Time efficiency in tank cleaning 

Often just as important as water efficiency can be having a swift tank cleaning process.  In a busy food or chemical processing plant, turnaround time between batches often needs to be minimised to reduce down time and increase productivity.  Tank cleaner selection can have a big effect on this aspect of the tank cleaning process.

Click the icon below to watch our video 'How long does it take to clean a tank?'

Rotary jet

Rotary jet cleaners have a wide variety of cleaning times available.  Each will go through a set cleaning cycle as it builds up its pattern. At least one complete cycle must be performed to deliver an effective clean, and for tougher residues multiple cleaning cycles might be required.

Rotary jet cleaners come with either 2, 4 or 8 nozzles.  The more nozzles, the more jets and hence the swifter the cleaning cycle time is.  Pressure also has a big effect as the speed of the head rotation is dictated by the feed fluid pressure, rotating faster as pressure increases.  So for the swiftest cycle times a system with 4 or 8 nozzles running at high pressure should be selected.  With some Orbitor Dual configurations cleaning cycle times as low as 4 minutes can be achieved.

Rotary spray ball / spinners

These tank cleaners will improve the cleaning time when compared to static nozzles as the mechanical component of cleaning is enhanced.  The greater impact and the 'scrubbing' action of the rotating fans helps dislodge and remove residues more rapidly resulting in greatly reduced cleaning times.  Nevertheless for tough residues or in large tanks where the impact at the wall is reduced due to distance, rotary spray balls may still require significant time to deliver an effective clean.

Spray ball and static solutions

Typically these tank cleaners will require significant time in order to achieve a good clean.  This is particularly true if the residue is tough. Essentially, static nozzle systems rely almost entirely on water/solvent action to remove the residue with little or no mechanical action/impact component to the cleaning process.  Water/chemical action takes time and hence these systems will tend to take longer to achieve a good level of cleaning.

That being said, static nozzle systems have no set cleaning pattern or cycle.  They will instantly wet the entire tank so for a quick rinse or sterilising spray they will be swiftest delivery method.