FAQs: Vortex Tubes

The performance is negatively impacted with back-pressure on the cold end exhaust. A Back-pressure of 5 PSIG will change performance by approximately 5°F. A low pressure up to 2 PSIG will not affect performance.


Compressed air is injected into the vortex tube, flows at a rate of up to 1,000,000 RPM towards the 'hot' end of the tube. Once this hot air reaches the end, a small amount is exhausted through a control valve. The rest of the air is forced backwards towards the other end and exits as 'cold' air.


Vortex Tube are a product of STREAMTEK™ Corp. Using compressed air as their only power source, cold air is produced on one and hot air on the other. All this is done with no moving parts!
The cold air is typically used for spot cooling and refrigeration applications. The hot air can be used for spot heating applications, but the temperatures are not very high.


The vortex tube was invented in 1933 by French physicist Georges J. Ranque and German physicist Rudolf Hilsch improved the design and published a widely read paper in 1947 on the device, which he called a Wirbelrohr (literally, whirl pipe).
The Vortex Tube has been known as the “Hilsch Tube”, the “Ranque Vortex Tube”, the “Maxwells’s Demon, and the “Ranque-Hilsh Tube”. It’s a reliable, simple and low cost answer to various spot cooling problems within industrial plants.


STREAMTEK offers Small and Medium sized Vortex Tubes, each with a wide variety of cooling capacities. Vortex Tube Generator Kits allow you to experiment with a variety of temperatures and air flows. We recommend you talk to a STREAMTEK™ Application Engineer, as they can aid you in selecting the appropriate Vortex Tube for your application.


No. There are no moving parts, it will never wear out. They may need cleaning from time to time if there is contamination within the air supply. The Vortex Tube is constructed of type 303 stainless steel, brass generators, and a brass control valve.


The Vortex Tube is typically used in spot cooling applications. Use it to cool, molds, machining operations, hot parts, electronics, etc. The hot end could be used to heat glues, shrink wraps, or for drying parts.


Yes, however there are clear-cut advantages to using the STREAMTEK™ Cabinet Panel Cooler for this application.

• Cabinet Panel Coolers have a pressure release valve to allow warm air from the electrical enclosure to escape the cabinet.
• Cabinet Panel Coolers have been fine tuned to achieve maximum refrigeration; this cannot be adjusted. Vortex Tubes on the other hand can be adjusted by the user, leaving them open to poor operation and miss-adjustment.
• Cabinet Panel Coolers have been engineered to reduce noise levels drastically from that of the sole Vortex Tube.

No. The Air Amplifier and Air Knife would both restrict the air flow of the Vortex Tube to the point where back-pressure would limit the cooling capacity of the Vortex Tube. The cold end of the Vortex Tube should not be subjected to a backpressure in excess of 5 PSIG.