Tank cleaning

What is the difference between various types of tank cleaning solutions?

Choosing the right tank cleaning nozzle for the cleaning process depends mainly on tank content and tank diameter. Both stationary and rotating spray devices are offered because one nozzle's operating principle and design could be more effective than the other depending on the application.

Tank cleaning machine HWO Knowledge Bank

Stationary tank cleaning nozzles

  • contain no moving parts
  • large free passage, which is an advantage if the cleaning liquid contains particles
  • very low maintenance

Rotating tank cleaning nozzles

  • use the spray media’s reaction force to drive nozzle head rotation
  • increased tank washing efficiency over static spray balls, saving time and money by reducing water and cleaning agent consumption while decreasing downtime

Tank cleaning machines

  • high impact and effective cleaning
  • suitable for large tanks or when the tank product is difficult to remove
  • use the spray media flowing through internal gears on the body to rotate sets of high-impact jet nozzles through an efficient 2-axis orbital pattern, providing a 180°- 360° coverage

Mechanical cleaning

Effective tank cleaning requires large droplets hitting the the tank wall surface at a high speed. Both rotating tank cleaning nozzles and tank cleaning machines generate this type of spray. When large droplets hit the surface at high speed, it mechanically removes any residual product not dissolved by the cleaning fluid.

The distance between the spray head and the tank wall, together with operating pressure, are important factors for effective mechanical cleaning. If the distance between the spray head and the tank wall is too great, the cleaning power (and the cleaning result) is reduced. If the operating pressure is too high, the large droplets are atomised into smaller droplets, which in turn leads to an inferior cleaning result.

Using greater mechanical force in the tank cleaning process makes it possible to shorten the cleaning cycle, lower the washing fluid temperature, and reduce the need for chemicals. The illustration below shows an example of the mechanical cleaning force of a static spray ball compared to a rotating tank cleaning nozzle.

Static spray ball

Rotating tank cleaning nozzle

Rotating tank cleaning nozzles have a higher mechanical cleaning impact compared to static spray balls, resulting in shorter cleaning cycles, higher efficiency and cost savings.

Spray coverage

Listed below is spray coverage (m) for our complete range of tank cleaning nozzles.

Coverage tank (diameter)
Coverage, up to (m)Product typeProduct category
1,8 HydroWhirl® Mini SSRotating
2,0 HydroWhirl® Mini PVDFRotating
3,0 HydroClawStatic
3,4 HydroWhirl® DiscRotating
3,6 HydroWhirl® StingerRotating
3,6 TW Static
4,9 CLUMPStatic
4,9 LEMStatic
7,6 HydroWhirl® PoseidonRotating
17 HydroWhirl® Orbitor 100Machine (jet)
26-42 Orbitor Hi CapMachine (jet)
30 Orbitor Dual HeadMachine (jet)
34 D3000Machine (jet)
40 HydroWhirl® OrbitorMachine (jet)
51 D4000Machine (jet)
Special DTMachine (jet)