Author Topic: Floating pumps (split from SACFS future ideas)  (Read 2720 times)

Offline mattb

  • Forum Lieutenant
  • ****
  • Posts: 420
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Floating pumps (split from SACFS future ideas)
« on: February 17, 2009, 11:04:21 AM »
I will start, please try to follow this kind of format.

Idea: All off road fire appliances not directly supported by a tanker or larger appliance be fitted with a floating axillary pump. (I.e. 24&34 appliances and up)

Reasons:
  • With the current drought, us firefighters are finding it much harder to find decent water sources to draught from.
  • Floating pumps can be much simpler to set up and use as a water source and from what i have seen are much more reliable than trying to maintain suction on a 20+ year appliance.
  • It would be much easier for irregular members to remember how to use a stand alone floating pump that to deal with some of the potential woes of draughting.
  • if a truck is ever trapped with no support in an area with a suitable water supply, and the main pump fails, they will at least have some water to protect them selves with.

Approx Cost: Around $1000-3000 per appliance. Depending on quality.

Possible negative effects:
  • Loss of storage space.
  • The requirement for more training of members

EDIT: Cost as per matt's post

Good idea Pix, Floto pumps do certainly have a place in our service, especially given the difficulty we have in finding water these days. We have a number of areas in our own group where you can no longer get physically close enough with an appliance to draught from, you could however use a Floto pump and still get water.

Quote
Approx Cost: Around $500-1000 per appliance.

For info the one we purchased was closer to $3000

[EDIT:  quoted Pixie's post so this thread would make sense..]
« Last Edit: February 17, 2009, 08:18:37 PM by CFS_Firey »

Offline Alan J

  • Forum Lieutenant
  • ****
  • Posts: 516
  • Karma: +0/-0
  • Certified Flamin' Nuisance
    • View Profile
Re: Floating pumps (split from SACFS future ideas)
« Reply #1 on: February 17, 2009, 07:56:03 PM »
Agreed.  We carry a little petrol pump on both our appliances.
Is frequently used. Frees us from being tied to a tanker - we
get water as & when we need it. One night in Onka Gorge, our
little pump kept 5 appliances on the ground mopping up. Saved
a heap of time & effort repeatedly making up & trekking out to
the tanker.  Similar story at Mt Bold - kept us operational for
several hours without tanker support.  So convenient that we
rarely bother draughting directly with the appliance.

Alan J.
Cherry Gdns CFS

Data isn't information.  Information isn't knowledge. 
Knowledge isn't wisdom.