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The Complete Handbook of Garden Hose Spray Nozzles
A practical reference for professionals, businesses, and serious gardeners who need to specify, install, maintain, and profit from garden hose spray nozzles.
by Alumigogo Books
Chapter 1: Understanding Garden Hose Spray Nozzles
A garden hose spray nozzle is, at its most basic, a flow-control and conditioning device. It is the final element in a chain that begins at your water meter or well pump and travels through often-unseen pipes to a hose bib, then through a hose, and only then to the nozzle itself. To understand this piece of equipment, you cannot look at it in isolation. A nozzle does not have a "power" of its own; it can only transform the energy, pressure, and flow rate that is delivered to it from the system upstream. Your professional credibility in landscaping, facility maintenance, or irrigation rests on your ability to understand this chain, because every decision you make about nozzles is tied to the performance of the systems they are attached to.
Think of the nozzle as a governor. A hose connected to a typical municipal supply might deliver water at a static pressure of 50 pounds per square inch (PSI). If you simply open the hose bib and let the water run free, you get a heavy, unpredictable flow that is difficult to aim and prone to splashing. The nozzle's job is to regulate this flow, concentrate it, and shape it. It does this by presenting a physical restriction to the water path. This restriction is called an orifice, and it is the heart of every nozzle you will ever hold.
The principle at work is a fundamental law of fluid dynamics. As water