Municipalities across America face an ongoing challenge when maintaining large diameter sewer pipes. As time passes, mud, sludge, sand, and gravel can accumulate along the bottom of the pipe, restricting the smooth flow of water. If left unresolved, pipe blockages can cause water to overflow into streets, basements, and public areas, while also driving up long-term maintenance expenses.
To avoid these issues, utilities have traditionally relied on Venturi nozzles, which are available for rental, to effectively clear sediment and debris from the bottom of sewer lines.
Unfortunately, Venturi nozzles are widely acknowledged to perform below expectations. Although the nozzle vigorously churns water within the pipe, the collected debris at the bottom often does not get fully dislodged and vacuumed out. A traditional Venturi nozzle does not target the debris directly; instead, it channels the water flow toward the center of the pipe. As a result, you end up just moving a lot of water and only a little bit of the material at the bottom.
KEG Technologies
The pressure drop [as a result of the Venturi effect] also creates suction, pulling surrounding water and debris toward the rental nozzle and then moving it through the pipe back to the vacuum truck. In effect, the nozzle both dislodges and transports debris at the same time.
This builds on earlier advancements in skid design that KEG Technologies has introduced to the industrial pipe cleaning sector: 
KEG Technologies
- Lightweight aluminum skids that can be used with high efficiency Tier 3 nozzle (rated at 75-98 percent water efficiency). Switching from steel to aluminum construction lowers the overall weight, making the nozzle easier for operators to maneuver inside the pipe.
- Protruding plastic fins add stability and shaping the skid like a football to reduce the risk of snagging on sewer pipe obstructions and protect liners in the pipe.
- Steel and aluminum skids are now available in a variety of sizes with 12-in. pipe applications being among the most popular.
KEG pairs its skid with its Venturi nozzles, which are ideal for industrial sewer 18-36-in. diameter pipes. In doing so, the nozzle can increase the flow rate of vacuum trucks from 60-100 gallons per minute (GPM) to approximately 400 GPM to break up and dislodge heavy debris before suctioning it from the pipe. This improved cleaning approach not only dislodges but also transports debris efficiently, ensuring a cleaner pipe bottom and preventing the blockages that often lead to costly overflows, emergency responses, and reputational harm.
