The most common way the past 50 years to clean sewer, drain and storm water pipes is to use water under pressure supplied from a jetting unit. The investment of a combination or jetting truck is severe. But when it comes to pipe cleaning what is the key to success? To make a simple analogy, we can describe the jetting unit as a drilling machine. A drilling machine without efficient and adapted drills for each individual job has no function.
The same thing is adaptable to a jetting truck. The action is at the end of the hose at the cleaning nozzle.
Pipe cleaning is a matter of removal and transportation. Transportation is made through powerful water jets. The relationship between water flow and pressure is very important, but often misunderstood. To flush a line is no big deal, but to clean it – that’s a matter of skill. The number of draws a nozzle must make in a pipe to clean it, create wear, damages, costs and unnecessary burden on our common environment. It is easy to understand that 2 draws with a nozzle in a pipe is cheaper than 8.
NOZZLES USED TO OPEN BLOCKAGES AND OBSTRUCTIONS.
Nozzles used for opening blockages or remove obstructions are all designed with some type of front jet(s). It can be a simple blockage caused by buildup of F.O.G (Food, Oil, Grease) sludge, hair, or larger stones or foreign objects i.e., flushable wipes preventing the flow in the pipe. When the flow slows down even more material get built up and creates a dam effect and can result in an emergency. Bellies or dips in the pipe can also cause this to occur with allows debris to build up in the bottom of the pipe and creates that dam effect.
In today’s market you find many different nozzles that are designed to open clogs or remove obstructions. From simpler Tier 1 nozzles with drilled jet holes both for thrusting rear jets and supplied with one or more forward jets to more advance Tier 2 and Tier 3 nozzles.
These simpler nozzles have the poorest efficiency but are usually an excellent choice in smaller diameter pipes where more advanced nozzles cannot be used due to their size.
With a Tier 2 nozzle, the efficiency increases as these have replaceable jet inserts instead of drilled jet holes directly into the nozzle body (Tier 1). Tier 2 is designed with replaceable jet inserts or orifices offer a better adaptation of the nozzle to the pump capacity of the jetting truck or unit. These replaceable inserts can be made of Stainless Steel or a combination of Stainless Steel and Ceramic to suit your needs. Some of our nozzles have the possibility of four front jets, such as the MULTI-GLOBAL®, Pointed Nozzle, Fir®Pointed, GLOBAL ™ SP, and chisel nozzles.
The MASTER DRILL ™, also a Tier 2 nozzle, is supplied with one front jet that “rotates”, which means that the front nozzle opens a larger area in front of the nozzle and allow the nozzle to thrust up the pipe with it rear thrusting jets which also aids in opening the blockage. This nozzle can be adapted to meet the pump capacity and increase the efficiency of the cleaning/opening of the blockage.
Tier 3 nozzles for blockages are highly efficient because the water directing design inside the nozzle, which immensely reduces pressure losses inside the nozzle as the water flows through. This gives more power at the nozzle at a lower cost since the truck can operate at a lower rpm and still reach a good working pressure at the nozzle. In our catalog our series of GOBLIN® cleaning nozzles offer different versions with one or several front jets. The series, starts with ½” hose thread up to 1-1/4” hose thread, they are suitable in pipe sizes from 4” up to 32”. GOBLIN®L has the option of four front jets.
In addition to the above, which we usually call fixed nozzles or standard nozzles, also rotating nozzles can be used. When cleaning standing pipes many of our customers use BL SPINNER® with 45-degree water jets rotating forward. The nozzle is then normally lowered down from the top of the pipe. For all types of clogs and obstructions, there are several different slow-rotating nozzles to be found in our range.
We are willing to assist to solve your clogged pipe problems, get those pipes flowing again.
The same thing is adaptable to a jetting truck. The action is at the end of the hose at the cleaning nozzle.
Pipe cleaning is a matter of removal and transportation. Transportation is made through powerful water jets. The relationship between water flow and pressure is very important, but often misunderstood. To flush a line is no big deal, but to clean it – that’s a matter of skill. The number of draws a nozzle must make in a pipe to clean it, create wear, damages, costs and unnecessary burden on our common environment. It is easy to understand that 2 draws with a nozzle in a pipe is cheaper than 8.
NOZZLES FOR ICE, BLOCKAGES AND STOPPAGES
From the very beginning NozzTeq® was asked by our customers to develop a nozzle to break open blockages and ice blockages. We developed the GLOBAL ICEBEAR® which is designed with three front jets directed towards a center point together with rear thrusting jets.
Collaborating closely with our customers and received requests for an ice removing nozzle working efficiently to open up difficult stoppages, ice blockages and could be used clearing material to get the pipes flowing again.
The GLOBAL™ series of cleaning nozzles are in the Tier 1 group of nozzles but differs from others in the group due to their higher level of efficiency. GLOBAL™ HIT and GLOBAL ICEBEAR® are available from 1/4″”thread up to 1-1/4″. Each thread sizes have different jet sizes available to adapt to nozzle capacity to most common jetting trucks / vans / trailers.
Some of our customers prefer chisel nozzles supplied with four front jets and fewer rear thrusting jets. The front jets consist of one center jet and three angled jets direct towards pipe wall. Our own series of Chisel nozzles are made of hardened stainless steel with an efficient balance between thrusting power and front opening jets. Chisel nozzles, which can also be called Tristar, Point or Quatro nozzles, are available both as Tier 1 (drilled jet holes) 1/4″ up to 1-1/4” thread, or as Tier 2 (with exchangeable jet inserts). The nozzles can be supplied with stainless steel jet inserts or with ceramic inserts, depending on the need of the customers. The Tier 2 nozzles can easily be adapted to any pump capacity. Tier 2 Chisel nozzles are available with 1/2″ up to 1-1/4”” hose connection.
FIR® is another Tier 1 type of nozzle that many of our customers use to remove ice and blockages. They are extremely popular for removing paper, wet wipes, or hard packed sludge in pipe. All FIR® nozzles have a pointed shape from top to bottom, which allows them to effectively work their way through different type of blockages. FIR® is supplied with a center front jet and thrusting rear jets in two levels. The Fir nozzle resemble a Step drill, in that as it opens a small passage as it proceeds froward the next set of jet increase the opening until the blockage is open ana the pipes are flowing again.
FIR® Pointed is a Tier 2 nozzle, meaning it is equipped with replaceable jet inserts, allowing perfect adaption to any high-pressure pump. FIR® Pointed is supplied with four front jets, like Chisel nozzles but with a Christmas tree shape supplied with thrusting rear jets in two levels effectively pushing the nozzle forward through clogs of various kinds. FIR® Pointed is designed for use with hose sizes of 3/4″ to 1-1/4″.
Nozzles used for opening blockages or remove obstructions are all designed with some type of front jet(s). It can be a simple blockage caused by buildup of F.O.G (Food, Oil, Grease) sludge, hair, or larger stones or foreign objects i.e., flushable wipes preventing the flow in the pipe. When the flow slows down even more material get built up and creates a dam effect and can result in an emergency. Bellies or dips in the pipe can also cause this to occur with allows debris to build up in the bottom of the pipe and creates that dam effect.
In today’s market you find many different nozzles that are designed to open clogs or remove obstructions. From simpler Tier 1 nozzles with drilled jet holes both for thrusting rear jets and supplied with one or more forward jets to more advance Tier 2 and Tier 3 nozzles.
These simpler nozzles have the poorest efficiency but are usually an excellent choice in smaller diameter pipes where more advanced nozzles cannot be used due to their size.
With a Tier 2 nozzle, the efficiency increases as these have replaceable jet inserts instead of drilled jet holes directly into the nozzle body (Tier 1). Tier 2 is designed with replaceable jet inserts or orifices offer a better adaptation of the nozzle to the pump capacity of the jetting truck or unit. These replaceable inserts can be made of Stainless Steel or a combination of Stainless Steel and Ceramic to suit your needs. Some of our nozzles have the possibility of four front jets, such as the MULTI-GLOBAL®, Pointed Nozzle, Fir®Pointed, GLOBAL ™ SP, and chisel nozzles.
The MASTER DRILL ™, also a Tier 2 nozzle, is supplied with one front jet that “rotates”, which means that the front nozzle opens a larger area in front of the nozzle and allow the nozzle to thrust up the pipe with it rear thrusting jets which also aids in opening the blockage. This nozzle can be adapted to meet the pump capacity and increase the efficiency of the cleaning/opening of the blockage.
Tier 3 nozzles for blockages are highly efficient because the water directing design inside the nozzle, which immensely reduces pressure losses inside the nozzle as the water flows through. This gives more power at the nozzle at a lower cost since the truck can operate at a lower rpm and still reach a good working pressure at the nozzle. In our catalog our series of GOBLIN® cleaning nozzles offer different versions with one or several front jets. The series, starts with ½” hose thread up to 1-1/4” hose thread, they are suitable in pipe sizes from 4” up to 32”. GOBLIN®L has the option of four front jets.
In addition to the above, which we usually call fixed nozzles or standard nozzles, also rotating nozzles can be used. When cleaning standing pipes many of our customers use BL SPINNER® with 45-degree water jets rotating forward. The nozzle is then normally lowered down from the top of the pipe. For all types of clogs and obstructions, there are several different slow-rotating nozzles to be found in our range.
We are willing to assist to solve your clogged pipe problems, get those pipes flowing again.
The same thing is adaptable to a jetting truck. The action is at the end of the hose at the cleaning nozzle.
Pipe cleaning is a matter of removal and transportation. Transportation is made through powerful water jets. The relationship between water flow and pressure is very important, but often misunderstood. To flush a line is no big deal, but to clean it – that’s a matter of skill. The number of draws a nozzle must make in a pipe to clean it, create wear, damages, costs and unnecessary burden on our common environment. It is easy to understand that 2 draws with a nozzle in a pipe is cheaper than 8.
Sewer and Storm Cleaning nozzles comes in many varied sizes, shapes, and styles and each has distinct levels of efficiency. They are used in both storm, sewer (drain) pipes, culvers, and siphons. Cleaning nozzles designed with high efficiency are more costly than less efficient standard nozzle. The investment of a high-efficient cleaning nozzle will result in being a big money saver, due to saved water, diesel, less wear and tear of the jetting truck and reduction of person-hours.
With increased environmental awareness, it is easy to understand that the need to use less diesel and water, to get the job done, not only minimize the environmental impact but also minimize operational costs. It is a prudent business decision to calculate the total operational costs instead of only looking at the purchase cost of the nozzle.
These category of Cleaning nozzles include specific types of designs depending on the cleaning task. All cleaning nozzles need to have the power to move material in pipes. They come with different names like; Bomb, Grenade, Bulldozer, Flounder, Floor Cleaners, Torpedo, Heavy cleaning Nozzles, Traction Nozzles, JAWS®, BL SWIPER®, C-RAY®, MANTA® or simply Powerful Nozzles.
Tier 1 Cleaning nozzles are the simplest version with the least efficiency and shortest service lifetime. This is due to the drilled holes for water outlet in the nozzle body. Over time when the drilled holes wear out, the entire nozzle becomes much more inefficient resulting in the use of more water/fuel and time. Tier 1 cleaning nozzles have their place. Smaller diameter pipes and pipes with bends (30˚/45˚/90˚), where nozzle size is crucial and where more advanced nozzles, due to their size, might have difficulties to pass.
GLOBAL™ Ground and GLOBAL® IceBear are two extremely popular Tier 1 cleaning nozzles. With a round and flexible design both types perform at the top end in Tier 1 segment.
STANDARD NOZZLE GR are also used in cases where a smaller nozzle is required, i.e., smaller pipes or pipes with difficult bends.
Cleaning nozzles with the Tier 2 classification, are designed for more general cleaning, where there is a reduced amount of debris in pipe. Tier 2 nozzles have no scientific interior design but are supplied with exchangeable jet inserts. The jet inserts have a superior design that improves the performance as compared to Tier 1 nozzles. Examples of Tier 2 cleaning nozzles are MULTI-GLOBAL®, FIR®POINTED, GLOBAL®SP, GOBLIN® GRENADE and MULTI-GLOBAL® Guided nozzle. MULTI-GLOBAL® Guided nozzle allows guidance of the nozzle from mainline into the lateral.
Tier 3 cleaning nozzles have a scientific proven interior design that reduces the turbulent flows and pressure drop inside the nozzle as water pass through. The design, together with exchangeable jet inserts, reduces the total water consumption and allow lower rpm on the truck/unit. Maintaining an efficient, long, well gathered thrusting rear water jets, available at different angles, give the perfect solution for each individual cleaning project.
Example of Tier 3 cleaning nozzles are the BL SWIPER®, C-RAY®, MANTA® and JAWS®, and the GOBLIN® series. The Goblin series is available with various rear jet angled at 0˚, 0˚+ 2˚, 0˚ + 5˚, 10˚ + 30˚ and 15˚ + 30˚. The outer design of GOBLIN® resemble the design of a Grenade or Bomb. The difference is the inner design where GOBLIN® is a Tier 3 nozzle while most Grenades and Bombs are Tier 2, i.e., without any water directing design inside the nozzle.
When the project is to remove material/debris that is on the bottom of the pipe which goes by various names such as Bottom Cleaner, Scraper, Bulldozer, C-RAY®, MANTA®, Flounder or Floor Cleaner.
These Bottom Cleaning nozzles are design where the rear thrusting and cleaning water jets are in a horizontal position compared with standard cleaning nozzles. Standard bottom cleaning nozzles have thrusting rear jets positioned in a circle around the hose connection. When there is debris to be removed in the lower part of the pipe, it is beneficial to use a Bottom Cleaner since they do not waste water in the upper part of the pipe where there are no debris to remove. All the cleaning force is directed where the material is – at the bottom of the pipe.
There are a variety of Bottom Cleaners on the market. The Flounder style nozzle is usually Tier 2 or in rare cases Tier 3 nozzle. The Flounder style can easily flip around without affecting the cleaning. Due to the “flipping” design, the rear jets must be directed vertically straight back. This result in poorer cleaning efficiency and prevent the Flounder’s capability to keep the material away from the nozzle body as it piles up behind. When the Flounder style are not able to push the material away anymore it “jump over” the debris, leaving waves of material behind. The next pass with this nozzle will become more difficult and the total usage of time, water and diesel will be high, before the mission is completed.
Except for the Flounder style design, there are many other models of Bottom Cleaners on the market, with more or less advanced flow technology. They are characterized by a higher weight with low gravity center, to prevent nozzle from flipping over. This type of nozzles does not work efficiently lying upside down and they are always supplied with a rotary swivel. The swivel catches hose rotation to avoid being transferred to the nozzle body.
We at NozzTeq® have several variations of Bottom Cleaning Nozzles, all with the Tier 3 scientific flow technology. C-RAY®200 and C-RAY®400 are made of high-quality stainless steel with six or eight rear jets, with a possibility of one front jet if needed. The angles of the thrusting rear jets are directed to cover the width of pipe, as well as breaking hard sediment at the bottom of the pipe and being able to push material far behind the nozzle. The C-RAY®200 and C-RAY®400 move much more debris in just one pass. C-RAY® comes also in another design – C-RAY®TWIN. The design of C-RAY®TWIN allows water feeding from two jetting trucks to obtain more water flow rate per minute, which is necessary for effective cleaning of larger pipes. The jetting trucks are positioned – one downstream and one upstream. With this solution no water will be wasted transporting the C-RAY®TWIN upstream. The upstream jetting truck rewind their sewer cleaning hose, while the jetting truck downstream put their hose reel in freewheel position. Once nozzle is at upstream position the cleaning process can start and the downstream truck rewind their hose, while upstream is in freewheel position. All nozzles in the C-RAY® series are suitable for clean water but not recycled water.
MANTA® is made of quality stainless steel with a flexible construction allowing easy change of the rear end (rear jets) and can easily be adapted with 8, 10 or 12 jets. MANTA® comes with a Hardox skid to prevent wear on the actual nozzle body. The Hardox skid can easily be replaced when worn. MANTA® works excellently with any type of recycled water and of course also with clean water.
All of these nozzles designed with a low center of gravity due a weighted bottom and a high-flow Swivel, which prevents the nozzle from flipping over in the pipe. In other words, if it does start to roll in the pipe it will right itself and continue to clean the bottom of the pipe, unlike some other that once they flip over, they wash the top of the pipe. This results in inefficient cleaning.
The removing and transportation of loose material in pipes, such as sand, gravel, stones, and sludge by using the power from a jetting truck certain items are required:
The pump size/capacity are directly related to the size of lines you are attempting to clean size to be cleaned.
Efficient, high performing cleaning nozzle that take the power from the jetting truck and convert it into strong water jets. The design of the nozzle must be able to increase the water velocity in the pipe to be able to transport the material.
The correct choice of cleaning nozzle for above task is a high-performing – Tier 3 nozzle. With the proper choice of nozzle, the result in a water and cost-saving operation with low environmental impact will be achieved, this combined with reduction of time spent on the project along with a lowered effect on the infrastructure. When the inner design of these types of cleaning nozzles reduces to almost eliminated the turbulent flows in the nozzle, resulting in longer and stronger water jets.
What needs to be considered when deciding what cleaning nozzle to use?
Choose a cleaning nozzle with fewer rear water jets, at a lower jet angle. Nozzles with higher rear jet angles is not as efficient transporting material in pipe. In addition, a high angled nozzle needs higher pressure to thrust up the pipe and have a stronger tendency to cause a chance to “blow toilets,” not to mention meaning the jetting truck needs to work at higher engine RPM, resulting in higher fuel costs and more wear and tear of the unit and added crew hours on site.
Do not use one or several front jets if not called for.
High-performing cleaning nozzles Tier 3 can keep the thrusting rear jets together stronger and further behind the nozzle. This allow lower rear jet angle, while the jets are still being able to reach out all the way to pipe wall, before turning into mist.
Select a cleaning nozzle which is designed for the pipe size to be cleaned.
Your nozzle supplier should have the necessary skills and knowledge, along with equipment to check your truck/unit to ensure the nozzle is setup correctly to afford you the most optimum cleaning effect. They should always consider the hose line loss. We fully understand that not all jetter units whether truck mounted, or trailer mounted are not the same.
By investing in the right cleaning nozzle for the job, big money will be saved. Less usage of water. Less usage of fuel, due to lower rpm on jetting truck. The investment will also, in a straightforward way decrease your environmental impact.
Large diameter pipes that are full or partially full of water and debris, then an Ejector style nozzle, also called Venturi nozzles, are normally used to remove sand, gravel, stones, clay, etc. Conventional ejector cleaning nozzle require the nozzle to be completely covered by water during the operation, to enable the ejector function to work.
Combined with the water supplied by the jetting truck, an ejector nozzle also uses the water in the pipe, to move the material and water. A normal cleaning nozzle usually does not have enough power to increase the speed of the water in a pipe filled with water. The result is a mixing action, meaning the material in the pipe is more churned up than moving downstream.
A typical ejector nozzle consists of one or more large ejector pipes, where the water from the jetting truck enters in the center of the ejector pipe or in a circle on the inside of the ejector pipe, with several jets. The disadvantage with these types of designs, is that the water from the jetting truck is directed straight to the back. This results in the classic ejector nozzles are not being able to remove material on the sides of the pipe. If this material is hard packed the straight angle of the ejector will make it difficult to break the material loose.
By investing inf a BL SWIPER® high effective cleaning nozzle, you not only get an excellent performing nozzle to remove sand, gravel, stones, and sludge in pipes with little or no water, but also an efficient ejector nozzle. BL SWIPER® work efficiently also when the pipe is only half full of water.
Thanks to the water jets being angled slightly out towards the pipe as it leaves the nozzle, the BL SWIPER® can break up the hard packed material.
Watch our YouTube video where a large BL SWIPER® was used in a pipe by a fjord in Norway. The pipe was 1400 mm (56”) completely filled with water.
Material filling was 70%. The customer had used a classic ejector nozzle for four days. During these four days, the customer had managed to clean 16 meters (53 feet) out of a total of 160 meters (530 feet) (2 pipes each 80 meters (265 feet)). BL SWIPER® was jetted by AquaTeq® Technical Advisor to the customer’s jetting truck and within 1.5 hours BL SWIPER® had cleaned 10 meters (33 feet). See video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlqWSDwzt3g
Contact us for more information and discuss how we can adapt BL SWIPER® to your jetting truck and your cleaning projects.
Rotating nozzles are a good option when the task is to clean the inner wall of the pipe. The rotating nozzles are commonly used to remove grease or other build ups in pipe. Rotating nozzles are also used to make the final preparation of a pipe before relining takes place.
The classic rotating nozzle has a thrust part with a water directing shaft, a rotating body mounted on the axle and a top that holds the rotating body in place. The construction is based on a finetuned play between the shaft and the rotating body and through the angle or size of jet inserts, the body rotates when exposed to water under pressure. The entire construction is based on using the water as the bearing, which does not make the classic rotating nozzle suitable for recycling water. Recycling water contain particles of sand and the risk is great that these particles will lock the rotating body. In most cases the nozzle will not be reparable.
The past century the slow rotating nozzles have become very popular, mainly because of the cleaning power and strength of the cleaning jets. Service lifetime and models able to handle recycling water is two other reasons.
The best slow rotating nozzles on the market are not only able to clean grease and other softer build-ups in pipe, but also harder material, heavier roots, and other severe obstacles in pipe.
A recommended rotation speed is approx. 100-500 rpm. At this speed the water jets stay well gathered also more distant from nozzle. A centralizing sled is a good option to get an even removal of material 360˚ around the pipe.
Trees have an essential role making our cities and gardens attractive with a significant environmental roll by improving air quality, reducing stormwater runoff etc. However, if tree roots enter a wastewater pipe, they can cause severe blockages, reduce flow, cause overflows of sewer content, or damage the pipe.
Mechanical removal of roots is the most common method. On the market you find a various number of water driven cutters. Many designs need care after use due to lubrication by water and will easily jam. To forget greasing after use often result in a very short service lifetime.
Our LUMBERJACK® series of cutters are used all over the world for removal of roots, light concrete, grease, mineral deposits, tuberculation, protruding laterals, chemical build-ups and much more.
The LUMBERJACK® series of cutters are known for their performance, long service lifetime and low maintenance. The LUMBERJACK® has sealed, grease lubricated and water-cooled bearings, meaning they need no lubrication after use.
For severe blockages of hard material and when other cutters simple can’t cut it, the PAIKERT™ Impact cutters are the natural choice. These cutters are low speed, high torque impact cutters, supplied with motor, creating the impact through the pressurized water, while the rotation is done by the impact movements. The impact cutter can work completely under water, cut harden concrete, stubborn chemical or mineral build-ups or thick heavy root growth.
LUMBERJACK® is a high speed, low torque cutter designed for use with the water pressures generated by most sewer jetting or combination trucks. The LUMBERJACK®, is used all over the world, to remove mainly roots but also light concrete, grease, mineral deposits, tuberculation, protruding laterals, chemical build-ups and much more.
The LUMBERJACK® cutters are available in different models for optimal cleaning effect. LUMBERJACK® series operate in pipe sizes from 3-inches (75 mm) up to 48-inches (1200 mm). Each model cleans the inside perimeter of the pipe with barium filled links or links with hardox cut to size. They are also supplied with a removable frontknife for severe blockages. The rotation speed of the cutter could reach as high as 50 000 rpm and depending on model, they can operate with flowrates as low as 40 LPM (10 GPM) up to 950 LPM (250 GPM).
The bearings are sealed, grease-lubricated, and water-cooled. That means the LUMBERJACK® is practically maintenance-free and need no lubricate after use. The water-cooled bearings rarely need to be replaced. Average Life span for a LUMBERJACK® cutter ranges from 7- 15 years.