Nozzles
Nozzles decide whether water reaches the fill evenly. They are among the cheapest components in the tower and blocked ones cost thermal performance directly.
Understanding the component
A cooling tower distributes hot water over the fill through nozzles. In a crossflow tower they sit in the floor of an open hot water basin and flow by gravity, with a splash plate or target spreading the stream into a pattern. In a counterflow tower they are fed from a pressurized header and lateral system and spray downward into the fill.
The engineering requirement is uniformity. Fill only cools where it is wet, so a dry patch is surface area you have paid for and are not using, and the air takes the path of least resistance straight through it, bypassing the wet fill entirely. A tower can lose a great deal of capability to distribution alone while every other component is in good order.
Good nozzles hold their pattern across a range of flows and water levels. Better crossflow designs eliminate the vortex spiral that forms above a plain orifice and give a consistent diffusion pattern at any head, which matters because basin level varies with load.
Basin nozzle fouled with biofilm. Blocked nozzles cost thermal performance directly.
We supply components for cooling towers from every manufacturer, including towers whose original makers no longer exist. If it is on your tower, we can identify it.
What actually goes wrong
These are the failures we find in the field, roughly in order of how often we find them. If you recognize one, we can usually tell you what to check next over the phone.
| Failure | What it means |
|---|---|
| Plugging | Biofilm, scale, silt and debris. The photograph on this page is a basin nozzle caked in black biofilm; that is not unusual, it is typical. |
| Missing nozzles | Nozzles that have been removed, knocked out or never refitted after a clean-out. Each one is a concentrated flood in one place and a dry patch somewhere else. |
| Worn orifices | Erosion opens the orifice, the nozzle passes more water than design, and the rest of the basin is starved. |
| Wrong nozzles fitted | Mixed sizes or types across a basin after years of piecemeal replacement, producing a distribution pattern nobody designed. |
| Basin silting | Solids accumulating in the hot water basin partially block the nozzles from below. |
Manufacturers and product lines
We are independent, so the recommendation follows your tower, your water and your duty rather than a single manufacturer's catalog.
Fisher
Polypropylene counterflow downspray nozzles conforming to CTI Standard 101 with a UV inhibitor, 1½" NPT thread and a 3⅝" splash plate diameter. Orifice sizes from ¾" to 1½" are color-coded by size for identification. These replace nozzles in Thermal Dynamic, GEA and Psychrometric Systems towers, and also the older Ecodyne MP counterflow nozzle.
Brentwood Industries
Dek-Spray nozzle assemblies for counterflow towers.
C.E. Shepherd
Target crossflow nozzles giving better distribution across a range of heads and flows, and fitting standard 1⅝" hot water deck holes. Also crown crossflow nozzles, which eliminate the vortex spiral and produce a consistent diffusion pattern at any head of water.
Marley and Ecodyne
Replacement gravity-flow basin nozzles for the original lines.
Names you may find on the nameplate
Including lines that are no longer current. Many of the towers we work on are thirty to fifty years old, and identifying the modern equivalent of a discontinued component is part of the job rather than an obstacle to it.
- Fisher Plastics
- Dek-Spray
- C.E. Shepherd target
- C.E. Shepherd crown
- SFF counterflow
- Ecodyne MP
- Marley
- Thermal Dynamic
- GEA
- Psychrometric Systems
What we would tell you on the phone
Send one nozzle, not a description.
There are many nozzle patterns and the differences are small and consequential: thread, splash plate diameter, orifice size, deck hole size. Post us a sample or photograph one against a rule and we will match it exactly.
Replace the whole basin at once.
Nozzle-by-nozzle replacement guarantees a mixed population and uneven distribution. Nozzles are inexpensive; do the set.
Check the fill while the basin is open.
If nozzles have been plugged for a while, the fill underneath has been running dry in patches and is worth inspecting at the same time.
Usually replaced or inspected at the same time
Distribution systems
Counterflow header and lateral systems and crossflow distribution basins, including redesign to correct uneven water loading.
View componentFill
Film and splash fill for counterflow and crossflow towers, including fouling-resistant grades: Brentwood and C.E. Shepherd.
View componentValves
Butterfly valves in the Bray 30 and 31 series, crossflow flow control valves, and bottom-dump valves from 18 to 60 inches.
View componentDrift eliminators
Cellular and blade drift eliminators to control drift loss, plume and deposition: Brentwood CDX and C.E. Shepherd DRU.
View componentSend us the nameplate and we will identify it
The fastest route to a correct quote is a photograph of the nameplate and of the component in place. Model numbers get superseded and drawings go missing; photographs do not lie.
- Phone
- (713) 643-0691
- Shop & office
-
3811 Cedar Blvd Ste A
Baytown, TX 77523