Aeroquip Connector Notes --------------------------- Initial Rev. 26-Jan-2022 Current Rev. 27-Jan-2022 The Cryo-Mech Helium Liquefier system uses a lot of these connectors, e.g. from armored bellow hoses to connectors on equipment, and their manuals uniformly call them Aeroquip connectors. Today these connectors are actually described as, "low air inclusion refrigerant connectors", for either liquid or gaseous refrigerants. Their important characteristic is that one can disconnect them and then reconnect them without either leaking the refrigerant or introducing more than a very small amount of air into the system, typically only a fraction of a cc of air inclusion. These connectors originally came from a company called Aeroquip which was started in 1939 by a German engineer named Peter Hurst in Jackson Michigan. The company name was the obvious contraction of Aeronautical Equipment. Their main product line was hydraulic connectors for airplane brakes. These hydraulic brake connectors are still used today and it's clear that saying Aeroquip connector to a contemporary airplane mechanic means the hydraulic brake connectors to them. These hydraulic connectors are a completely different connector family from what we and Cryo-Mech think of as an "Aeroquip" connector. In 1997 Aeroquip became Aeroquip-Vickers (I assume the British Vickers airplane company) and then in 1999 it was purchased by Eaton. What we and Cryo-Mech call Aeroquip connectors are now actually Eaton's 5400 series low air inclusion product line designed for air conditioning refrigerant. I think that Eaton now makes these connectors at a big plant in Turkey. Now days other companies make identical / interchangeable connectors, e.g. Parker makes them. I think that most of these companies use the same part numbering scheme. I don't believe that the connectors on the Cryo-Mech equipment are actually from Eaton but I have not figured out what company they came from. As with so many plumbing connectors the size specification for our Aeroquip connectors, e.g. 1/2", has nothing to do with what you actually measure with calipers. Examples of Aeroquip connectors on the Helium Liquefier: Connector Body -------------------------------- Liquefier Function Size Male Part No. Female Part No. --------------------- ---- ------------- --------------- Pulse Tube Big Lines 3/4" 5400-S2-12 5400-S5-12 Dewar Vent to Bag 1/2" 5400-S2-8 5400-S5-8 Manifold 400 psi Compressor to 1/2" 5400-S2-8 5400-S5-8 Storage Tank Manifold Purifier Vent to 1/4" 5400-S2-4 5400-S5-4 the Bag Manifold These are the part numbers for the connector "bodies". In typical applications an adapter goes between the connector body and the hose or tube type that the "Aeroquip" connector is being used with in a given application. This adapter makes an o-ring seal with the connector body and is typically welded or brazed to the hose or tube. Example part number for an adapter between a 1/2" Aeroquip connector body and 1/4" OD tube is: 202208-4-8B. This adapter requires an o-ring part number: 22546-17. This size o-ring is used with all adapters for the 1/2" size connector body. Note that in many places the part number suffix has something to do with the dimensions in 1/16 ths of an inch. I picked the 1/2" body to 1/4" tube adapter as that might be a good starting place for attaching our own pressure gauge to the Bag Manifold. A place that seems to stock these parts is: hosewarehouse.com and they are not too expensive, e.g. about $20 for a 1/2" connector body in unit quantity.