Air Force One
There has been much debate about showers in recent years, mostly concerning the balance between low flow and comfort. However, New Zealand manufacturer Felton in conjunction with the CSIRO may have come up with a solution to make everybody happy.
The Oxijet is a new shower nozzle that uses up to 50% less water while maintaining the sensation of a full pressure shower.
The Oxijet™ works by jetting the water through four tiny nozzles, and sucking air into the stem of the shower rose. The air volumises and pressurises the water, creating tiny air bubbles within the water stream that burst when they touch your skin.
Dr Jie Wu is a fluids specialist at CSIRO. Dr Wu says the device is based on a CSIRO laboratory concept of using a novel aeration insert.
“Traditional flow restrictors reduce flow and pressure, whereas Oxijet uses the flow energy to draw air into the water stream, making the water droplets hollow.
“This expands the volume of the shower stream, meaning you can save the same amount of water, while still enjoying your shower.”
The idea behind the Oxijet is to provide a cost-effective way to reduce household water consumption, without effecting comfort.
In many mains pressure situations the Oxijet™ will pay for itself in water and energy savings.
The device was recently trialled by Novotel Northbeach in Wollongong and is planned to be installed across the whole hotel.
“With over 200 rooms we go through over 10 million litres of water per year, so any saving we can make is very important. We’ve found our customers prefer Oxijet over the low flow shower heads, because it gives the illusion of full water pressure, says Walter Immoos, Northbeach Novotel general manager.
Roger Marty is the general manager at Felton. He says CSIRO expertise was invaluable in the manufacture of the product.
“The concept of using an aerated showerhead to save water is not new, but the technology behind our device using an aerator insert allows the device to work with existing showers already installed. Our engineers worked with Dr Wu’s team to turn the concept into an inexpensive, quality product.
The Oxijet is now available in Australia and is being distributed by Nekeema.
Nekeema are sales agents based in the Illawarra region of NSW providing support to manufacturers with no representation in the plumbing merchant market.
Nekeema distribute Chromagen Hot Water and Solar Solutions, consult for Crane Tube Copper, distri9ibute Felton Tapware, the MAS range of products and the Thermasol Electric and gas Instantaneous Hot Water units. Cameron McRae represents Nekeema and says it was the simplicity of the product that attracted Nekeema to become representatives.
“The principle is 250 years old,” Cameron says. “Anyone can use the device and make a difference. That’s the sheer beautiful thing about it. Every shower with the device can be turned into an effective water saving device. If every shower had one you could save the water equivalent of over 50,000 Olympic swimming pools a year of fresh water. The market is enormous and the potential is fantastic.”
Initially the Oxijet wasn’t earmarked for Australia, however after ongoing discussions with Felton, Nekeema’s owner John Khoury convinced them that it was needed across the ditch.
“John put together a distribution agreement and Nekeema became the first company at a national level to pick the product up.
“We now have distributors everywhere except for Tasmania. The device has an 80-90% take up rate. Plumbers and in Sydney are using it as an on-sell device and they can show their clients that water consumption is down 50%.”
Cameron has installed a prototype of the device himself and he says with two children, it has allowed him to bring down his energy and water costs.
The grand plan for Nekeema is to install one in every house in Australia and every hotel.
“Every hotel should have one. The Novotel has installed them and guests have been blown away by them. It means the hotels meet their environment criteria and guests remain happy.”
Cameron admits there are still some sceptics out there; however people are warming to the idea.
“The awareness campaign is getting much better. Most people we speak to want to do something about lowering their environmental impact, but they want to make sure they get a good quality product. And that’s been the difficult thing for manufacturers and regulators to balance. Most people want to do something to reduce consumption, but will baulk at the product if it affects their lifestyle.”
However with Oxijet, Cameron says that even the harshest sceptic comes back to it.
“The more and more people we show it to, the more people will know there is an alternative that won’t impact them. They don’t have to change their lifestyle, but they get a good feeling.”
If you have mains pressure (over 300 kPa/3 Bar), and a non-restrictive handpiece/fixed rose, the Oxijet™ should work for you.
The Oxijet™ will NOT work if you have any of the following:
• Low flow electric shower
• Low or unequal water pressures
• A restrictive handpiece/fixed rose.
The scepticism over low flow shower heads has been warranted, however the Oxijet should give the market a bit of a shake up.
Which OxijetTM will suit?
Yellow
The ‘Yellow’ Oxijet™ suits a hand held shower only. It is most suited to a single function spray head.
Note: The Oxijet™ is optimised for shower handpieces and DIN EN1113 rated hoses. Only use with non-restrictive (all pressures) handpieces. Do not use non DIN EN1113 rated standard hoses and may not be compatible with some handpieces.
Operating pressures : Minimum 300 kPa | Maximum 1000 kPa
Operating temperature: Maximum 80°C
Pink
The ‘Pink’ Oxijet™ suits a female fixed shower rose.
Note: The Oxijet™ is optimised for fixed shower roses. Only use with non-restrictive (all pressures) fixed roses. Compatible with DN15 (1/2″) threads and may not be compatible with some fixed roses.
Operating pressures: Minimum 300 kPa | Maximum 1000 kPa
Operating temperature: Maximum 80°C
Blue
The ‘Blue’ Oxijet™ suits a male fixed shower rose.
Note: The Oxijet™ is optimised for fixed shower roses. Only use with non-restrictive (all pressures) fixed roses. Compatible with DN15 (1/2″) threads and may not be compatible with some fixed roses.
Operating pressures: Minimum 300 kPa | Maximum 1000 kPa
Operating temperature: Maximum 80°C
Contact
www.nekeema.com.au