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Pipe Threads

NPT, BSPT and BSPP — 49 sizes, with the identification guides for telling them apart.

Pipe threads are named by nominal bore, not by any dimension you can measure. A 1/2″ pipe thread is nowhere near 1/2″ across. If you have measured a fitting and the number does not match anything, that is why — find your measurement in the charts below rather than trusting the label.

Which thread am I holding?

Flat crests, 60°
NPT
Rounded crests, 55°, tapered
BSPT
Rounded crests, 55°, parallel
BSPP

Charts

NPT sizes

ASME B1.20.1. Tapered 1 in 16, 60° thread angle, seals on the thread.

BSPT sizes (R / Rc)

ISO 7-1 and BS 21. Tapered 1 in 16, 55° Whitworth form, seals on the thread.

BSPP sizes (G)

ISO 228-1. Parallel, 55° Whitworth form. Does not seal on the thread — needs a bonded washer, an O-ring or a cone seat.

NPT against BSPT, size by size

Whether a given size will screw together, whether it will seal, and how to tell which one you have before you find out the hard way.