Atomizer nozzles Questions

I was hoping to ask a couple of questions about nozzles. I found a company that has some good looking nozzles and I got the specs for them and from my limited understanding it seems like the would be good, but I ask the engineering minded...

My chambers are 4x4x4 cubes, one plant per chamber, with a total of 12 chambers. Maximum saturation is 14.2mL.
The liquid orifice of the nozzle I am looking at is 0.020”. The orifice is a round so it could be cleaned by other means.
Also the compressed air consumption could be ~1+scfm per nozzle.

This is info from the rep (I am apparently not supposed to share this info ha) will the 1/4jco+SU11 work?:

"The least expensive and simplest would be to use a hydraulic atomizer. The only problem is you don’t get a range of flow you were looking for.
The flow is 0.95gph@100psi. The drop size is ~40-50microns VMD (volume mean diameter – 50% of the drops are smaller and 50% of the drops are larger).
1/4LNN-0.6 nozzle, brass, with a stainless steel orifice.
$49.74ea
You should also use a strainer in the main liquid line feeding the nozzles.
1/2TW-B200 Strainer, ½”, brass with a 200mesh stainless steel screen.
$120.93ea

For a solution using air atomizing (liquid pressure and compressed air) the:
1/4J+SU11 nozzle with setup (fluid and air cap) in nickel plated brass.
$54.15ea
The liquid pressure will probably be ~20psi and the air pressure from ~20-30psi will give a range of ~0.45-1.1gph.
1/4JCO+SU11 same nozzle with manual clean-out needle.
$116.32ea.


WILL THE BRASS/NICKEL REACT WITH MY NUTES? From what I understand yes, but we are talking 54 bucks versus 107 for stainless!

Buy plastic/PVC nozzles and forget it.

hotrodharley said:

Buy plastic/PVC nozzles and forget it.

Click to expand...

Do they perform the same? I would imagine plastic getting eroded by the pressure, as in the orifices would get larger over time with mineral/nute solutions blasting through it at 30-80 psi. But I think I overthink things

Honestly...I personally would stay away from brass/nickle...but that's just me, I just have a thing for SS. If you are building a test unit and what to see how it will work etc brass/nickle is fine, but if you plan on using the nozzle for a longer period, SS just makes more sense. If you look for example in the food industry, they use SS nozzles...

Aeropuff said:

Honestly...I personally would stay away from brass/nickle...but that's just me, I just have a thing for SS. If you are building a test unit and what to see how it will work etc brass/nickle is fine, but if you plan on using the nozzle for a longer period, SS just makes more sense. If you look for example in the food industry, they use SS nozzles...

Click to expand...

That is what I figured. I installed a waste vegetable oil system on my skoolie and I had to avoid copper, brass and nickel like the plague unless I wanted to induce polymerization of the oils. I feel like it could potentially bind nutrients to its ionic radius and change up the matrix, or leach its ions, f*ing up my EC.

SS seems like the way to go. Unfortunately that means 1,300 bucks! I still need to make sure that all the specs of the nozzles I stated match up to the intended use.

Oh Atomizer, where art thou?!

The sales rep is recommending a list of add-ons:

[FONT=&quot]For a ½” liquid line:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]AA122-1/2-NYC-100 ½” Strainer $42.36[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]11438-252S (stain. Stl) ½” Regulator $822.71 [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]or 11438-252 (brass) ½” Regulator $108.06[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]26383-1/4-100 psi gauge $13.04[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]11438-23 ½” 2-way Sole $125.46[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]For 1” air line[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]11438-5 1” Air Filter $160.18[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]11438-49 1” air Regulator $133.02[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]26383-1/4-100 psi gauge $13.04[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]11438-25 1” 2-way Sole. $247.92


Can I find these materials elsewhere at a lower cost but comparable quality? Their products look very professional and high-quality, so if I am only buying them once, it is worth it. Hopefully not even a fraction of what it will yield long term. But that's an expensive solenoid! AND 800 for an SS air regulator??? That is crazy. I know I'll be able to find that stuff a lot cheaper, but I don't know if it will have the same quality i.e. performance.
[/FONT]

that price difference in SS and brass regulators is insane. I'm pretty sure you could find some better deals. I have no experience in air-assisted anything...so I cant help you. But honestly I believe if you are not working with (extremely) high pressures you will be fine with cheaper equipment. Im sure you can find great used stuff on ebay, craigslist etc that will work just fine. And as I understand when using air assisted nozzles you can get away with lower pressures and do fine...but again Im no expert...