nozzle change-over?

[JustClean]

Hi all,
what are your thoughts on turbo nozzles on touchless machines? Are they cleaning any better? More maintenance? Worthwhile?
Some of the inverted L touchless machines come with and some come without them. However, wouldn't it makes sense to have at least one at the bottom of the inverted L for a better wheel cleaning result? OR can the operator put them on without drastically changing any water flow of the arm?

 

[tobaccofarmer]

Having owned machines both ways here is what I can tell you. The biggest advantage to 0 degree's is the water savings. As far as cleaning not so much. Volume seems to clean better and your inverted L with v jets has more volume than the 0 degrees which equals better cleaning. Now another important note is the fact that in order to run 0 degrees on any machine you will need a seperate nozzle manifold for LP presoak as the current setup delivers presoak through regular v jets along with high pressure rinse because you cannot run presoak through 0 degree nozzles. I have experimented with 2 manifolds on a 4000 arm adding the additional manifold to the side of the current and using it strickly for low pressure chemical delivery along with my own way of diverting the low pressure to only exit through the new manifold and nozzles and not the old, and then when high pressure kicks on the reverse takes place where the high pressure only exits the old manifold and not the new one. After all this extensive research I will tell you the 0 degrees are not effective enough as far away as they are from the vehicle, they need to be 1 or 2 inches off surface to really see a difference. The best overall setup are the ceramic inserted v jets, they last 25 times longer than reg stainless v jets. Getting back to 0 degree's though they didnt seem to create much trouble as far as maintenance goes, you can put a rebuild kit it them but out of the 5 or 6 kinds I have tried not one really stood out as better than the other. Always goes back to this, a 5gpm x 1500psi pressure washer cleans /works better than a 2.2gpm at 2500psi, atleast this is my experience when cleaning heavy machinery and equipment which always goes back to Volume outperforms pressure, but volume costs more also so its a balancing act. In order to get a machine to perform with 0 degrees you have to compensate with much stronger chemical so the cost is balanced out with more chemical and less water, or more water and less chemical. This is my conclusion on the whole matter anyway.

 

[ToFarGone]

I have 0 degree nozzles on the rinse arms...I think they work great. On my inverted L, I was using far more volume than needed. This helped me find the middle ground. So I agree on the volume statement...saves me some water.

I disagree/agree on the ceramic insert...by far and away the worst way to go unless they are firing somewhat straight down. It isn't heavy use that wears these guys down. Pick one up and shake it sometime. You will hear it rattle. Look at the business end of the nossle now tip it down 45 degrees. You will see the "spinner" inside slip down. What happens is when they are in this rearward postion (sometimes they are sometimes not) they SLAM forward when the water starts. They are not impact resistant...just VERY well made for friction. Noticed this on the one I used to clean gates on the farm. The second one I always tipped down and gave a shake before I started....lasted a loooooooooong time. On my nozzles that spray straight down I have ceramics that are 4 years old..."spinner" is always seated thanks to gravity. They show no signs of needing to be replaced.

The hydra-shock by hydra-flex, I believe, are carbide tipped....they seem to stand up to the problem I covered above better.

Just have to total up nozzles you have currently to find flow and replace with comparable IF they make it....I have some 10gpm nozzles, and I think the most I have seen on a 0 degree is 6gpm? Tobacco will know more about this statement. If I was washing a front end loader I would want more flow.

Hope I didn't muddle things up even more...just what I noticed!

 

[tobaccofarmer]

When I said ceramic insert, I am refering to a regular V jet nozzle that has a ceramic tip on it! Nothing moving at all on these they are in the dultmeier catalog near where the regular v jets are! they are like 8-9 dollars a piece.

 

[ToFarGone]

Sorry...mistake on my end.

Thank you for setting it straight.

 

[cap732000]

I had a dual arm installed on a navigator which is a terrible machine but with the turbo nozzles and a high quality soap it actually does a amazing job. Im still not a navigator fan and will eventually replace it.