Dimensions
Why 1/4 inch pipe is not 1/4 inches
Nominal Pipe Size is a label, not a measurement. NPS 1/4 pipe has an outside diameter of 0.540 inches, and it keeps that outside diameter in every schedule made. What the schedule number changes is the wall: at schedule 40s the wall is 0.088 inches, so the bore comes out at 0.364 inches.
That is the practical consequence. Fittings, flanges, supports and threading dies are sized to the outside diameter, so they fit any schedule of the same trade size. Flow, pressure drop and anything that has to pass through the pipe depend on the inside diameter, which changes with every schedule. Order by trade size and schedule; work your hydraulics from the bore.
Other schedules in NPS 1/4
Same outside diameter of 0.540 inches throughout - only the wall and the bore move.
Frequently asked questions
What is the wall thickness of 1/4 inch schedule 40s pipe?
0.088 inches (2.24 mm). The outside diameter is 0.540 inches (13.72 mm) whatever the schedule, so this wall leaves an inside diameter of 0.364 inches.
What is the inside diameter of 1/4 inch schedule 40s pipe?
0.364 inches (9.24 mm). Inside diameter is outside diameter minus twice the wall: 0.540 - 2 x 0.088 = 0.364 inches.
Is 1/4 inch pipe actually 1/4 inches?
No. NPS 1/4 is a trade size, not a measurement. The pipe measures 0.540 inches across the outside and 0.364 inches across the bore in this schedule. Only the outside diameter is fixed across schedules.
Is schedule 40s the same as STD at this size?
Yes, at NPS 1/4. STD is the same 0.088 inch wall here. That coincidence is per size and does not hold everywhere: standard wall and schedule 40 part company above NPS 10, and extra strong and schedule 80 part company above NPS 8.
Not published here
3 schedules at NPS 1/4 appear in only one of the published tables cross-checked for this section, so they are named rather than printed: 160, XXS, 5S. Everything shown above carries at least two independent sources.
Where this table stops
This table runs from NPS 1/8 to NPS 24 and stops there. ASME B36.10M itself continues to NPS 80; those larger sizes are not carried here, so a size above NPS 24 is missing rather than undefined.
Where these figures come from
Dimensions are as defined by ASME B36.19M (stainless steel pipe). This site is an independent reference and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by any standards body.
Every value on this page was cross-checked against 2 independent published sources: