HollowStream™ Cone Liquid Nozzles for Spray Applications

1/4″ NPT HollowStream Liquid Atomizing Nozzle

When it comes to liquid spraying, EXAIR has a new line of all liquid nozzles.  They are engineered to spin the liquid in order to break the surface tension.  Passing through a precision orifice, the liquid will break into fine particles.  The smaller the particle size, the greater the surface area, which reduces liquid use.  For this blog, I will cover the HollowStream™ Cone Liquid Nozzles

The HollowStream™ Cone Liquid Nozzles produce a liquid ring on the target. This will reduce the liquid usage as compared to the FullStream™ Cone Liquid Nozzles.  They are available in NPT and BP female threads in ¼, 3/8, and 1/2 sizes with varying liquid flow rates. They are all made of 303 stainless steel with a vaneless design to help resist clogging.  They can handle 250 PSIG (17.2 Bar) of liquid pressure and operate at temperatures up to 800oF (427oC).  Some applications would include cooling, quenching, washing, foam breaking, sanitizing, and degreasing.

HollowStream™ Cone Nozzles

To share an application, we have worked with a metal pin manufacturer.  Their process was to harden and temper the carbon steel pins to make them very strong.  There are a few ways to heat-treat metal.  For this company, they heated the pins to a very high temperature.  Then they would quench the pins with oil to reduce the temperature quickly.  After that, they needed to wash the pins to remove the oil.  From there, the pins would travel to the tempering oven.  The wash system was very important, as they needed to remove the oil from the surface of the pins.  The “cleanliness” would affect the tempering process as well as create toxic smoke.  The washing solution was expensive, and they were looking for a way to reduce this amount without sacrificing cleanliness.  We recommended six pieces of the model HL1011SS to cover the work area when the pins came out of the oil bath.  We also matched their current liquid spray usage with the six pieces of the HL1011SS as an assurance for this customer.  When they started using the HollowStream Nozzles, they realized that the liquid surface area was enhanced, and they started to reduce the liquid line pressure.  They were able to reduce the total amount of wash solution by 25%.  As mentioned, when liquids have a larger surface area due to how they are applied, less fluid is required. 

If you have a process where you need to reduce the amount of liquid to save money, EXAIR offers a line of Liquid Atomizing Nozzles as well as Air Atomizing Nozzles.  The design is to reduce the droplet size to increase coverage.  Here is a blog with the Air Atomizing Nozzles for improving Gummy Candy Production.  In either case, if you have questions on how we can reduce costs and improve processes, you can contact an Application Engineer.  We will be happy to help you.   

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

EXAIR’s External Mix Atomizing Spray Nozzles For High Flow Rates and Liquids Over 300 cP

EXAIR’s Air Atomizing Spray Nozzles are used to atomize fluids in a wide range of different spray patterns. They utilize a small amount of compressed air which mixes with the liquid supply to create a fine mist of atomized liquid. EXAIR manufactures Air Atomizing Spray Nozzles in (3) different varieties: Internal Mix, External Mix, and Siphon Fed. Siphon nozzles are applicable for processes where the liquid cannot be pressurized, possessing the ability to siphon liquids up to 36″ or be gravity fed. Internal Mix nozzles produce the finest atomization and are ideal for liquids with a viscosity below 300 cP. For this blog, I’m going to focus on just the External Mix variety.

On all External Mix Atomizing Nozzles the volume of liquid is easily adjusted through the valve stem on the standard Atomizing Nozzle, or by regulating the liquid pressure (the only option with the No-Drip style). Increasing the liquid pressure will result in an increased liquid flow rate. The External Mix nozzles have the highest flow rates and can be used with liquids with a viscosity greater than 300 cP. Since the air and liquid are mixing just outside the nozzle, thicker liquids have a lesser chance of clogging in the nozzle. Both the liquid stream and the air stream will come into contact with each other just outside both the air and liquid caps. The compressed air breaks the liquid up into very small particles, allowing you to use much less liquid than a liquid only nozzle.

This makes them very effective in applications that utilize expensive paints, oils, or other liquids. Rather than wasting the expensive materials, the nozzle can be set to precisely dispense only what is necessary to achieve a successful application. The External Mix Atomizing Nozzle is available in the standard configuration as well as the No-Drip style. The No-Drip Atomizing Nozzle is used in a variety of applications where any liquid dripping from the nozzle after the air supply has shut off would cause a problem. This is common in painting applications where any paint dripping would affect the quality.

The External Mix Atomizing Nozzle is available in (3) different sizes: 1/8” NPT, ¼” NPT, and ½” NPT. If your application could benefit from utilizing a fine atomized spray of liquid look no further than EXAIR’s Air Atomizing Nozzles. With all sizes and configurations available from stock, we can get one out to you quickly!  

Tyler Daniel, CCASS

Application Engineer

E-mail: TylerDaniel@EXAIR.com

Twitter: @EXAIR_TD

EXAIR Internal and External Air Atomizing Nozzles

EXAIR Atomizing Nozzles

In today’s market, the cost of consumable products is on the rise; especially with paints, oils, and yes, even the cost of water.  You can help ease some of that cost by being more efficient at spraying.  The EXAIR Atomizing Nozzles can accomplish this objective.  By using compressed air to shear the liquid, small, micron-sized droplets are produced.  As a reference, reducing the area of a particle by one-half will increase the surface area by eight.  With smaller diameter particles, your liquid spraying will go a long way; saving you money. 

EXAIR stocks three different body sizes in 1/8” NPT, ¼” NPT, and ½” NPT ports that support a large range of flow; so, you can create a light mist or a monsoon.  The combination of an air cap and a liquid cap controls the spray patterns and liquid flow rates.  These caps are easily interchangeable for each body size to change the spray patterns, control the amount of fluid, and reduce any downtime for cleaning.  The amount of liquid to be applied is easily adjusted by the inlet air pressure, the liquid pressure, and the liquid adjustment valve.  So, you can dial in the exact amount of fluid required for your process to stop any waste or excess.

EXAIR manufactures three families of Atomizing Nozzles; Internal Mix, External Mix, and Siphon Fed.  The Siphon Fed generates a vacuum from the compressed air to draw the liquid to the nozzle (no liquid pump is required).  The External Mix and Internal Mix require both air and liquid to be pressurized.  In this blog, I will narrow my discussion to the Internal Mix and External Mix Atomizing Nozzles.

Internal Mix

The Internal Mix Atomizing Nozzles are designed, as the name suggests, to atomize the liquid inside the nozzle.  This means that the liquid and air streams will come together just before leaving the Atomizing Nozzle.  For this type of Atomizing Nozzle, the air and liquid supplies are pressurized and independently controlled, but because of the internal nature, the pressures will have to be similar.

The Internal Mix Atomizing Nozzle can spray fluids with a viscosity below 300 CPS.  EXAIR manufactures these nozzles with stainless steel construction; making them compatible with many different kinds of liquids.  And they are used in many applications like washing, coating, cooling, quenching, and dust control.

External Mix

To expand on the External Mix Atomizing Nozzle, it atomizes the liquid outside the nozzle.  The air and liquid supplies are pressurized and can be controlled independently.  Higher viscosity fluids can be sprayed at up to 800 CPS using this type of atomizing nozzle.  Also, with the external mixing, it helps to diminish the drying effects of the solution.  EXAIR manufactures these nozzles with stainless steel construction, as well. 

No Drip Atomizing Family

What can make the Atomizing Nozzle even better?  The No Drip option is offered with all of our Atomizing Nozzles.  This patented design is used to keep the expensive liquid from dripping out of the Atomizing Nozzles during off-cycles.  When the compressed air is turned off at the nozzle, a valve inside the body will create a seal on the liquid side.  The No Drip function enhances the Atomizing Nozzles for intermittent processes as the liquid remains inside the body for quick spraying. With delicate applications, the unwanted drips will not occur and ruin the finish of your product.  Unlike some manufacturers, there is no need to run a separate compressed air line to operate the no drip function.  The Atomizing Nozzles with the No Drip option can give you the best performance in efficiency, effectiveness, and flexibility without any drips.

If you need to maximize the liquid dispersion and reduce consumption, the EXAIR Atomizing Nozzles are the products to use.  The Internal Mix and External Mix Atomizing Nozzles can shear the drops into micron-sized particles, saving expensive consumable oils and liquids.  If you have a spraying application, you can speak to one of our qualified Application Engineers.  We will be happy to help you select the correct model.

John Ball
Application Engineer


Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Hot Off The Press (Release) – New Air Atomizing Spray Nozzle Video

EXAIR’s Research & Development Engineers continue to set a high bar on new product introductions, and our Marketing team continues to keep pace with them to get information about those new products to users who will benefit most from using them. To that end, a Press Release was issued on February 22, 2023 (coincidentally, a day we call Founder’s Day) to announce our newest video:

New Air Atomizing Spray Nozzle Video Provides Key Features & Advantages.

With 142 (so far) distinct models, odds are that no matter what you’re spraying, or what you’re spraying it onto (or into), EXAIR has an Air Atomizing Spray Nozzle (or Liquid Atomizing Spray Nozzle, which adds another 35 distinct models to our liquid spraying nozzle offerings) to meet your needs.

If you’d like to find out more about a particular Spray Nozzle, or any of our engineered compressed air products, for that matter, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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