With the large wildfires in Myrtle Beach Sc I got to thinking about burning trees and brush I clear at my hunting club property. Its out in the middle of nowhere in NC and I thought what will happen if a fire gets out of control. I got to thinking of a water tank trailer. Something with a nice size tank a pump and a hose. Thought of making one also. Buying a decent trailer, tank, pump and hose. Has anybody had some experience with this or have an idea what I am even talking about. I added a picture so you might get an idea what I mean. Thanks guys.
Thats a good idea dieselnut.I know exactly what your talking about.I have a small 100 gallon ag sprayer that I put on the ford tractor in a dry spell in case a field fire would start.I have it plumed up like a small hand held fire hose so I drive along the edge putting out the fire.If you can get the fire while it's small it dosent take much to put it out.
Water Trailers: They work good for the most part dieselnut. Depending on what your country is like... you might have some backing up issues. You also don't get as much weight on your drive vehicle, pickup, I would assume, as a slip in. That could work either way... for, or against you. These newer poly tanks seem to be the rage now days... especially with the Government... USFS...BLM...ect. The powers that be are getting real nasty on this issue... ie... million dollar fines, arson charges, involuntary manslaughter ...just to name a few... Check with your LG (Local Government) and try and get all the facts. May be 334 lawn co would weigh in on this. I think he's a Vollie, and probably knows the laws better... I've just heard bad stories... OCR
I'd think a poly tank/pump mounted on a frame and slid into the back of your pickup would be handier for spot chasing fires. Make sure you get a self priming high pressure pump rigged to re-circ. Then you could reload from a creek or pond thru a screen.
Water Trailers: An absolute must!!! :thumbsup OCR
We have a 750 gallon steel tank fire trailer we bought a few years ago at a RB auction. It had a gear pump on it that was too expensive to repair, so I bought a DG50XG 9 hp fire pump. This pump has a 2" inlet, one 2" and two 1" outlets. The 2" outlet is used for the almost 1000 ft of 2" forestry hose that came with the trailer. One of the 1" outlets is set up with a ball valve and garden hose fitting. And the other 1" outlet is for the bypass back into the tank with a Spence relief valve with gauge set at about 100 lbs or so. The hose into the pump comes out of a manifold in front of the tank with valves and a hook up point for suction hose to use the pump to fill the tank from a pond, creek, etc.
That might be a possible idea to make/buy a skid unit and put it in my pickup. I really think that I am leaning toward the trailer just because I could pull it with a larger truck and have a nice size tank. How big of a skid unit could you get in the back of 350? No matter what I would be filling it from a pond. Kgmz- did you purchase that trailer or make it? Welcome to any other thoughts
This might give you a few ideas, dieselnut. These trailers are built by a local workshop, for farmers here and they work very well. I would go for the trailer myself, just for the convevience and if an emergency arises, it is just a matter of hooking on and going. The tank is set slightly forward to throw some weight on to the pickup, which helps provide a bit more traction. Ours has a 2" impellar pump driven by a 5 hp Mitsubishi engine (my preference would be Honda) with one 1" hose and one 1 1/4" hose. The tank holds 1,000 litres (264 US gallons). The pump is also set up to pump from dams, tanks etc. The red hoses in the pics are there for spot spraying through the winter months. Rn'R.
That set up is exactly what I am looking to buy or make Rocksn'Roses. My one question is how are you moving the water from the tank to the hose and then shooting it out. You briefly explained it but I am still a little confused. Thanks
G'day dieselnut, there is a 2" suction line coming out from underneath the tank to the lower section of the pump and I also have a second suction line to a hose for pumping from dams or creeks, etc. There are four hoses coming out of the top of the pump, one is a 2" transfer line for filling other tankers or this tank when pumping from dams etc., two are fire hoses and the red one is connected to a pressure regulator and bypass which I use for weed spraying. With a centrifugal pump just for pumping and firefighting, you don't really need a bypass, just don't leave it running flat out and not pumping for too long, because the pump can get hot if the water is not being pumped through. Here are a couple more pics which might explain it better. Rn'R.
How big of a skid unit could you get in the back of 350? I have a 425 gallon poly tank I haul water with in my 4wd 3500 chevy. I use a 2" pacer pump to fill it with. Takes about 4 min. to fill. I would go with the skid tank over the trailer. If you get into a rough area you don't want to be hampered with pulling and turning around with a trailer. Same goes for filling at a creek or pond. We built a brush truck at my local FD on an old military pickup using a 350 gallon poly tank and pump setup to push 2 one inch lines on reels so we can spray 2 sides of a fire trail. Works pretty nice but you have to conserve water running 2 hoses at once.
I agree Bill, a trailer could be a problem in steep or rough country, but where we are, the country is flat and open, so a trailer doesn't present any problems. The problem with skid mounts in our area, is that the vehicles are used during harvesting and if a fire breaks out, there is a whole lot of gear on the back which has to be thrown off for the skid mount to be loaded, whereas with a trailer, it is just a matter of hooking on and going. A lot of the bigger farmers here actually have a dedicated vehicle set up with a firefighter and water tank. During harvesting, they are required to have some sort of firefighting equipment with them all of the time. Rn'R.
Can you explain how exactly this part of the mechanism works? Funny I just made a new thread on this exact subject.
Thanks guys for the input. I think I am starting to jump the gun and see something nice and want to buy it. I think I need to take a steep back and figure out exactly what I want. Here is what I am thinking: water tank- 200+ gallon pump- capable of filling from stream ect and filling up the tank fairly quickly hoses- 1 pressured fire fighting hose/nozzle either trailer or skid mounted spray cannon- maybe? Any other suggestions would be great. Also any ideas on who makes a "good" trailer or skid unit. Thanks again guys.
With a good self priming pump you should be able to throw the suction line into the water and start sucking. If your not lifting very far. Ideally tho, you can T-off between the tank and the suction side of the pump,with a second line for drawing water. You'll need a valve between the tank and the T,and another on the refill hose. Leave a lil water in the tank,start recirculating the tank wide open,drop the fill hose into the water source,then start sqeezing the flow down from the tank,now open the valve on the fill hose. When you see that your fill line is fully primed you can go ahead and close the valve from the tank. Hope that makes sense,
Yes spray cannon:drinkup:drinkup:drinkup
Serv, Gadgetman has explained it very well, here are a couple of pics showing our setup. The hose marked red is the suction hose, you can see the one coming from the tank, is teed at the pump, into the outside hose, curled up on the front of the unit and is used for sucking from an external water source. There is a tap on each suction line. The blue marked hose, is the delivery hose. I learnt a tip from Gadgetman as well. I have a lot of problems getting the 3" pump on our larger water tanker, to suck from dams, where we can have up to 20 metres of 3" suction hose. I have a foot valve on the end of the hose, but I can not find a valve that will hold the water in the hose for any length of time. I usually have another tank of water there, to fill the hose, prior to pumping. I never thought of leaving a little bit of water in the tank and re-circulating it to prime the pump, while filling the suction hose. Good one, Gadgetman. Rn'R.
That's how I'd rig it anyways. The last thing you need fighting a fire is a "self priming pump" that doesn't want to prime. Much quicker this way,and will pull a long ways. It'll keep a constant vacuum on the fill hose,without letting enough air into the impeller to loose prime. Play with the 2 valves a lil. Won't take long to find that sweet spot. With a stout pump you should be able to suck a soccer ball thru that 3" fill hose.:tong I could probably work up a simple drawing to show how to plumb a basic setup. Will have to wait till next week tho. Have a boy graduating this weekend.
Thanks for the explanations guys. This makes a lot more sense than what someone else told me. I was told that you use pressurized air from the trailer air system to somehow create a vacuum on the suction side of the pump. I couldn't understand what he was talking about. :beatsme
Serv, I am no expert on pumping water, but your trailer has got air operated valves for the sprays. I am just wondering wether it might have a small air operated pump or vacuum pump to to prime the suction hose and the main pump. Rn'R.
You could use a 275 gallon tote for a cheap tank and if you want 550 gallons, just get two totes. I have two you could have for nothing, but I'm in south texas. A friend of mine sells them locally for $60 each
I understand as I'm in the same boat. The manufacturer is who told me it could possibly have the vacuum setup. I'll update on the setup it has when I haul her in this coming week.
Baffling the Water Tanks My Dad had a 500 gallon water tank on the back of his Polaris, designed as a miniature Water Tender Rig to put out lightning strikes on his property in Idaho. It is definitely a good idea to have something of your own when fire crews have other issues they need to take care of, and your own property is threatened. Because of the water surge in his tank, he just about rolled his Polaris, and in turn engineered/ patented the Surge Buster. For those who transport any sort of liquid loads, check out the website: www.californiasurgebusters.com They work with potable water for agriculture, water tenders, pressure washers, pesticide sprays, and the list goes on. It is also N.F.P.A. Compliant and approved by the FDA. With last months rollover in Northern California and consistent vehicle turnovers it is best to prevent accidents before they occur! The website has a neat video of how our product works! -Surge Control