Pipeline communications are installed in residential and commercial, industrial facilities and have different purposes. Functional and efficient systems are constructed using plastic, metal-plastic and metal pipes and a variety of fittings that differ in design and size.
The offered photos of fittings for heating pipes, their descriptions and brief characteristics will help you to navigate correctly in the variety of proposed types.
Such connection elements play an important role in the arrangement of any system, which will simplify the procedures for installing such complexes with your own hands.
Possibilities and features of plastic products
The affordable price for pipes and fittings for heating is due to the technical features of their manufacture and modern technologies.
Such products have a set of operational advantages; the following parameters are related to the possibilities and features of the use of pipe fittings:
- ease of assembly and installation, subject to accurate reproduction of the instructions;
- high level of maintainability and the ability to replace worn parts;
- the longest possible service life and functionality of individual fittings.
To equip a high-quality and highly efficient heating system in a house or apartment, it is necessary to choose exclusively high-quality fittings.
The connecting elements ensure reliable fixation of the pipes to each other; in a complex configuration, they guarantee the connection of the entire structure.
Fitting options
Due to their characteristics, which relate to materials and construction, metal-plastic pipes cannot be welded to each other, as steel pipes are familiar to everyone.
It is also good that the price of fittings for metal-plastic pipes is at a very affordable level, because some of them can be bought not that for hundreds, for tens of rubles. But this greatly depends on their type and design.
The most popular are compression fittings for metal-plastic pipes. They have a fairly simple design, which consists of several parts - a sleeve, a ring and the body itself, in which all this is located.
Such a fitting goes into the pipe itself, after which there is a seal due to a sleeve and a washer. This design is particularly reliable, which, however, strongly depends on the materials from which the case is made.
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It is best to buy brass fittings, because they do not oxidize with water, are durable and reliable, which is very important when it comes to plumbing and heating, in which they are usually used.
In addition, there are compression fittings, push fittings.
Existing types and purpose of fittings
Modern fittings for plastic heating pipes are offered by manufacturers in a wide variety and, according to the method of installation, they can be divided into the following classes:
- collet, equipped with comfortable thread;
- compression elements of the pipeline;
- press fittings for metal-plastic pipes.
Most often, the use of crimp fittings for the construction of all types of pipelines and heating systems is recorded.
This allows you to quickly and easily replace worn out parts or elements with obvious and physical damage, without involving specialists in such work and independently taking the necessary measures.
Output
It is impossible to install the pipeline without fittings. Therefore, when calculating pipes for a system device, you should immediately decide on the connecting elements, namely, their type and quantity. This will allow the construction to be completed quickly and efficiently (see also the article "Fittings for PVC pipes: an economical option for the installation of communications").
You can get more information on this topic from the video in this article.
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Installation options and design features
All existing fittings for PVC heating pipes in terms of functionality according to the generally accepted classification are divided into four classes:
- crosses necessary for cutting pipes and branching them;
- couplings used to fix several pipes (different or the same diameter);
- curly elements used to bypass structures without their direct connection;
- shut-off valves, taps and valves or shut-off type fittings for metal-plastic pipes.
Each type of fittings offered by manufacturers has its own purpose and differs in the design features of the installation.
Fittings types
In order for the connection of metal-plastic pipes made by you to be reliable and convenient specifically for you, you must choose the right types of fittings used.
The most popular are American women who won the hearts of plumbers with their simplicity and reusability.
For system owners who will use them, such fittings are also good because you do not need to have a set of tools to interact with them - one simple adjustable wrench is enough for you.
The American is good due to the nut with the O-ring, because of which you can make the connection without moving the pipes themselves, which is very convenient.
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Next are the couplings. They are quite common. Such a fitting works on the principle of a compression connection, which means it can be used many times. At the outlet, this fitting usually has a collet or a thread, depending on the modification you choose.
The last on our list are tees, where can we go without them.
The first two categories were used to connect pipes or change their direction, because reinforced-plastic pipes should have only solid straight sections, no bends, in general, if they do, then only with small controlled deformations.
A tee is needed, first of all, to create new branches and separate lines. You cannot do without them when creating any type of water heating.
Push-in fittings
By design, these elements are a combination of a brass base, a ferrule and a gasket.
Such detachable fittings are offered in the form of tees and crosses, various adapters, they are necessary for fixing several ends of pipes and, when correctly installed, are characterized by a long service life.
How to choose fittings
When choosing fittings, it is necessary, first of all, to focus on the diameter of the reinforced-plastic pipes, which can be 16-63 mm (meaning the outer diameter, including the wall thickness - 2-3 mm). For wiring indoors, pipes and connecting elements with a diameter of 16-32 mm are often used.
Note! In order for the fittings to best fit the metal-plastic pipes, they should be purchased at the same time.
It is also worth considering in advance the issue of fastening a metal-plastic pipeline in case of its open laying. Metal clamps or staples are used for wall mounting, but the most practical, economical and aesthetically pleasing option would be to use lightweight plastic clips. These elements match well in color with the body of the pipe, are mounted on one self-tapping screw and firmly hold the pipeline.
We recommend that you familiarize yourself with: Types of pneumatic fittings and selection criteria for elements for pneumatic systems
Compression
This type of fittings is collectively called conditionally detachable, they are distinguished by their simplicity and speed of installation and the strength of the joint formed.
Compression fittings can be used repeatedly and are suitable for arranging heat pipes of varying complexity and design features.
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Types of parts
There are a lot of details for mounting plastic:
- Elbows or corners - are used to connect pipes with a turn of 45, 90, 120 °, 135 °.
- Tees, crosses - provide a branch of pipes from the main.
- Couplings - connect pipes in straight sections.
- Plugs - hermetically seal the end of the pipe.
- Adapters are the most common type of fittings. Most are analogous to threads for steel pipes: on the one hand, there is a thread (or thread with an American union nut) for connection to the system or connection to fittings, on the other, a part for fastening to a plastic branch pipe (compression clamp, welding sleeve, collapsible sleeve for PVC for bonding, collet-type coupling, etc.). They are also in the form of couplings connecting pipes of different sizes.
- Bypasses are ready-made curved pipe sections that allow you to go around an obstacle that interferes with the straight-line location of the pipeline.
- A lot of parts designed for fastening pipelines: supports, clips, clamps.
American
To connect shut-off valves or connect the pipeline to the network, a reliable metal screw connection is required. Therefore, all transition fittings must have either a thread or a female thread at one end. But to connect the pipeline to the pipeline or fittings, a branch pipe or thread is not enough - a cumbersome squeegee or an American union nut is also needed. Therefore, recently, on the fittings, they began to combine the branch pipe with the American union nut, which makes it possible to easily and reliably screw the pipeline to any thread or threaded stop valves.
Shut-off and control valves
In a house or apartment, there are usually shut-off valves or taps and shut-off and control valves in the form of mixers and thermo valves (temperature controllers for heating batteries). All kinds of latches, dampers and valves are usually not found in everyday life.
Not a single type of shut-off and control valves is mounted directly on the pipeline - only through adapters with threads or American ones.
Couplings
Used to connect two pipes of the same or different diameters. Usually these are plastic products: with a collet clamp for HDPE; collapsible for gluing for PVC; simple soldering tubes for polypropylene.
Particularly worth noting are transition couplings - crimp, press and push fittings, as well as couplings with a collet clamp for polyethylene. They have a slightly different design, but all are based on the fact that a branch pipe is clamped in the fitting. Very often, such adapters are connected with an American union nut.
Tees and crosses
They are used to connect to the main water supply system or to divide the liquid flow into two (or three), or connect them into one pipeline. For this purpose, plastic products are used, they are connected to pipelines in the same way as couplings.
Swivel joints
These are corners (bends) that allow you to accurately and beautifully rotate the system. In fact, they are a kind of couplings, they are mounted in the same way (see above).
For turns of pipes, the fittings themselves are often used, which have a bend at the desired angle.
Contours and supports
When installing communications, it is often necessary to go around perpendicularly laid pipes. For the convenience of installers and for a beautiful neat installation, manufacturers produce bends - curved pieces of pipe designed for a neat compact bypass of one or two pipes of a certain diameter. Such a product is most often used on polypropylene pipelines and is mounted using soldering.
For neat and reliable fastening of pipelines, ready-made fasteners in the form of clips made of plastic or steel or metal clamps are used. More reliable metal clamps are usually used for mounting electrical or information networks in an open-air enclosure; heating and cold and hot water pipelines are usually mounted using clips.
Plugs
These are caps that reliably and hermetically close the pipe section. The need to install plugs arises in two cases: if there is a need to drain water from the system from time to time, and you don’t want to install a tap, or if the system will still grow, but the pipeline must be temporarily plugged. Plugs for plastic are of two types: non-removable and removable. Non-separable - simply soldered or glued to the pipeline. Dismountable - screwed on, and can be unscrewed if necessary.
Press fittings
Press fittings are one-piece structures, and specialized tools are used for their installation.
Such models of fittings are represented by angles and tees, couplings, this method of connection is characterized by increased reliability and optimal level of strength.
Choice of fittings
When buying fittings you need to look at some important points - dimensions, shape and materials.
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Everything else is a matter of taste, but the dimensions of fittings for metal-plastic pipes are determined by the diameter in the section of the latter.
As for the materials, it depends on how you will use them - for heating, we do not advise you to save several tens of rubles on fittings, because the durability of the system depends on this.
The situation is approximately the same with a simple plumbing.
Technical properties of fittings for heating systems
Modern fittings for metal heating pipes or metal-plastic structures are classified according to certain criteria.
Such elements should be chosen focusing on a whole range of technical and operational properties, the most important of which are:
- scope and in which system the functional element will be installed;
- the material and manufacturing technology of the fitting, the necessary tools for this;
- structural purpose and configuration, purpose of the fitting element.
Standard fittings are available in a variety of sizes and configurations to accommodate a variety of designs.
The correct choice of connection elements will ensure a long service life of the entire heating system of its individual elements, increasing the operational properties of the overall structure.
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Fittings for metal-plastic pipes
When selecting and purchasing products, pay attention to:
- manufacturer's warranty
- Max. pressure and temperature that fittings can withstand during the operation of the engineering system
- product weight
- marking
- shaped part material
- product reviews on the Internet
If the molded part is too light, then a different alloy is used for the body instead of brass. As a guide, you can use the weight of Valtec products with a copper content of at least 54%, one piece of compression fitting of which weighs from 64 to 531 grams.
On a quality part, the markings are uniformly convex or deep, with clearly distinguishable letters.
The press fitting shank made of stainless steel is better than aluminum: the “stainless steel” does not “sweat” over time, that is, it does not accumulate condensate, and does not tarnish, it can withstand higher pressures, including water hammer, and practically does not deform. The same applies to the "cracker" of the crimp fitting: "stainless steel" is more durable and reliable compared to plastic.
If we compare fittings by type, then the advantage of crimp and push fittings is the ability to repeatedly disassemble the connections and reuse the elements (you only need to replace the collet ring of the crimp fitting deformed during installation or the push-fit locking spring and, in case of leaks, rubber O-rings - they are sold separately and cost "a penny"). At the same time, installation of push-fittings takes a minimum of time. However, push-fit has a rather narrow size range, from 16 to 32 mm or less: this type of shaped part appeared on the Russian market recently, according to some reports in 2010, and few companies produce it.
Unlike compression products that require inspection and tightening at least once a year, press fittings rarely fail and do not allow leaks. Possible installation errors are visible immediately when testing the system - in such places the fittings leak - and the “wrong” elements are replaced (however, during dismantling, the press fitting is removed along with the pressed pipe). A properly installed pipeline can be safely poured into concrete - a wall or floor. In addition, to install crimp fittings, it is not necessary to purchase an expensive press tool - you just need to rent it or entrust the installation to professionals.
| Compression fittings | Press fittings | Push fittings | |
| Concealed mounting option | NO | YES | YES |
| Multiple use | YES | NO | YES |
Note that manufacturers recommend using fittings and tools from the same company as the pipes. No warranty is provided if products from different manufacturers are used on the same system.
You can find the indicators of products of some popular manufacturers in the tables below.
Photo of fittings for heating pipes
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Selection Tips
The choice of fittings is primarily determined by the pipe material. Secondly, the purpose of the pipeline (reliability requirements) and aesthetic requirements. There is practically no sense to buy imported products - the quality of domestic ones is the same. The main thing is a certificate and visually inspect the purchased products - chips, cracks, scratches can appear on any products, and it is better not to take such products.
Popular manufacturers and approximate price
Plastic pipes and fittings for them are produced everywhere, and it is impossible to name a popular manufacturer. Each region is full of its own producers and imported products from other regions.
Imported products are several times more expensive than domestic ones. At the same time, it cannot be said that the quality (and even design) of Czech, German, Italian and Turkish products is much higher. The brand, of course, costs money, but it's up to you to pay or not.
Simple polypropylene couplings and tees cost very little. An adapter with a thread with a diameter of 20 mm costs from 45 rubles, an adapter with an American - from 80 rubles. A ball valve for welding costs about 300 rubles, a water outlet - from 100 rubles.
A polyethylene coupling or branch costs from 100 rubles (diameter 20 mm) to 150 rubles (diameter 32 mm); a branch pipe with an external thread made of nickel-plated brass - from 300 to 540 rubles (for diameters of 20-32 mm). Products with a bronze tube cost twice as much.
The cheapest are PVC couplings and tees for adhesive joints - from 10 to 30 rubles. Couplings with a steel liner already cost from 70 to 110 rubles (for diameters of 20-32 mm), collapsible cranes 160-400 rubles and above.
Features of installation and installation
When laying the underfloor heating system, press fittings are used - they have better tightness than compression fittings (in this case, they cannot be used). Before filling the underfloor heating system with a screed, it is necessary to test the system.
If the press fitting is not crimped properly, it must not be crimped again - it must be replaced.
Before welding, polypropylene must not be wiped with solvents - oil fractions (acetone or gasoline).
Plastic communications through the wall should be carried out through a sleeve made of a steel pipe of a larger diameter.
It is unacceptable to install / weld / glue workpieces with burrs - they can cause clogging of the pipes.
In household systems, butt-welding of polyethylene pipes is not used - the wall thickness is too small for this.
When gluing pipes with adapters or couplings made of PVC, it is necessary to carefully observe the gluing technology, and especially so that the glue does not have time to dry out at the time of gluing. It is very important to fix the area to be glued motionlessly and not to touch it during the day; it is also possible to fill PVC pipes with water no earlier than after 24 hours.
The installation features of various types of connectors can be seen in our video:
