Guide · Nozzle tips and turbo nozzles
Turbo and rotating nozzles: orifice size and rated range
A turbo nozzle has its own orifice size and its own PSI and GPM range. How DEWALT, Cat Pumps and YAMATIC state them, and how to match both to your machine.
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Short answer
A turbo nozzle has its own orifice size and its own PSI and GPM range, just like a fixed tip. Match both to your machine: the size to your machine's rated flow, and the rating so it covers your machine's pressure. A higher PSI rating is a ceiling, not a sign the nozzle suits a stronger or weaker machine.
What a turbo nozzle is
A turbo nozzle, also sold as a rotating nozzle, spins a narrow jet in a circle. It still has an orifice that sets how much water passes at a given pressure, and makers state it as a size number, the same way they do for fixed tips. See the nozzle size chart for what the number means.
How makers state the size and rating
DEWALT sells two turbo nozzles tied to pressure class. The DXPA45TN is orifice size 4.0, rated up to 4,500 PSI, with a 1/4 in quick-connect, designed for cold water.[1] The DXPA34TN is orifice size 3.0, rated up to 3,400 PSI, with a 1/4 in quick-connect, for cold water only.[2] DEWALT gives no GPM range for either.
Cat Pumps rates each of its rotating and turbo nozzle families for its own pressure and flow range. Its 7616 rotating nozzles, for example, cover 500 to 2,300 PSI and 1.5 to 4.2 GPM.[3] These are industrial parts with threaded inlets (the 7616 has a 1/4 NPT female inlet), not consumer quick-connect tips.[3] They show that a turbo nozzle has both a lower and an upper limit.
YAMATIC lists a turbo nozzle with a 3,000 PSI working pressure, 4.0 GPM and a 32°F to 140°F temperature range.[4] Its page text states neither the connector nor the orifice size, so you cannot size it against your machine from that page alone.
| Nozzle | Size | Rating as listed | Connector | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEWALT DXPA34TN | 3.0 | up to 3,400 PSI | 1/4 in QC | cold only |
| DEWALT DXPA45TN | 4.0 | up to 4,500 PSI | 1/4 in QC | cold |
| Cat Pumps 7616 family | per model | 500 to 2,300 PSI, 1.5 to 4.2 GPM | 1/4 NPT(F) | not stated here |
| YAMATIC turbo nozzle | not stated | 3,000 PSI, 4.0 GPM | not stated in page text | 32°F to 140°F |
Turbo nozzles that come with machines
Some electric machines include one. RYOBI lists the RY1419MT at 1,900 PSI and 1.2 GPM with three nozzles: 15-degree, turbo and soap.[5] Briggs & Stratton lists its 020681V at 2,000 PSI at 1.2 GPM with four nozzles including a turbo nozzle.[6] If your machine came with one, a replacement from the same maker is the size it was designed around.
Sizing one for your machine
Use the same formula as for fixed tips. Cat Pumps and General Pump publish nozzle number = GPM x √(4,000 / PSI).[7][8]
Take the Westinghouse ePX3500, rated at 2,000 PSI and 1.2 GPM.[9] Calculated with the formula Cat Pumps and General Pump publish, that is about size 1.7. A size 3.0 or 4.0 turbo nozzle is far larger than that number, so the machine could not build its rated pressure through it, even though the nozzle's PSI rating is well above the machine's.
A gas machine with more flow lands nearer those sizes. Run your own rated figures through the nozzle size finder, or see which nozzle size fits your machine for worked examples.
Checklist before you buy
- The connector matches your wand's outlet (most consumer wands use a 1/4 in quick-connect; confirm yours).
- The orifice size is close to the size your machine's rated output works out to.
- The PSI rating is at or above your machine's pressure.
- The temperature rating covers the water you use. DEWALT's two are cold-water nozzles.
Approved turbo nozzles
Picks that fit2 products
SIMPSON 80143 is the size 3.0 turbo nozzle; SIMPSON 80144 is size 4.0. Both are 1/4 in quick-connect plugs.
More on choosing
These sizes suit higher-flow gas machines; for a low-flow electric machine, use the turbo nozzle its maker sells. On Amazon, check that Ships from / Sold by is Amazon.com or the brand.
SIMPSON turbo nozzle, smaller of two sizes
SIMPSON 80143 universal turbo nozzle, 1/4 in quick connect, size 3.0, 3,600 PSI
SIMPSON turbo nozzle, larger of two sizes
SIMPSON 80144 universal turbo nozzle, 1/4 in quick connect, size 4.0, 4,500 PSI
Next
Questions
Do turbo nozzles come in sizes?
Yes. DEWALT sells its DXPA34TN turbo nozzle in orifice size 3.0 rated to 3,400 PSI and its DXPA45TN in size 4.0 rated to 4,500 PSI.[2][1]
Will a 4,500 PSI turbo nozzle work on a 2,000 PSI machine?
The 4,500 PSI figure is a ceiling, not a target, so it is not the problem. The orifice size is: with the formula Cat Pumps and General Pump publish, a machine rated 2,000 PSI at 1.2 GPM works out near size 1.7, far below a size 4.0 nozzle. Choose a turbo nozzle sized for your flow.[7][9]