Modern Pumping Today February 2025 - 31

A rotating nozzle like the Duce utilizes water driven rotation and vibration to create a " jackhammer "
action to remove deposits that have hardened to the pipe floor or wall.
to clean out this debris from the
stormwater pipes, " says Dan Story, an
experienced trainer and Operations
Manager at KEG Technologies, a
manufacturer of sewer and storm line
products including floor cleaners,
Tier 1 to Tier 3 nozzles, chain cutters,
and camera nozzle systems. The
Spartanburg, South Carolina-based
company is a member of NASSCO,
the National Association of Sewer
Service Companies.
" The problem is that you need to
get the floor cleaner nozzle to come
back, but it can keep getting caught
on debris or pipe joints, which
can be time-consuming and labor
intensive to resolve, " adds Story.
INNOVATION CLEARS AWAY
FLOOR CLEANING OBSTACLES
Although floor cleaners are
well established in the industry,
some nozzle manufacturers have
substantially improved the fluid
mechanics of the jets to remove even
heavy sediment and debris from
pipes. As an example, KEG offers a
complete floor cleaner family with
five to fourteen jets using patented
fluid mechanics that provides
superior cleaning efficiency in large
diameter pipes, typically from 6- to
72-inches.
Due to advanced design fluid
mechanics, the flow from the highpressure
water hose is converted to
maximum cleaning power in each
jet of the floor cleaner. The resulting
flow from the various jets, as well
as the jet angle design, make these
floor cleaners ideal for removing
sand, sludge, mud, and compacted
materials as well as heavy debris like
rocks, bricks, and broken concrete.
" The amount of power due to
the fluid mechanics is absolutely
unbelievable, " says Story. " We've had
sewer contractors call us and say that
they were cleaning and washed part
of a manhole lid back. "
Despite the power of the nozzles,
Contractors can dramatically speed sanitary sewer
and storm pipe cleaning to prevent clogs and
environmental compliance violations using special
vibratory nozzles.
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however, the floor cleaners must still
be designed to climb over, or avoid,
significant obstacles. To resolve
some of these issues, manufacturers
of sewer jet nozzles design floor
cleaners equipped with stabilizing
skids. Nevertheless, conventional
floor cleaner configurations prove
inadequate in navigating the
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numerous obstacles present in largebore
pipes. The skids can often get
hung up on offset joints within pipe,
according to Story.
AN UNLIKELY INSPIRATION
To enhance pipe floor cleaning
efficiency, Story drew on an unlikely
source of inspiration: the roll cages
installed on four-wheel drive trucks
and off-road vehicles.
" With a roll cage, if the floor
cleaner hits something that causes
it to roll over, it continues to roll
over until it lands back on its skids, "
says Story.
The skids were also elevated
by an inch to provide increased
clearance over obstacles within
the pipe, thereby preventing
potential obstructions.
" 4WD trucks take a similar
approach in raising their profile so
they can run over obstacles; it's the
same idea but on a much smaller
scale. This allows the floor cleaner to
run over cracks and even offset joints
in pipe without getting stuck and
having to be retrieved, " says Story.
Designed to minimize pipe damage, the modern
vibration style nozzle moves through pipe, breaking
up hardened deposits into tiny pieces that flush out
with the wastewater.
FEBRUARY 2025 | 31

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Modern Pumping Today February 2025

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