• Eighth-inch pipe thread puzzle

    From bob prohaska@21:1/5 to All on Mon Feb 6 00:56:19 2023
    Did the standard size for one-eighth NPT threads change at some
    point in the past half century or so? I find myself with a few
    fittings that don't seem to agree with one another.

    In one group there's a fairly modern vibratory pump made in
    Italy, stainless steel street tee from Cajon, some brand new
    fittings bought from Ace hardware and a very small pressure
    gauge that might be a century old.

    In the other (too big) group are a tubing adapter from an icemaker
    hookup kit, a generic hose barb of unknown origin and a hex plug.

    All the male threads are visibly tapered, including those that
    came with the pump, so it's not likely an NPS-NPT mixup. The
    mismatch is small, maybe .002" at the big end and .006" at
    the start. That rather implies a different taper, but AFAIK
    all pipe threads were tapered 3/4" per foot.

    Thanks for reading!

    bob prohaska

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  • From Jim Wilkins@21:1/5 to All on Mon Feb 6 07:42:02 2023
    "bob prohaska" wrote in message news:trpj7j$2p8s4$1@dont-email.me...

    Did the standard size for one-eighth NPT threads change at some
    point in the past half century or so? I find myself with a few
    fittings that don't seem to agree with one another.

    In one group there's a fairly modern vibratory pump made in
    Italy, stainless steel street tee from Cajon, some brand new
    fittings bought from Ace hardware and a very small pressure
    gauge that might be a century old.

    In the other (too big) group are a tubing adapter from an icemaker
    hookup kit, a generic hose barb of unknown origin and a hex plug.

    All the male threads are visibly tapered, including those that
    came with the pump, so it's not likely an NPS-NPT mixup. The
    mismatch is small, maybe .002" at the big end and .006" at
    the start. That rather implies a different taper, but AFAIK
    all pipe threads were tapered 3/4" per foot.

    Thanks for reading!

    bob prohaska

    ------------------------------------

    https://wavelen.com/2018/03/15/painful-lesson-of-the-day-npt-vs-bspt/

    There are two series of British pipe taps. The letters R and G are -German-
    for Rohr (pipe) and Gas.
    https://apporo-cnc.com/extend.php?menu_s=406&sn=54

    To add to the confusion, BPT may mean Briggs Pipe Thread, which is the
    American predecessor to NPT.

    The nominal inch size refers to the original ID of wrought iron pipe. Modern steel pipe has thinner walls and thus a larger ID, though stronger Schedule
    80 pipe is close to the original ID. If you need to chuck a pipe fitting in
    the lathe the threads on a brass nipple will run truer.

    EMT conduit has the same ID as Sch 40 pipe and chain link fence tubing the
    same OD, though its nominal sizes are the actual OD rounded to the nearest fraction. Depending on the gauge of the fence tubing the two may telescope together, I used 1" conduit with a 22 gauge shim to splice a break in my TV antenna mast which is 1-3/8" (1.315") fence top rail, the same size as TV
    mast tubing but much cheaper and easier to find.

    I assembled a cone of pipe reducing bushings up to 2", with the inner and
    outer NPT sizes labeled, to identify unknown threads.
    hth, jsw

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  • From bob prohaska@21:1/5 to Jim Wilkins on Tue Feb 7 16:43:27 2023
    Jim Wilkins <muratlanne@gmail.com> wrote:

    https://wavelen.com/2018/03/15/painful-lesson-of-the-day-npt-vs-bspt/

    There are two series of British pipe taps. The letters R and G are -German- for Rohr (pipe) and Gas.
    https://apporo-cnc.com/extend.php?menu_s=406&sn=54


    Aye, there's the rub...It looks like the inlet fitting on my pump is
    probably BPT, while NPT fittings work ok on the discharge. Why they (Fluid-O-Tech, an Italian company) would mix fittings eludes me.
    Even better, it's part of an espresso machine made in Switzerland 8-)

    The difference between 27 and 28 TPI is not readily visible and I
    wasn't expecting it at all. IT does nicely explain why an NPT fitting
    hangs up in half a turn. Hope I didn't damage the threads too badly...


    hth, jsw

    It did indeed, thank you!

    bob prohaska

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  • From Jim Wilkins@21:1/5 to All on Tue Feb 7 16:27:39 2023
    "bob prohaska" wrote in message news:trtv3f$3ql3k$1@dont-email.me...

    Jim Wilkins <muratlanne@gmail.com> wrote: ...

    The difference between 27 and 28 TPI is not readily visible and I
    wasn't expecting it at all. IT does nicely explain why an NPT fitting
    hangs up in half a turn. Hope I didn't damage the threads too badly...

    bob prohaska

    ------------------
    Amazon has BSPT to NPT adapters.

    Do you have a lathe? When I need an odd fitting I may buy a standard one
    that is correct on one side and has enough metal to cut down on the other
    side. For example I've threaded a garden hose repair end to turn a trash can into a rain barrel.

    Polymer clay (uncured PVC resin) can be forced into an opening and then
    heated to harden it, to measure a diameter or thread pitch.

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