Differences

• Weight
• Product Variants
• Surface Condition
• Application
• Fewer Connections and Less Pressure Drop

Weight

Tubing – Full wall Thickness of tubing is used to contain pressure. Pipe – Wall thickness of pipe needed to contain pressure. Extra pipe wall thickness required for threading. Wall thickness of pipe that must be used.

Product Variants

Tubes can be straight and coiled. The common length of straight tube is 6-metre or less. Coiled tubes could be produced in hundreds of metres in lengths.

Application

• Pipe’s main function is to convey bulk fluids and is mostly used in heavy/industrial processing pipelines.
• Tube’s main function is to transfer gas and fluids for instrumentation systems.

1. Fewer Connections
2. Lower Pressure Drop
3. Less Turbulence
4. Easy and Fast

Tubing Best Practice

Never drag tubing from the rack as it may scratch the OD surface and create dents. This could result is system leakage. Expansion loops avoid springing tubing into position. They also reduce stress, allow for temperature changes and the fittings are easy to access. Use proper tubing supports every 1-2 metres. Smaller tube requires less support compared to the larger OD tubing, so the supports could be located further apart.

Tubing Summary – Safety

• When designing a pressure transfer system, refer to the tables which can be found in the FITOK Instrumentation Tubing Catalogue.
• Do not mix tubing and fitting materials. Mixing may cause galvanic corrosion or leakage because various materials react differently to temperature changes.
• Seamless tubing comes with higher pressure and purity rating than welded tubing.
• Tubing must be softer than fitting material. For soft tubing, inserts are recommended.
• Oval tubing may not fit.
• Non-concentric tubing = lower pressure rating.
• Surface conditions are essential for leak-free performance.
• Use expansion loops and proper tube support.