Most of the brass fittings are categorized by common group numbers. Once you have identified what style of fitting you are looking for you will understand where and how to find the fitting you are looking for. Below is a general listing of group numbers and common parts within that group. We will discuss later how to determine the style.

#100’s – Pipe fittings as well as Hose Barb fittings

#200’s – Tube fittings

#300’s – Variety of different valves and shut off cocks.

#400’s & 500’s – Mixture of fittings containing Flair and Fittings containing Flair with Pipe

#600’s & 700’s – Compression fittings and Pipe fittings

#800’s – Fine thread flare and Garden hose fittings

#AQ’s – Push to connect fittings

The list above is not complete and there are quite a few other letters involved sometimes which further identify the fitting. Do not worry like our prefixes to part numbers they are pretty explanatory once you give them a little thought. Below is a listing of some of the more common characters.

S – Short, sometimes Swivel

L – Long

FP – Female Pipe

IN – Inverted

R – Reducing

P – Plastic

NA – Nylon Air Brake

DOT – Department of Transportation

HE – Hose end

F – Forged

PO – Push On

M – Male

CP – Chrome Plated

Knowing all of this is great but what does it all mean if you cannot determine what type of fitting you are looking for? Is it a hose fitting? Is it a pipe fitting? So let us take a look at the next few pages and we will learn how to figure all this out.