6 Tips to select the right fire hose nozzle.
Different kinds of nozzles have been discussed in our previous article, and now we will be talking about how to choose the right nozzles that suit you best
Six tips on how to choose the right nozzles
The amount of water flow you need
Nozzle alone cannot eject water directly without being connected to firefighting pumps and pipes (the number of which influences the water flow). How much water left in the reservoir also determines how much water can be used.
Normally the maximum and minimum water flow should be calculated by means of pump engines and the number of pipes. Whether the fire nozzle will be connected to the same fire hose, or other devices is also to be taken into consideration.
The manpower that you currently have
Nozzles produce reaction forces while releasing water; therefore, one fire hose needs at least two operators to work together, with one lifting the fire hose and the other operating the fire nozzle. The reaction forces caused by the nozzles are determined by the amount of water flow — the more the water flow, the bigger the reaction forces. That is why manpower feasibility is to be considered.
The patterns that matters
Prior to choosing the nozzles, you’d better have in mind whether multiple patterns are needed, such as the fog mode and stream mode, or just a single patter. Some fog nozzles have the same reach as the smooth bores do under 100 psi and as the multiple purpose nozzles do under 50 psi.
The fog pattern aims to protect on-duty firefighters from being hurt by extremely high temperatures. The spinning Teeth turns the stream into tickles so as to absorb heat and thermal scattering effect.
Nozzles are controlled by the nozzle operator or pump operator?
Evaluate whether the water flow will be modulated during firefighting; if so, determine whether to have the pump operator or the nozzle operator do the job. For the nozzle operator, adjustable foam nozzles will be the best choice because the operator can adjust the water flow on his own. If the pump operator is in charge of adjusting the water flow, the nozzle operator, on the other hand, preferably uses the single-flow form nozzle, such as automatic pressure nozzles or multiple purpose nozzles.
Durability considerations
Nozzles normally are shock-resistant to a certain degree. For those nozzles that need higher shock-resistance due to the storage environment (durability) with not much time for maintenance, those with a comparatively simple design will be the best choice because they have fewer parts and components that lead to fewer malfunctions.
Training courses that can be provided
The firefighting departments provided pump and nozzle operators with a variety of training courses. One needs only a short-term training session to become a qualified solid bore nozzle operator due to its mechanic simplicity. Training for single/fixed flow foam nozzle operators is much longer. Pump and nozzle operators spend more time on adjustable foam nozzle training to get qualified. Because the hoses of different lengths and amounts of water flow need different engine pressure.
