In the laboratory it is necessary to use couplings when flexible connections are required for the movement of liquids.
Fittings are most often needed to join rubber hoses to transfer water or other liquids between different containers. Sometimes fittings are also made to transfer two or more different liquids for special needs.
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Two-way or multi-way fittings
Sometimes the need arises not only to join two hoses, but even three or more hoses with different branches.
And it is not always the case that the liquid to be transferred is water. Sometimes it is necessary to work with hazardous liquids and solvents, and for this reason the fittings must be made of a special anti-corrosive material.
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Suitable fittings exist for a wide variety of requirements: T-, Y-, L-, cross and different ways and thicknesses.
Specially when working with transfer or vacuum pumps, it is necessary to join hoses of various lengths and dimensions.
Glass fittings
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In addition to conveying liquids with rubber hoses, fittings can also be made of glass to convey other substances in laboratory operations. Glass fittings are used, for example, in the conveyance of fumes and vapours.
The glass hose, by its nature, is not like a rubber hose. But it can be connected to other hoses mainly by means of two joining systems:
with a NS standardised conical fitting;
with a ball joint.
In the first case, the joining of two hoses is done by inserting a male cone into another corresponding female cone. The ground surface guarantees the tightness and stability of the union.
This coupling is a rigid type because it does not allow rotation of any kind.
A second type is the one with spherical couplings, which, due to their semi-spherical shape, can rotate within certain margins.
This allows pipes to be joined even in particularly complex geometries or those that are difficult to join due to their shape.
Fastening clamps
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To ensure an even greater tightness, fittings are often secured by tools, so-called clamps, which fix the pipe joint stably. Especially pliers are used with ball joints to ensure a better seal.
Screw fasteners
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For joining pipes, the classic screw form is also widely used. In addition to a strong seal, this also guarantees greater precision with the use of gaskets.
In vacuum sealing passages, it is essential to ensure that there is no leakage, and gaskets serve this purpose.
Inserts and taps
There are cases where it is necessary to join containers so that additional bodies can be inserted. For example, it is necessary to insert a thermometer into a flask combined with other instruments. For this requirement, special fittings with a passage hole are used. Or fitted with taps for the controlled passage of substances.
There are fittings for every need and many different shapes.
Special tools
Special distillation fittings are also used in the laboratory to join a coolant to a container.
Or conveyor fittings that are able to handle the substances processed in the distillation process separately.
For example, it may be necessary to use a splash guard fitting to prevent foaming during a boil.
For these special uses, please consult the Colaver catalogue or write to us for customised requirements or measurements.