Head type: A, B or C
DIN 71412 gives the cone head in three versions: type A straight (H1), type B at 45° (H2) and type C at 90° (H3). An angled head lets the grease gun reach a point that is hard to get at.
Reference tool — not a selection
Identify a grease nipple by its thread, hex and head angle before it goes in an RFQ.
DIN 71412, types A, B and C
Thread, hex, head angle.
Pick the head type and enter the thread or a designation. Without a designation, enter the measured outside diameter with the pitch in mm or the threads per inch (a value of 5 or more is read as threads per inch), or the hex across flats. Below, an offered nipple can be checked against it: the thread, the head type and the hex.
Examples:
Replacement check
On the designation alone: the material and the pressure rating are checked separately.
All 130 engineering tools
Hydraulic-type grease nipples to DIN 71412 sit on bearings, pins and linkages all over a ship: deck cranes, winches, steering gear, hatch covers. Pick the head type (straight, 45° or 90°) and enter the thread (M8 × 1, R 1/8, 1/4-28 UNF), a measured outside diameter with the pitch or threads per inch, or the hex across flats: the tool gives the thread, the hex where two catalogues agree, draws the nipple, checks an offered one and writes an RFQ line.
Heights and thread lengths are not given: the catalogues differ on each of them. The material and the pressure rating are not read here: give them in the request.
How a grease nipple is read
Head, hex, thread.
Hex: SW
The hex across flats is measured between two opposite flats. It follows the thread and the type: 7, 9, 11 or 14 mm on these nipples. A hex alone does not prove the thread: several threads share one hex.
Thread: metric, pipe or UNF
A metric thread is named by its diameter and pitch (M8 × 1). R 1/8 and R 1/4 are taper pipe threads with 28 and 19 threads per inch; 1/4-28 UNF is an inch thread with 28. M10 × 1 and R 1/8 are close in diameter: the pitch tells them apart.
| Thread | Pitch | Type A, straight, SW | Type B, 45°, SW | Type C, 90°, SW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M6 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 9 |
| M8 × 1 | 1 | 9 | 9 | differ |
| M8 × 1.25 | 1.25 | 9 | differ | differ |
| M10 × 1 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| M10 × 1.5 | 1.5 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| M12 × 1.5 | 1.5 | 14 | — | — |
| R 1/8 | 28 TPI | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| R 1/4 | 19 TPI | 14 | — | — |
| 1/4-28 UNF | 28 TPI | — | — | — |
All dimensions in millimetres. A figure is given only where at least two catalogues state it and none of the consulted ones states another value. “Differ”: the catalogues give 9 or 10 mm. “—”: the type with this thread is not confirmed by two catalogues. Overall heights, thread lengths and head reach are left out: the catalogues differ by 0.1 to 2 mm on each. The parallel G 1/8 thread is in one catalogue only and is left out. No ISO counterpart of DIN 71412 is given: none was confirmed.
Other nipple types
Button-head nipples (DIN 3404) and flush-type nipples (DIN 3405) are separate standards with a different head shape. A button-head nipple takes its own coupler, not the one for a cone head, so state the type before asking for the nipple or the grease gun parts. No dimensions are given for them here.
Sources
Hex sizes and thread pairings: the DIN 71412 form tables (1987 edition) as published online, the KIPP datasheets K1132 A, B and C, Würth DIN 71412 item pages, the Kingfisher Lubrication range of hydraulic nipples, and the Karl Heitz and Tubes International DIN 71412 ranges. The separate coupler for a button head: the ehorst.de lubrication list and McMaster-Carr. Thread diameters and pitches: ISO 7-1 and the metric and UNF thread tables the thread identifier also uses.
Before you send the request
Questions about grease nipples in an RFQ
Which head type is my nipple: A, B or C?
Look along the thread: a straight head is type A (H1), a head bent at 45° is type B (H2), at 90° type C (H3). The same thread comes in all three types, so the angle has to be given in the request.
How do I find the thread without a gauge?
Measure the outside diameter of the thread with a caliper and count the threads over 10 mm or over one inch. M8 × 1 reads just under 8 mm with 10 threads in 10 mm; the taper R 1/8 reads about 9.7 mm with 28 threads per inch; M10 × 1 reads just under 10 mm with 10 threads in 10 mm. The tool matches the diameter and the pitch; the hex across flats narrows it further.
Why are the heights not given?
The catalogues used here give overall heights, thread lengths and head reach that differ by 0.1 to 2 mm for the same nipple, and some give a maximum rather than a nominal value. This tool keeps a figure only when two catalogues agree and none says otherwise, so the heights are left out: measure the removed nipple if the height matters.
Is a button-head or flush-type nipple the same?
No. Button-head nipples to DIN 3404 and flush-type nipples to DIN 3405 have a different head shape, and a button-head nipple takes its own coupler on the grease gun. This tool covers only the cone-head DIN 71412 nipple.
What should the request include?
The standard (DIN 71412), the head type (A straight, B 45° or C 90°), the thread with its pitch, the hex across flats, the material if it is known, the quantity, and a photograph of the nipple.
Nipple identified?
Send the line with a photograph of the nipple.
A row of this table is a cross-check of the thread and the hex, not a nipple selection. Attach the photograph and your measurements, and Vessel Core checks them before an offer goes back.
Buyer tools
