Tag: tank washing

Faster Batch Changeovers at a Pickle House with the BETE HydroWhirl® Mini

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

At EXAIR, a big part of what we do as Application Engineers is help customers solve practical process problems. Sometimes that means cooling a hot control cabinet with a Cabinet Cooler, moving material with compressed air with our Line Vacs, or just generally improving blow-off performance. Sometimes, it means stepping a little outside the “typical EXAIR product” conversation and pulling in the right solution from our sister company BETE.

That was exactly the case with a recent tank-cleaning application at a craft pickle-processing facility.

The Challenge: Cleaning a Small Mixing Tank Between Pickle Batches

The customer was running a small mixing tank used in the preparation of brine and seasoning blends for pickle production. Between batches, the tank needed to be cleaned thoroughly to avoid flavor carryover, ingredient buildup, and general sanitation issues. Like a lot of food processors, they were trying to balance two competing priorities. Changing over as fast as possible but still getting repeatable tank cleaning.

Their existing cleaning method was manual and inconsistent. Operators were spending too much time rinsing the tank by hand, and coverage inside the vessel wasn’t always uniform—especially around the upper walls and internal surfaces where residue could cling after mixing.

From an engineering standpoint, this is where tank washing technology makes a lot of sense. Instead of relying on a static rinse or manual wash down, a properly selected rotary tank cleaning nozzle can deliver complete, repeatable coverage while reducing labor and helping shorten cleanup time.

Why the BETE HydroWhirl Mini Was a Good Fit

In this case, the tank was relatively small, which made the BETE HydroWhirl Mini a strong fit.

The HydroWhirl Mini is a compact, fluid-driven rotary tank cleaning nozzle designed for small tanks and process equipment. In its 316L stainless steel configuration, it is built for hygienic applications and is well suited for food processing environments like this pickle operation. BETE lists it for cleaning small tanks up to roughly 6 feet in diameter, with 360° spray coverage, a self-flushing design, and PEEK slide bearings for long service life and minimal maintenance.

That combination matters in food production. When you’re washing down a tank between batches of brine, spice blends, or pickle seasoning mixtures, you want a nozzle that can do a few things well:

  • Reach the entire tank interior with consistent spray coverage.
  • Deliver enough impact to remove residue from the walls and top surfaces.
  • Hold up to repeated wash cycles without becoming a maintenance burden.
  • Use sanitary materials appropriate for food and beverage applications.

The HydroWhirl Mini checks those boxes.

How It Helped the Pickle House

For this application, the nozzle gave the customer a way to move away from manual tank rinsing and toward a more repeatable clean-in-place style process for the mixing vessel.

Because the HydroWhirl Mini is fluid-driven, it uses the cleaning liquid itself to rotate the spray head. As it rotates, it creates a vigorous 360° washing pattern that repeatedly impacts the tank interior. BETE specifically positions the HydroWhirl Mini as a solution for small tanks, drums, barrels, totes, and hygienic equipment cleaning, which made it a natural fit for a food production mixing tank.

At the pickle house, the benefits were straightforward:

1. More consistent tank coverage

2. Less manual cleaning labor.

3. Better batch-to-batch changeover

4. A sanitary material package for food applications

The stainless-version HydroWhirl Mini is made from FDA-compliant 316L stainless steel, which is important in hygienic wash-down environments. For a pickle processor dealing with acidic brines, seasonings, and frequent cleaning cycles, material compatibility and cleanability both matter.

One of the advantages of working with EXAIR is that the conversation doesn’t have to stop in compressed air. If a customer has a process challenge, our job is to help solve it even if the right answer comes from a sister company like BETE. That’s what good application engineering is supposed to look like: understanding the process, identifying the bottleneck, and matching it with a solution that makes the operation run better.

If you’re dealing with tank cleaning challenges in food processing, chemical mixing, tote washing, or other small-vessel applications, the HydroWhirl Mini is worth a look.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer
E: JordanShouse@exair.com
O: (513) 671‑3322
F: (513) 671‑3363
A: 11510 Goldcoast Dr, Cincinnati OH 45249
www.exair.com

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Physics and the Tank Cleaning Nozzle

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

After boot camp, the Navy sent me to Machinist’s Mate A-School to learn about shipboard steam propulsion plants. The first week was a course called Propulsion Engineering Basics. Since we were learning about how to use steam to move something (turbine blades), the class started off with a lesson on Hero’s Engine:

1,500 years before Isaac Newton put his Third Law of Motion in writing, Hero (or Heron) of Alexandria described this device that would demonstrate that, for every action (in this case, steam discharging from the tubes’ nozzles) there is an equal and opposite reaction (rotary motion of the apparatus), just like Newton said. Some say Hero made one and displayed it for public amusement, but evidence of that is sketchy. In any case, it DOES work.

Another demonstration of Newton’s Third Law is familiar to golfers & lawn care enthusiasts: the rotating sprinkler:

The action of the water exiting the nozzles at an angle causes a reaction, in the form of rotary motion of the sprinkler head.

Another practical application of Newton’s Third Law is an industrial one: tank cleaning. Some tanks have access ports or utility holes, so personnel can physically enter, or at least stick a sprayer inside to clean the walls. Oftentimes, though, they might contain materials that are toxic, harmful, or just plain messy, and any penetrations in the tank that need to be covered or sealed off are potential leak points. So, instead of manually sticking a spraying device inside & moving it around, you need something that’ll fit through a small opening and sprays in every direction.

BETE Spray Performance Engineering (a division of EXAIR) offers a number of solutions for tank cleaning/washing, in both stationary (sprays in all directions all the time) and rotating (kind of like the rotating sprinkler in the video above). If you want to know more about the stationary ones, my buddy Jordan Shouse wrote a detailed blog about The Power of the BETE HydroClaw recently.

If you want to know about the rotating types, you’re in luck because I’m going to get to those RIGHT NOW. The BETE HydroWhirl® series come in a variety of configurations and materials of construction. We’re going to look at four of them specifically:

HydroWhirl Stinger — these compact, rotating tank cleaning nozzles are made of 316L Stainless Steel with a 32 Ra surface finish, so they’re FDA compliant. They’ve got Zirconia ceramic bearings, so they’re made for long service life and extreme chemical corrosion resistance.

HydroWhirl Mini — like the Stingers, they’re FDA compliant, with 316L Stainless Steel construction with a 32 Ra finish. They have PEEK slide bearings for longevity and minimal maintenance. They’re suitable for small tanks (up to 6.5 feet in diameter.)

HydroWhirl Poseidon — these are made of FDA compliant, corrosion resistant PTFE, these are ideal for CIP (Clean-In-Place) applications commonly encountered in food, beverage, and pharmaceutical facilities. The slower spinning design makes for longer dwell times for the spray, for greater cleaning impact.

HydroWhirl Disc — this one’s made of 316L Stainless Steel with a PTFE slide bearing. It’s fully submersible, self-flushing, and suitable for small-to-medium size tanks. The rotating, high impact spray produces a pattern with consistent repetition for highly efficient & effective tank cleaning.

Lastly, since we’ve been watching videos, here’s one that shows a HydroWhirl Stinger in action:

If you’d like to find out more, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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The Power of the BETE HydroClaw®

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

Cleaning tanks that contain solids-heavy materials isn’t a simple rinse-and-go task. Whether it’s sediment-laden wastewater, mineral slurries, biomass, grain residues, or thick process byproducts, tanks with large particles demand a cleaning solution that won’t clog, wear out, or lose performance over time.

For these environments, traditional tank cleaning nozzles often struggle. Abrasive solids eat away spray orifices, large particles cause blockages, and performance drops quickly—leading to longer cleaning cycles and more downtime.

This is exactly where the BETE HydroClaw® stands out.

BETE HydroClaw Cleaning the inside of a Tank. Top Right Square is a zoom-in of an active spray pattern. Right Corner is an image of the HydroClaw Nozzle on a yellow background. The bottom of the image is an application photo in an industrial environment.

A Tough Nozzle for Tough Tank Cleaning Jobs

While originally designed for abrasive slurry applications, the BETE HydroClaw’s internal geometry makes it a natural fit for large-particle and solids-heavy tank cleaning.

Instead of forcing material through a tight orifice, the HydroClaw uses an open, deflected-flow pathway that:

  • Reduces particle impact on critical surfaces.
  • Allows larger solids to pass without clogging.
  • Maintains a consistent spray pattern even in dirty fluids.

For tanks with heavy buildup, sediment, or abrasive residue, this makes a massive difference.

Why Choose BETE?

With decades of engineering expertise and a focus on solving complex spraying challenges, BETE continues to be a leader in industrial nozzle technology. The HydroClaw is a perfect example of that innovation—purpose-built for the harshest environments.

If your current nozzles can’t keep up, or if your maintenance team is constantly pulling and replacing failed components, it may be time to upgrade to a solution designed for the real world.

The BETE HydroClaw® isn’t a standard nozzle—it’s a strategic investment in efficiency, uptime, and long-term system reliability. For operations dealing with abrasive, particulate-heavy fluids, it delivers performance where it counts most.

If you’d like to explore whether the BETE HydroClaw® is the right fit for your tank cleaning application, reach out to an EXAIR Application Engineer at techelp@exair.com. They can help review your system, recommend the best approach, and ensure you’re choosing the most efficient and durable solution for your process.

Jordan Shouse, CCASS

Application Engineer

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