A Nozzle by Any Other Name…

It used to be that a nozzle was just a nozzle, but Dan Coley and Ed Fitzgerald of Jack Doheny Supplies know that logic no longer flies in the sewer cleaning industry. It used to be that operators would throw any old nozzle on a hose and hope for the best. Most sewer cleaning operators should know that it is essential to match the nozzle to the high pressure water system, as well as to the pipe cleaning application they are faced with if they expect to clean the pipe efficiently or at all. Today, there is a wide selection of nozzles available for almost any conceivable application. The right nozzle and the proper training will allow a skilled operator to tackle just about any pipe cleaning problem.

Coley says, “The failure to clean pipe efficiently is usually attributed to lack of experience and proper training needed to get the most out of their equipment.” Doheny Supplies believes in taking the time to train people so they have the experience, technique and training needed to handle any pipe cleaning situation. “Around here we say there’s good money and bad money,” Fitzgerald explains, “Good money includes proper training that allows a customer really getting the most out of their equipment. Bad money includes not training and wearing the equipment out. We’re looking for good money.”

The biggest problem Coley and Fitzgerald have seen is that people do not know how to use nozzles properly. Therefore, Doheny has kicked things up a notch by offering new and constantly improving training classes in addition to their ever evolving line of products.

The Vactor Plus, sold by Doheny Supplies, offers a completely wireless belly pack that allows operators to be where they need to be while operating the truck at any job site. Typically, operators are required to remain within arm’s length of the hose reel while in operation because any of the equipment controls are physically located on the hose reel. However, manholes and easements aren’t always easily accessible by truck if, for instance, they’re in the middle of a lawn or a backyard. The remote belly pack of the Vactor Plus solves that problem, and it is one of many Doheny products that Fitzgerald demos with wonderful feedback and the results. “It doesn’t take long for them to appreciate the limitless operating positions the belly pack allows,” Coley says when operators see that they can operate the entire Vactor from the belly pack including increasing or decreasing the performance of the high pressure water pump, running the hose reel speed and rotation, controlling the vacuum system performance as well as the vacuum boom outside of the arm’s length distance they are used to operating at.

In an attempt to increase awareness, as well as assist customers in getting the best results out of products that Doheny Supplies sells, Fitzgerald spends almost as much time learning from their customers as he does teaching them. “Ed’s on the cutting edge of things,” Coley boasts, and that helps keep Doheny’s customers on the cutting edge of things, as well.

Fitzgerald says, “People aren’t getting the proper training,” and Coley agrees, “People are doing a lot of things that are not productive.” So together they’ve come up with new and improved training programs for their sewer cleaning customers, which includes nozzle and pipe cleaning courses, as well as confined space and fall protection training.

“There’s been a lot of product evolution over the past few years. We, at Doheny Supplies, are becoming much more aware and focused on helping our customers get the most out the products that they purchase, sometimes that means they need to add a few things,” Fitzgerald says, and they’re doing so through better tools, and the education and training needed to use them, in return their customers can get the most out of Doheny products. For more information regarding the expanding list of training programs that Doheny Supplies has to offer, go the their website www.dohenysupplies.com.

Hannay Reels also knows the value of building the nozzle to fit the truck. Custom-built to meet customers’ high-pressure application needs, the 6200 Series of industrial jetting hose reels from Hannay Reels is engineered with a direct-drive hydraulic motor that allows for the precise payout of hose from the reel without the maintenance needed by chain and sprocket-driven drives found on most other reels.
With a capacity of 500 feet of one-inch ID hose, this reel supplies smooth operation through a swinging hose guide arm with roller and operator handle; an external hose connection that allows access to the hose connection without removing all the hose from the spool; and a heavy-duty ball-bearing swivel base.

To meet and exceed customer needs, every sewer cleaning hose reel is custom-built directly to customer specifications, which is why buying hoses and hose reels straight from the source is the best way to go.

Auction sites like eBay offer hose reels for sale at discounted prices, but discounted prices can mean diminished quality. And almost as important as proper training in the use of equipment is the quality of that equipment being used. For a variety of reasons, customers should definitely avoid purchasing from industrial auction sites. When buying a reel from an auction, some retrofitting may be required on part of the customer in order to get the reel to work with their application, and performance may, therefore, be adversely affected.

Ed Rash, Sales Manager & Director of Marketing Communications for Hannay says, “Our reels are individually designed and custom-made for each application, so our customers know they will get a high quality reel built specifically for them.” Also, with a reel purchased at auction, the end user has no record of how it was utilized, nor do they know whether it is new or used. “And if anything on an auction reel malfunctions, the user doesn’t have any recourse,” Rash says.

“On the other hand, when you order a high-quality, custom-made reel from a manufacturer like Hannay Reels,” Rash continues, “they come with a warranty customers can count on if the specifications are off, or if parts and service are required.”

Story by Megan McClure

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