They’re also the most frequent choice for hot and cold water faucets and toilet stop valves in the residential market. This tends especially to be the case in confined spaces where soldering copper would be awkward or present a fire hazard.
Brass flare compression fittings are considered an even safer bet than standard compression fittings. When such a fitting is being assembled, artisans use a flare nut to secure a flared tube’s tapered end to the similarly tapered fitting, a process which, once completed, will leave behind a leak-tight, pressure resistant seal. Since flared connections ensure such a high degree of reliability, they’re generally the choice for inaccessible locations, or in mission-critical facilities where leaks could prove costly or dangerous.
Making brass flare compression fittings is a cold-working procedure, involving the insertion of a die into the end of a tube along with a mandrel, the two working together to form the flare shape by means of pure mechanical force. There are several flare standards currently being used to describe the style of flaring used, the most common of which are the AN and JIC styles, which offer the highest pressure ratings for compression fittings, being capable of dealing with as much as 150 PSI, even running through 10mm tubing. It’s these numbers, so impressive when compared to the performance of ordinary copper or steel pipes, that will have field experts singing the praises of brass flared compression tubing for some time to come.
