by Envirospec’s Technical Department, from the February 2011 Issue
Download the article here: quick connect terminology
Coupler – The quick connect that the plug is inserted into. It can also be called a socket. (I’m going to use coupler)
Plug – The part that is “plugged” into the coupler.
Keep in mind that industry standard size is 3/8″ before the trigger gun and ¼” after the trigger gun.
Whatever you do, when talking to people about these parts, please do not refer to them as females and males. Reserve that terminology for the end of the part with the threads. Call them couplers and plugs.
When you call the parts by their names, you can then talk about the threads. I use a coupler with a 3/8″ female pipe thread on one end of my hose. I use a plug with a 3/8″ female pipe thread on the other end of my hose.
Quick Connect Installation
A plug should point in the direction of the water flow through a pressure washer. Not everyone sets equipment up this way. Think of a plug like an arrow. It points the way. Why does it matter? When you are dragging your quick connected hose around and it is hooked up backwards debris is forced into the coupler. When you are dragging quick connected hoses around that aren’t under pressure with the quick connects installed backwards they can come apart when the coupler hits a bump or a rock.
Also, when you think about the water stream moving through the plug into the coupler, it encounters less resistance when the plug points the way.
Here is a list of how quick connect should be installed:
Outlet of Coil/Pump – Plug
Inlet of Injector – Coupler
Outlet of injector – Plug
Inlet of HP hose – Coupler
Outlet of HP hose – Plug
Inlet of trigger gun – Coupler
The only exception to the “plug points the way” rule is at the end of your lance; if you use quick connect nozzles. The coupler is installed on the end of the lance.
