Swagelock QC6 source

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I've also ordered from the local Swagelok guy before I had my business. In my neck of the woods they are pretty much just a franchise and won't turn any business away.

Same here. My local swagelok is just happy to have any business. I ordered a couple of things I couldn't get from Light Monkey or Fathom Dive Systems for a weird project I was messing with. The savings by going direct wasn't enough to sway me from buying normal parts from LM or Fathom. If I buy from swagelok I have to spend more because I need an adapter. If I buy from LM or Fathom I don't since they're machined. IMO if you just need the male or female side to put on a reg hose, just pay the little bit extra for the machined ones. The NPT fittings require plumber's tape to seal , and are just adding additional leak points.
 
Bought 4 new male QC6 on ebay for just $88, plus $20 for 4 NPT adapters from DGX - so $108 instead of $400...
I wouldn't say that savings weren't enough...
 
So what Swagelok QC6 SKU is suitable for male 9/16 machining?
There is no swagelok part with this machined on the end. You have to get them from light monkey or fathom to have 9/16 the LP hose fitting native.
 
for reference, directly from Swagelok each side is about $50. You're paying 100% markup for the machining. Your call on whether it's worth it or not.

And you still need at least one adapter. So $100 + 2x adapters or $200 + 1x adapter.
 
For anyone curious, particularly @rjack321
The stems are available directly from Swagelok. They have an irritating 6-week lead time, but they are a stock part.

SS-QC6-D-6ST is the stem with 9/16-18 male fittings on them and are ~$80 each as of today. This sorts out the whip leads directly with no adapters and is likely the part that are being resold by Fathom/Light Monkey, etc.
 
For anyone curious
The stems are available directly from Swagelok. They have an irritating 6-week lead time, but they are a stock part.

SS-QC6-D-6ST is the stem with 9/16-18 male fittings on them and are ~$80 each as of today. This sorts out the whip leads directly with no adapters and is likely the part that are being resold by Fathom/Light Monkey, etc.

This is the Swagelok pipe fitting? I've always wondered about them from a durability/banging around perspective. I suppose it's on par with an NPT fitting?
 
This is the Swagelok pipe fitting? I've always wondered about them from a durability/banging around perspective. I suppose it's on par with an NPT fitting?

Below is a tube fitting QC6 with a 9/16-18 tube adapter which is $40+$11 and that is a robust fitting, but has one extra adapter step. Picture taken from Dive Right in Scuba where a set of them is $300. Disassembled on top, assembled on the bottom.
SS-QC6-D-600 Stem
SS-QC6-B1-600 Body
SS-6-TA-1-6ST 9/16-18 Adapter. You can find these for both 9/16-18 and 3/8-24 in male and female and they're all around the same price.
These are pressure rated to 1500psi when coupled, 250psi when uncoupled, and that is every bit as robust as an NPT adapter.
If you're going to adapt them, I would recommend going this route from Swagelok directly as the body is $50, the stems are $40, and the adapters are $11. Same set directly from Swagelok is ~$120. They do not have in their catalog a 3/8-24 tube adapter with 3/8" tube which is rather annoying for screwing into some of the manifold blocks, but oh well. I'm sure you could order them if you asked nicely, but I wouldn't bother.
swagelock_qc6_adapters.png


This is part SS-QC6-D-6ST and is taken from the light Monkey website. You can see how much shorter the fitting is in comparison because the 9/16-18 regulator side is actually machined into the part itself, no adapters. Is it worth the lead time and extra money? Only you can decide that, but I wanted to give the part numbers for everyone. The body will be SS-QC6-B1-6ST but I don't have a price on that. I would expect $90-$100. Light monkey isn't getting rich on these
male_thumbnail.jpg
 

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