Why is a Street Fitting Called a Street Fitting?

in-too-deep · May 18, 2012

Always wondered. Can anyone 'splain?

Errin OH · May 18, 2012

It only goes one way?????????

Sean Feeney · May 18, 2012

Wiki:From the use of that type of elbow in drainage lines and sewer connections where the line meets the street. Used to go into the main line.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_did_the_name_street_elbow_come_from#ixzz1vEBcgUJy

ericlb · May 18, 2012

i never thought about that, but it may be due to the fitting having both male and female threads on the same fitting, most fittings have only female, to make a turn under normal conditions 2 or 3 pieces must be used this fitting would allow a 90 with only 1 fitting,provided there was a union for the male end of this to screw into, and in a much tighter radious

George Rausch · May 18, 2012

In the old days, that was used out in the street, as a tap fitting on top of the water main. Tap the main, thread that into place, snd go to the meter, then to the house.
Anyone know the real reason a fire hydrant is called a "Fire Plug"?????????

James Williams · May 18, 2012

In the days of old water lines were made of wood.When there was a fire the fire co. would arrive and use a bit&brace to drill a hole into the water line.After the fire they would use a plug to seal the line.These line and plugs are still in use today and I think can still be bought

jimmy

rustyfarmall · May 18, 2012

(quoted from post at 08:07:41 05/18/12) In the old days, that was used out in the street, as a tap fitting on top of the water main. Tap the main, thread that into place, snd go to the meter, then to the house.
Anyone know the real reason a fire hydrant is called a "Fire Plug"?????????

Because you "plug" a fire hose into it?

Which brings up the next question. Why is it even called a "fire" hydrant? You can't get any fire out of it, nor can you get fire from a fire hose.

George Rausch · May 18, 2012

James Williams wins the prize.

showcrop · May 18, 2012

(quoted from post at 08:18:30 05/18/12) In the days of old water lines were made of wood.When there was a fire the fire co. would arrive and use a bit&brace to drill a hole into the water line.After the fire they would use a plug to seal the line.These line and plugs are still in use today and I think can still be bought

jimmy

Not sayin' I don't believe you but that must have been quite the bit brace and required a real strong arm to make a hole big enough to flow enough water to make a difference on a house fire.

john in la · May 18, 2012

These firemen had to be much better than the water department workers of today. It would take the water department hours just to find the line. The whole neighborhood would burn down before they ever located the line.

GregtheDC · May 18, 2012

James Williams is right, I teach history and tradition in our basic recruit classes, and firefighters today still refer to " catching a plug" when connecting to a hydrant. ALso you have to remember back in the day, apparatus wasnt 2000 gpm, they were hand tubs and didnt pump large volumes. Feels good to add to the forums instead of always asking questions, thanks for reading

in-too-deep · May 18, 2012

Perciate it!

Texasmark1 · May 18, 2012

That is a "Street Ell" sir, not a Street fitting. But other than that, I can't help with the old fire hydrants and still wonder why you need a Street fitting when the fire hose connected directly to the hydrant puting the hose parallel to the ground and all you had to do after that is open the water valve via the square nut on top of the plug.

Mark

Dblair · May 18, 2012

A street elbow (sometimes called a street ell or service ell) is a type of plumbing or piping fitting intended to join a piece of pipe and another fitting at an angle. The difference between a street elbow and a regular elbow is the nature of the connections on either end.

this is the definition in Wikipedia

Brian G. NY · May 18, 2012

And.........how do you relate all this to the "sweat" copper street ells?
Just askin"!!

37chief · May 18, 2012

I have also wondered the same thing over the years. Have used a lot of them in my past life in the factory, I spent the better part of my life in. Stan

Wardner · May 18, 2012

It is probably a corruption of the word straight. It is straight because it uses one less nipple or pipe section on short runs. And moreover, it is too confusing to have a "straight el".

If this doesn't make sense, one could probably find the derivation in naval terminology. For instance, how did heads get their name. I'll bet they used pots prior to the installation of heads.

And that brings up the heads on old rail coaches. Fun for a kid to watch the ties whipping by when the foot lever was stepped on. And what about airplanes. Did the early ones use the same system? You could save alot of weight that way,

showcrop · May 18, 2012

(quoted from post at 10:14:27 05/18/12) James Williams is right, I teach history and tradition in our basic recruit classes, and firefighters today still refer to " catching a plug" when connecting to a hydrant. ALso you have to remember back in the day, apparatus wasnt 2000 gpm, they were hand tubs and didnt pump large volumes. Feels good to add to the forums instead of always asking questions, thanks for reading

In my early days on the fire dept. I pumped hand tubs a few times at competitions, and the big class A pumpers would pump over 500 GPM. The class A unit that I pumped on that a friend owned, had double sets of bars, and could accommodate probably 48 men on them. You would build up to a very rapid rate and the adrenaline would take over. If you had to puke and you were on an inside position you couldn't step back, you were just kept moving by the mass of men that became machine.

VicS · May 18, 2012

How many street-ell's screwed together before water won't gravity through them?

old harv · May 19, 2012

My dad worked on installing water mains in the city of most of his life. Water pipes installed under ground have a female end on one end and a male end on the other. When they go around a corner, they need an elbow, and it looks like the fitting in your hand, just bigger. That's why that is called a street fitting.

Texasmark1 · May 19, 2012

Cause the copper sweat ell has a male on one end and female on the other at a 90 degree angle, just like the cast iron threaded cousin. A conventional ell is usually female on both ends and obviously 90 degrees apart.

Mark

Brian G. NY · May 19, 2012

Tex,
I understand that; what I"m wondering is how would you use the sweat copper fittings in connection with a water main tap.

Texasmark1 · May 20, 2012

To me a water main tap would consist of a girdle, a puncturing device and an outlet. If using a Street Ell, then it would have to be part of the plumbing from the outlet to the point of use and the material it was made from depended upon what you were plumbing with. For me, it would be either a copper sweat or plastic. Cast iron has a limited life in water service. You could copper sweat a piece of pipe into a threaded male and attach that to the tap outlet then sweat your way out.

Did this help?

Mark

36F30 · May 20, 2012

Standard elbows make an abrupt 90 degree turn, street elbows or sweeps make a longer less restrictive 90 degree turn

JMOR · May 20, 2012

(quoted from post at 08:38:50 05/19/12) My dad worked on installing water mains in the city of most of his life. Water pipes installed under ground have a female end on one end and a male end on the other. When they go around a corner, they need an elbow, and it looks like the fitting in your hand, just bigger. That's why that is called a street fitting.

ld harv sounds like most logical answer so far.

I like this one too: screw a pipe into it, it turns 90 deg, you still got male threads. Straight, get it? Straight & street being similar in sound........to somebody.

or,
It was named before bi-sezual was coined, so it was too early to call it a bi-sezual ell or bi-ell??????????? :wink:

JMOR · May 21, 2012

(quoted from post at 11:58:41 05/20/12)

(quoted from post at 08:38:50 05/19/12) My dad worked on installing water mains in the city of most of his life. Water pipes installed under ground have a female end on one end and a male end on the other. When they go around a corner, they need an elbow, and it looks like the fitting in your hand, just bigger. That's why that is called a street fitting.

Click to expand...

ld harv sounds like most logical answer so far.

I like this one too: screw a pipe into it, it turns 90 deg, you still got male threads. Straight, get it? Straight & street being similar in sound........to somebody.

or,
It was named before bi-sezual was coined, so it was too early to call it a bi-sezual ell or bi-ell??????????? :wink:

s long as we are addressing the "why" of things, answer me this: why are buttons on the right of men's shirts & on the left of women's shirts? :roll:

Fullers Farmalls · May 21, 2012

That can be answered. Men use to dress themselves in the olden
days, women had maids to dress them. It was easier for men to
dress with the buttons on the right, the maids would have an
easier time as it was reversed. That is the truth in how that
originated.

Why is a Street Fitting Called a Street Fitting?

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