“How can I make certain I know which Hammer Union Half to call male, and which to call female?”
For communication about separate union halves that will avoid mistake, describe the male half as “The half with the nut,” and describe the female half as “The half with the external thread.” See illustration below.
WOODCO USA intends the image above to resolve any confusion in communication that might occur when specifying equipment that may have a male or female, 602, 1002, 1502, or 2202 hammer union half as a connector.
Since the female half has an external thread commonly recognized as a male thread, while the male half has a nut with an internal thread commonly recognized as a female thread, mistakes often occur in describing male and female halves of hammer wing unions.
The terms male and female apply to the design of union sealing surfaces. The nose of the male union half fits into the inward taper of the female union half. The nut secured to the male union half screws onto the external threads of the female union half to achieve connection of the two halves, and striking the wings of the nut with a hammer provides the force to tighten the connection to achieve a seal.
Firm intimate contact of the male union half nose with the taper of the female union half provides a primary metal to metal seal. For popular unions used in the oil field, a secondary elastomeric seal serves as a backup to the primary seal.
No greater hazard exists with oilfield pressure control equipment than mismatched hammer wing unions. Union manufacturers and user groups have posted various warnings about this problem online. You can find these warnings by an internet search for “warnings about joining 2″ 602, 1002, and 1502 unions“.
This problem will not occur if operators positively identify these unions and avoid any attempt to join them inappropriately.
View Hammer Wings on our Products page.
