16 BWG Tube Wall Thickness

The 16 BWG tube wall thickness is 0.065 inch (1.651 mm). BWG 16 is a commonly specified gauge for condenser tubes, light-duty heat exchangers, and process instrumentation tubing where moderate pressure ratings are sufficient and higher heat transfer rates are desired compared to thicker-walled options.

BWG 16 tubes have a thinner wall than BWG 14 (2.108 mm), resulting in a larger internal diameter for the same OD. This improves flow capacity and heat transfer but reduces the pressure rating.

16 BWG Tube Dimensions and Weights

Tube OD (inch)	Tube OD (mm)	Wall (mm)	ID (mm)	Weight lb/ft	Weight kg/m
1/4”	6.350	1.651	3.048	0.130	0.194
5/16”	7.950	1.651	4.648	0.175	0.260
3/8”	9.525	1.651	6.223	0.219	0.326
1/2”	12.700	1.651	9.398	0.307	0.457
5/8”	15.875	1.651	12.573	0.395	0.558
3/4”	19.050	1.651	15.748	0.483	0.719
7/8”	22.225	1.651	18.923	0.572	0.851
1”	25.400	1.651	22.098	0.660	0.982
1-1/4”	31.750	1.651	28.448	0.833	1.240
1-1/2”	38.100	1.651	34.798	1.010	1.510
2”	50.800	1.651	47.498	1.360	2.030
2-1/2”	63.500	1.651	60.198	1.720	2.560
3”	76.200	1.651	72.898	2.070	3.080
4”	101.600	1.651	98.298	2.780	4.130

16 BWG vs Adjacent Gauges

Property	BWG 14	BWG 16	BWG 18
Wall thickness (inch)	0.083	0.065	0.049
Wall thickness (mm)	2.108	1.651	1.245
ID for 3/4” OD tube (mm)	14.834	15.748	16.560
Weight for 3/4” OD (kg/m)	0.894	0.719	0.555
Relative pressure rating	Highest	Medium	Lowest
Relative heat transfer	Lowest (thickest wall)	Medium	Highest (thinnest wall)
Common use	HX (refinery, high pressure)	HX (general service), condensers	Condensers, instrumentation

Applications for 16 BWG Tubes

Application	Typical OD	Material	Standard
Surface condensers	7/8” to 1”	Titanium, Cu-Ni 90/10	ASTM B338, B111
HVAC chillers	3/4” to 1”	Copper	ASTM B75
Process heat exchangers (low pressure)	3/4” to 1”	SS 304/316	ASTM A213
Instrumentation tubing	1/4” to 1/2”	SS 316/316L	ASTM A269
Feed water heaters	5/8” to 1”	Carbon steel	ASTM A179

Pro Tip

When selecting between BWG 14 and BWG 16 for heat exchanger tubes, the key trade-off is pressure rating vs. heat transfer. BWG 16 provides approximately 22% less wall thickness than BWG 14, which reduces the conductive resistance through the tube wall and improves the overall heat transfer coefficient. However, the reduced wall thickness limits the allowable working pressure. For compression fittings on instrumentation tubing, BWG 16 is often the default wall thickness for 1/4” and 3/8” OD stainless steel tubes.

For the complete tubing weight and dimension tables by all BWG and SWG gauges, see the full tube size charts.

Read the full guide to BWG/SWG tube sizes