A misting or fogging system for cooling, dust control, odor control or humidification is made up of several different components. For both reasidential and commercial applications, these components will include the pump, the lines, fittings and the misting nozzles.
Each component needs to be carefully selected to make environmental control systems work effectively. One of the components that are often replaced incorrectly on these systems are the mister nozzles.
The Misting Nozzle Role
The role of the mister nozzles in the system is to great the fog or mist by generating micron sized droplets of water. These are created by water under pressure being forced through the very fine orifices and then broken up even further by a pin or through an impeller.
The pin option is costly and typically has a very short life cycle, so it is not commonly used. The impeller type of nozzle spins the water coming into the nozzle into a vortex that then sprays out of the nozzle end, creating the micron-sized droplets.
Options to Consider
Some mister nozzles are designed to allow that interior barrel shape to be removed and cleaned. This extends the life of the nozzle and allows for a quick repair if a nozzle becomes plugged with debris. While slightly more costly, they will not need to be replaced as a non-cleanable nozzle will require if there is material in the nozzle.
There are also nozzles that are designed to have an anti-drip assembly. This ensures that when the pump shuts off for the system, the lines won’t drain and drip from the nozzles. Depending on the application, this may or may not be a consideration. For most uses where the misting system is used for indoor or outdoor cooling, such as on patios, outdoor venues or for pools or decks, the anti-drip assembly will be important to consider.
