FLEX-ING™ Flexible Connectors

Rigid pipe rarely lines up perfectly with a pump manifold or a shear valve, and buried systems keep moving as ground settles and temperatures change. A flexible connector absorbs that misalignment and movement at the joint. FLEX-ING™ connectors do it with an all-metal build: a corrugated 321 stainless steel inner core that carries the fuel, wrapped in a 304 stainless steel braid that takes the pressure load.

Franklin gets flexibility from more corrugations per foot rather than from thinning the wall, so the fuel contact layer stays thick. The ends use schedule 80 hex fittings in nickel plated steel or stainless steel, which resist being crushed when a technician puts a wrench on them in a tight sump. Because there is no rubber outer hose, the same connector can be used above or below ground, although Franklin notes it should not be direct buried.

Each connector is specified with a model code that sets the hose diameter (¾" up to 4"), the overall length (up to 108") and the fitting on each end. Ends include fixed and swivel male or female threads, BSPT, flanges, elbows, tees, fiberglass glue-pipe transitions, ball valves and EZ FIT flanges. Every assembly is pressure tested before it ships. Apex builds the right part number for each sump, whether it is a submersible pump connection, a dispenser riser or an aboveground tank outlet.