The detection efficiency and characteristics of an optical particle counter (OPC), with various sample nozzle outlet diameters, were experimentally investigated. The OPC system, which was built with original design, was made up of a diode laser, two photodetectors, and a variety of optics such as a beam splitter and a concave mirror. The cone-shaped sampling nozzle was designed to be changeable to alter the outlet diameter, within the range of 1 to 3 mm. For samples, sets of polystyrene latex (PSL) standard particle with various sizes of 1 to $3{\mu}m$, were used. As a result, detection efficiency of the OPC greatly decreased with larger nozzle outlet diameter. Moreover, increased nozzle outlet diameter means broader sample flow, thus caused light interference and multiple scattering which results in abnormal high peaks in scattered light signal. The ratio of abnormal peaks to regular signal of single particle increased with larger nozzle outlet diameter.