Full Cone Spray Nozzles

A full cone nozzle sprays a solid, evenly filled circular pattern, liquid across the whole footprint, including the centre. That is the difference from a hollow cone, which leaves a dry middle. For duties where every square centimetre must be wetted: washing down a tank, cooling a process surface, scrubbing gas, protecting a rack with water, the full cone is the default answer.

The pattern is produced by a vane, a spiral core or a slotted insert that gives the liquid a rotational component before it exits the orifice. The result is a uniform droplet field across a circular area whose angle is fixed by the nozzle geometry.

When to Choose a Full Cone Nozzle

Full cones earn their place wherever coverage uniformity matters more than atomization:

• Washing and rinsing. Tank interiors, conveyor belts, parts, crates, even wetting across a circular footprint with no dry centre.
• Cooling. Process surfaces, rollers, gas streams where the whole cross-section must be covered with water.
• Gas scrubbing and quenching. The filled cone puts droplets across the entire tower cross-section so gas meets liquid everywhere.
• Fire protection. Deluge and sprinkler systems use full cone spray for broad, reliable coverage.
• Dust suppression. Wide-angle full cones wet a large area from a single point.

Spray Angle and Coverage

Full cone angles run from about 15° (narrow, concentrated) up to 120° (broad, for covering large areas from short distance). The common selection range is 60–120°. At a given distance, a 90° full cone covers roughly a circle with diameter equal to twice the standoff distance; a 120° cone covers about 3.5× the standoff.

Spray angle	Coverage circle at 300 mm standoff
60°	~350 mm
90°	~600 mm
120°	~1040 mm

Flow and Free Passage

Flow is set by the orifice size at a reference pressure (typically quoted at 3 bar), and scales with the square root of pressure, doubling pressure raises flow about 41%. Full cone nozzles are available from under 1 L/min up to several hundred litres per minute, with free passages that keep scale and solids from plugging small orifices. Where the water is dirty, a spiral full cone (one-piece open path) is the anti-clog choice.

Materials

303 and 316L stainless are standard for water and process duties; PP, PVDF and PTFE handle acids, chlorides and solvents; hardened steel resists abrasive spray. Match the material to the fluid and temperature, not the price list. As a working guide: PP covers dilute acids and alkalis up to about 80 °C, PVDF extends strong-acid and chloride duty to about 140 °C, and PTFE gives the broadest chemical resistance up to roughly 150–200 °C. Stainless covers the middle ground that most plant water duties fall into.

Range Walkthrough

The reference table above lists the range in one view; this section says what each model is actually for.

FC-60 (60°, 0.5–4 L/min): the precision end of the range. A small vane-core cone with a 0.8 mm free passage for low-flow duties: humidifying, spot cooling of small parts, applying a dilute chemical to a confined area, laboratory work. The 1/8 in connection fits compact headers. Because the orifice is small, feed it clean, filtered liquid.

FC-90 (90°, 1.0–12 L/min): the general-purpose wash nozzle. At a given standoff the 90° cone covers a circle roughly twice the mounting distance, and the 1–12 L/min bracket covers most plant rinsing and wash-down duties. 316L as standard, 1/4 in connection. If you are not sure where to start, start here.

FC-120 (120°, 2.0–25 L/min): wide-angle coverage from a short standoff. The 120° cone spreads to about 3.5× the mounting distance, so it wets a large area without mounting the nozzle high. This is the standard choice for tank interiors and vessel rinsing, where the pattern reaches the wall before it loses velocity. Vane core, 1/4–3/8 in, 316L.

FC-120XL (120°, 10–60 L/min): the slotted-core version of the 120°. The slot gives a larger 3.5 mm free passage and several times the flow of the standard FC-120, which suits medium-flow duties with slightly dirtier water: cooling banks, process washing, rinse headers on washing machines. 3/8–1/2 in connection.

FC-120H (120°, 30–150 L/min): the high-flow end of the family. A 6.0 mm free passage swallows debris that would choke a small vane, and the 30–150 L/min bracket covers deluge and sprinkler duties, heavy wash-down and cooling-tower distribution. 1/2–3/4 in, in 316L or PP, the PP body is the choice where the duty is corrosive and the flow is high.

FC-90F (90°, 5–50 L/min): the flat-vane full cone. The flat vane spreads liquid evenly across the whole disc, which makes this the model for conveyor rinsing, parts washing and any duty where uniformity of wetting, not just coverage, is the spec. 1/2 in, 316L or PP.

FC-SP (90°–120°, 2.0–30 L/min): the anti-clog specialist. A one-piece spiral core creates an open 4.0 mm path with no internal vanes to foul, so it passes grit, scale and recirculated solids that would plug a standard vane cone. This is the full cone to spec for scrubber liquor, pond and re-used water, and any particulate-laden stream. 1/4–1/2 in, 316L or PP.

Application Matrix

Industry / duty	Typical application	Recommended model	Why
Parts washing	Machined parts, crates and baskets in wash cabinets	FC-90F	Even disc coverage with uniform wetting
Tank & vessel rinsing	Rinsing tank interiors and process vessels between batches	FC-120	Wide angle reaches the wall from a short standoff
Process cooling	Cooling rollers, plates and hot surfaces	FC-90 / FC-120XL	Mid-range flow with even coverage across the target
Gas cooling & quenching	Quench towers and hot gas streams	FC-120XL / FC-SP	High flow plus an open passage against scale
Fire protection	Deluge and sprinkler systems	FC-120H	High flow, 6 mm passage, dependable coverage
Dust suppression	Wetting stockpiles, hoppers and transfer points	FC-120	One wide-angle cone wets a large area
Food & beverage rinsing	Rinsing crates, fruit, vegetables and process lines	FC-90F (316L)	Even coverage, hygienic material
Chemical processing	Dilute acid wash, plating and pickling lines	FC-SP (PP / PVDF)	Corrosion resistance plus clog resistance

Three-Step Selection

The decision collapses to three questions, in this order:

1. Angle: match the coverage circle to the target. The covered diameter at your standoff is roughly 2 × standoff × tan(angle/2): a 60° cone covers about 1.2× the standoff, a 90° cone about 2×, and a 120° cone about 3.5×. Measure the standoff first, it is usually fixed by the machine, then pick the angle whose circle covers the target with a little overlap. Wide angle for short distance, narrow angle for a longer throw.
2. Flow: match the bracket to your available flow. Flow is quoted at 3 bar and scales with the square root of pressure, so choose a bracket around your actual operating point, not the pump rating. Then check the free passage against the largest solid in the liquid, if grit is present, pick a model whose passage is bigger than the particle, and the FC-SP’s 4.0 mm is the safe default.
3. Material: match the fluid and temperature. Water and most process duties: 303 or 316L. Dilute acids and alkalis up to about 80 °C: PP. Strong acids, chlorides and oxidisers up to about 140 °C: PVDF. Broad chemical resistance on hot, aggressive fluids: PTFE. Abrasive spray: hardened steel. When in doubt, 316L covers the widest ordinary ground.

Sizing a Full Cone for Your Duty

Send the area to cover, the standoff distance, the flow available and the liquid: with those four numbers a full cone size, angle and material can be confirmed in one round. See the range walkthrough above for where each model fits, or send the duty to the BoreJet team and get a sized answer back.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a full cone nozzle? A nozzle that fills the entire circular spray area with liquid, centre included. The hollow cone leaves the middle dry, and the flat fan makes a band instead of a circle: the full cone is the pattern for even wetting of a round area.

What spray angle do I need? Coverage diameter is roughly 2 × standoff × tan(angle/2). At 300 mm standoff, a 60° cone covers about 350 mm, a 90° cone about 600 mm, and a 120° cone about 1040 mm. Pick the angle whose circle covers your target at the mounting distance you can actually use.

What does “flow at 3 bar” mean if my pressure is different? Flows are quoted at 3 bar as a common reference. Flow through a fixed orifice scales with the square root of pressure, so a nozzle rated 10 L/min at 3 bar delivers about 14 L/min at 6 bar, not 20.

Full cone or hollow cone? The full cone wets the whole disc; the hollow cone wets a ring. For scrubber packing, the hollow ring is often preferred because centre drops fall through the packing gap unused. For washing, cooling and any duty that needs even wetting, the full cone is the answer.

Full cone or flat fan? The target shape decides: a flat surface takes a fan (a band), a volume or round area takes a full cone (a disc). See the flat fan vs full cone guide for the full comparison.

Which full cone clogs least? The spiral core, FC-SP, with its open 4.0 mm passage. For recirculated water, scrubber liquor or any gritty stream, spec the spiral or a slotted-core model whose free passage is larger than the largest particle in the liquid.

What materials are available? 303 and 316L stainless for water and process duties; PP up to about 80 °C for dilute acids and alkalis; PVDF to about 140 °C for strong acids and chlorides; PTFE for the broadest chemical resistance; hardened steel where abrasive wear dominates. The whole range is available in these options.

What should I send for a sizing? The area to cover, the standoff distance, the available flow and pressure at the connection, the liquid and its temperature, and whether the liquid carries solids. That is enough to return a model, angle and material.