CPVC Fittings Names and Uses: MTA, FTA, Union, Tank Nipple and More

Quick answer: CPVC fittings are named by the job they do. Elbows, bends and step over bends change direction. Tees and cross tees branch. Couplers and unions join. Reducers and bushings change size. MTA and FTA (Ashirvad calls them MAPT, FAPT, MABT and FABT) connect to threads. Tank nipples connect to a tank. Ball valves and concealed valves isolate. A 1/2 inch Ashirvad CPVC elbow costs ₹15 (list ₹29) and a 1/2 inch brass-thread elbow for a tap point ₹63 (list ₹126), before GST, checked on 3 November 2026.

A plumber's material list is mostly fitting names, and the names are shorthand: MTA, FTA, MABT, FABT union. This page goes through each common CPVC fitting, grouped by the job it does, with what it is, where it goes in a house, the sizes we stock and one example price with a link to the product. Examples are Ashirvad unless the name belongs to another brand. The same fittings in all three brands are on the Ashirvad, Astral and Supreme price lists.

Two facts apply to every fitting below. Ashirvad and Astral both make their 1/2 to 2 inch CPVC fittings to SDR 11 and use them with both SDR 11 and SDR 13.5 pipe, which our SDR 11 against SDR 13.5 post explains. And the socket end of each one is joined with CPVC solvent cement, not uPVC cement.

Fittings that change direction

Elbow 90°

The commonest fitting on any list. A tight right-angle turn, socket at both ends. Every corner of a bathroom line has one. We stock 1/2 to 2 inch. Example: Ashirvad CPVC elbow 90°, 1/2 inch, ₹15 (list ₹29).

Elbow 45°

A half turn. Two 45s make a gentler 90 than one elbow, and a single 45 gets a line around a column or a beam edge. 1/2 to 2 inch. Example: 3/4 inch, ₹24 (list ₹47).

Sweep bend

A long radius 90 degree bend with a socket at both ends. Less resistance to flow than an elbow, so it is used on main lines and pump lines rather than inside a bathroom. 1/2 to 2 inch. Example: 3/4 inch, ₹46 (list ₹91).

Step over bend (crossover)

A pipe with a hump in it. Where a hot line and a cold line have to cross in the same wall chase, the step over bend lifts one over the other without two elbows and two short pieces. It keeps the chase shallow. 1/2 to 2 inch. Example: Ashirvad step over bend, 1/2 inch, ₹53 (list ₹106). Astral sells the same thing as step over bend at ₹40 (list ₹89).

Reducer elbow

An elbow with one socket a size smaller, so a turn and a size change happen in one fitting. Example: 3/4 x 1/2 inch, ₹28 (list ₹55).

Fittings that branch

Tee

Three equal sockets. Takes a branch off a line to a tap, a shower or a flush valve. 1/2 to 2 inch. Example: 3/4 inch, ₹26 (list ₹52).

Reducer tee

A tee with the branch, or one run, a size smaller. The usual one in a bathroom is 3/4 x 3/4 x 1/2: a 3/4 inch line running through and a 1/2 inch drop to a tap. Example: 3/4 x 3/4 x 1/2 inch, ₹43 (list ₹86). We stock combinations from 1/2 up to 2 inch.

Cross tee

Four sockets, two branches opposite each other. Saves a fitting where two taps sit back to back on either side of a wall. 1/2 to 1 inch. Example: 1/2 inch, ₹27 (list ₹53).

Fittings that join

Coupler

A short sleeve with a socket at both ends. Joins two lengths of pipe in a straight line, or repairs a cut. 1/2 to 2 inch. Example: 1/2 inch, ₹12 (list ₹24).

Union

A coupler that can be undone. Two halves with a threaded nut and a rubber washer between them, so a section of pipe can be removed without cutting. It goes beside anything you may need to take out later: a pump, a filter, a water meter, a pressure booster. 1/2 to 2 inch. Example: Ashirvad CPVC union, 3/4 inch, ₹78 (list ₹155). The replacement union washer is ₹3 (list ₹5).

A union belongs where you can reach it. The Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association's guidance on transition unions says to install them in accessible locations only, not behind walls. A union buried in a wall is a leak point you cannot service.

Fittings that reduce size

Reducer coupler

A coupler with different sockets at each end, say 1 inch to 3/4 inch. Used where a riser or main steps down to a branch size. Example: 1 x 3/4 inch, ₹32 (list ₹63).

Bushing

A plug that sits inside the socket of a larger fitting and gives a smaller socket. Cheaper and shorter than a reducer coupler. Example: 3/4 x 1/2 inch, ₹12 (list ₹24).

Fittings that connect to threads: MTA, FTA and the brass ones

This is the group with the most names, because every brand calls them something different.

What it is	Ashirvad name	Supreme name	Astral name
Socket one end, male thread the other, all plastic	MAPT (male adapter plastic thread)	MTA plastic	Male adaptor CPVC
Socket one end, female thread the other, all plastic	FAPT (female adapter plastic thread)	FTA plastic	Female adaptor CPVC
Male thread in a brass insert	MABT (male adapter brass thread)	MTA brass	Male adaptor brass
Female thread in a brass insert	FABT (female adapter brass thread)	FTA brass	Female adaptor brass

MTA against FTA is only about which way the thread faces. MTA (male threaded adapter) has the thread on the outside and screws into something. FTA (female threaded adapter) has the thread inside and takes something screwed into it.

Examples, 1/2 inch, before GST:

• Ashirvad MAPT, ₹14 (list ₹28). Supreme MTA plastic, ₹12 (list ₹26.50).
• Ashirvad FAPT, ₹18 (list ₹35). Supreme FTA plastic, ₹15 (list ₹33.90).
• Ashirvad MABT, ₹150 (list ₹300). Supreme MTA brass, ₹115 (list ₹255).
• Ashirvad FABT, ₹146 (list ₹291). Supreme FTA brass, ₹111 (list ₹246).

Plastic or brass is the expensive decision, roughly ten times the price. The Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association's guidance on CPVC to metal transitions sets the rule:

• An all-CPVC male adapter can be used to connect to metal on the cold water side, but should not be used on the hot side, because the two materials expand differently and the joint can start to drip.
• A metal male thread should not be screwed into a plastic female thread. The preferred way to go from CPVC to metal is a fitting with a metal insert moulded into the CPVC.
• Do not over-tighten threaded plastic fittings.

In a house, that means brass thread wherever a metal tap, mixer, geyser connection or brass valve screws on, and certainly on every hot point. Plastic thread is fine on cold connections to plastic. On threads, use PTFE tape rather than a sealing paste. Ashirvad's CPVC technical manual lists thread sealants among materials it calls generally incompatible with CPVC.

Brass elbow (the tap point elbow)

When people search "brass elbow CPVC" this is what they mean: a 90 degree CPVC elbow with a female brass thread on one end. It is set into the wall at every tap, so the tap screws straight into brass. Ashirvad lists it as Elbow 90° (Brass), Supreme as female threaded elbow brass. Example: Ashirvad 1/2 x 1/2 inch, ₹63 (list ₹126) or 3/4 x 1/2 inch, ₹70 (list ₹139). We stock sizes from 1/2 x 1/2 up to 1 1/4 x 1 1/4 inch. There is also a version with a wall clamp, the brass elbow with clamp, 3/4 x 1/2 inch, ₹73 (list ₹163), which has a clamp for fixing the outlet to the wall.

Brass tee

The same idea on a tee: CPVC run with a brass female branch. Used where a tap point sits on a running line. Example: 3/4 x 3/4 x 1/2 inch, ₹77 (list ₹154).

Union with brass thread

A union with one end in brass thread, for connections that will be opened, such as a geyser or a pump. Example: Ashirvad union MABT, 3/4 inch, ₹260 (list ₹520).

Threaded end plug

Screws into a brass elbow to close a tap point while the walls are being finished, and to hold pressure during the test. Example: 1/2 inch, ₹7 (list ₹14). Our guide to pressure testing before tiling explains why every point gets one.

Fittings that connect to a tank

Tank nipple

A threaded fitting that passes through a hole in the tank wall and is tightened from both sides with a nut and a rubber washer. The pipe connects to it outside the tank. Every outlet, inlet and overflow on a plastic tank needs one. Astral calls it a tank adaptor and Supreme a tank connector. 1/2 to 4 inch. Example: Ashirvad CPVC tank nipple, 3/4 inch, ₹55 (list ₹109), with a spare tank nipple washer at ₹7 (list ₹13). Ashirvad also makes a tank nipple with one side pipe fitment, 3/4 inch, ₹48 (list ₹95). Which size goes on which outlet of an Ashirvad tank is in our Ashirvad water tank guide.

Fittings that isolate and close

Ball valve

A quarter turn shut-off. One goes on every tank outlet and at the entry to each bathroom, so a single bathroom can be shut without draining the house. 1/2 to 4 inch. Example: Ashirvad CPVC ball valve, 3/4 inch, ₹131 (list ₹290). Versions with union ends or brass threads are covered in our CPVC ball valve price list.

Concealed valve

A valve body that sits inside the wall with only the knob and plate showing. Used as the bathroom's shut-off where an exposed ball valve would look out of place. Example: Ashirvad CPVC concealed valve, quarter turn, 1/2 inch, ₹849. Short and long body types are explained in our concealed valve guide.

Non return valve

Lets water flow one way only. Goes on a pump delivery line so the column of water does not run back when the pump stops. Example: 3/4 inch, ₹231 (list ₹514).

End cap

A socket closed at one end. Seals the end of a pipe permanently or for a future extension. Example: 1/2 inch, ₹10 (list ₹19).

Reading the names on a bill

A few more shorthand forms turn up on plumbers' lists. SOC means socket, the end the pipe is cemented into. THD means thread. SPG means spigot, a plain end that goes into another fitting's socket. So Astral's "Male Adaptor Brass THDxSOC" is a brass male thread one end, CPVC socket the other, the same job as Ashirvad's MABT. Sizes written as 3/4 x 1/2 give the larger end first. On a tee, 3/4 x 3/4 x 1/2 gives the run first and the branch last.

CPVC fittings are billed with the pipe under HSN 3917, at 18 percent GST.

Buying CPVC fittings from us

We stock the fittings above in Ashirvad, Astral and Supreme at the Viveknagar counter. Photograph the plumber's list and send it through the quote page, or WhatsApp it to 99801 00987. We will read the shorthand, price each line and tell you if a fitting on the list will not suit the job, such as a plastic thread on a hot point. The address is #14, 5th Main, 4th Cross, Viveknagar Further Extension, Bengaluru 560047.

Questions we get asked

What is the difference between MTA and FTA in CPVC?

MTA is a male threaded adapter, thread on the outside. FTA is a female threaded adapter, thread on the inside. Both have a CPVC socket on the other end.

What is MABT and FABT?

Ashirvad's names for male and female adapters with a brass threaded insert. Use them where a metal tap, valve or geyser connection screws on.

What is a step over bend used for?

Crossing one pipe over another in the same wall chase, usually hot over cold, without extra elbows.

Where should a CPVC union be fitted?

Beside anything that may need removing, such as a pump, filter or meter, and only where it can be reached later.

Prices are our counter prices before GST, checked on 3 November 2026, with the brand's list price beside each where one exists. Transition and union guidance is from the Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association. Fitting standards and the note on thread sealants are from Ashirvad's CPVC technical manual and Astral's CPVC PRO catalogue.