How do you calculate blast nozzle wear cost?

Multiply billable blast hours by the wear rate and the loaded duty factor for the wear subtotal, then add the inspection/changeout cost. For 36 hr at $3.50/hr, 90% duty, plus $25, that is a $113.40 subtotal and $138.40 total.

What is the cost per blast hour in the example?

Total nozzle cost of $138.40 spread over 36 billable hours is $3.84 per blast hour, slightly above the bare wear rate because the fixed changeout cost is included.

Why include a duty factor in nozzle wear?

Billable hours aren't all on-blast; some are setup and standby when the nozzle isn't eroding. The 90% loaded duty factor scales the wear to actual blasting time, here turning a $126 gross into the $113.40 subtotal.

What is a good nozzle wear rate per hour?

It depends on liner material: tungsten carbide wears faster than boron carbide, which lasts longer per dollar with hard abrasives. A $3.50/hr rate is a reasonable starting point, but track your own nozzle hours to dial it in.

Is a worn nozzle really worth replacing early?

Often yes. Once the orifice grows roughly 1/16 inch oversize, air and abrasive consumption climb noticeably, so the extra cfm and media usually cost more than a new nozzle long before it splits.

Nozzle wear cost vs nozzle purchase price, what's the difference?

Purchase price is a one-time part cost; wear cost amortizes that erosion per hour and adds changeout labor, giving a per-job consumable figure you can build into a quote.

Abrasive Blasting, Shot Peening & Surface Prep calculator

Blast Nozzle Wear Cost Calculator

Blast nozzle wear cost captures what a carbide or boron nozzle silently costs you per job as its orifice erodes oversize, plus the inspection and changeout labor to swap it. Estimators and maintenance leads use it to fold a real consumable into blast pricing instead of treating nozzles as free. It matters because a worn nozzle quietly inflates air and abrasive consumption long before it fails, an oversized orifice draws more cfm and pushes more media for the same cleaning, so the true cost of running a nozzle to death is far higher than the part itself. Pricing the wear keeps that hidden cost on the books.

What this calculator does

Build the cost of nozzle wear from blast hours, wear cost per hour, duty factor, and inspection or changeout cost.
a blasting estimator needs to recover nozzle replacement and inspection cost on abrasive jobs with heavy hours
It computes total nozzle wear cost over a job by applying a per-hour wear rate to duty-adjusted blast hours, then adding the inspection/changeout cost.

Formula used

Nozzle wear subtotal = billable blast hours × nozzle wear rate × loaded blast duty
Nozzle wear cost = subtotal + inspection/changeout cost

Inputs explained

Billable on-blast hours:
Nozzle wear cost rate:
Loaded blast duty factor:
Inspection and changeout cost:

How to use the result

Use it when building consumable costs into a blast quote or evaluating whether to replace a nozzle proactively.
It uses a flat per-hour wear rate; real erosion accelerates near end of life and varies sharply with abrasive hardness and nozzle liner material.

Common questions

How do you calculate blast nozzle wear cost? Multiply billable blast hours by the wear rate and the loaded duty factor for the wear subtotal, then add the inspection/changeout cost. For 36 hr at $3.50/hr, 90% duty, plus $25, that is a $113.40 subtotal and $138.40 total.
What is the cost per blast hour in the example? Total nozzle cost of $138.40 spread over 36 billable hours is $3.84 per blast hour, slightly above the bare wear rate because the fixed changeout cost is included.
Why include a duty factor in nozzle wear? Billable hours aren't all on-blast; some are setup and standby when the nozzle isn't eroding. The 90% loaded duty factor scales the wear to actual blasting time, here turning a $126 gross into the $113.40 subtotal.
What is a good nozzle wear rate per hour? It depends on liner material: tungsten carbide wears faster than boron carbide, which lasts longer per dollar with hard abrasives. A $3.50/hr rate is a reasonable starting point, but track your own nozzle hours to dial it in.
Is a worn nozzle really worth replacing early? Often yes. Once the orifice grows roughly 1/16 inch oversize, air and abrasive consumption climb noticeably, so the extra cfm and media usually cost more than a new nozzle long before it splits.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.