55 Gallon Fire Extinguisher

L47TLBwannabe · May 20, 2019

DL Meisen said:
Remember to throttle down pump and restrict spray nozzle.... With 125 gallon per minute pump and 55 gallon tank you have about 40-45 seconds of water.... think you are over compensating on pump.... I have Honda WX15 (1.5 inch) and I can shoot a stream of water through 50 feet of 3/4 inch garden hose about 30 feet....

Personally I think if serious for fire, a 275 gallon tote would be better...BUT we are talking about 2300 pounds of weight plus weight of tote (another 100 pounds)..

Dale

No actually I'm not over compensating when you look at how most firefighting rigs are built our wildland truck carries a 300 gallon water tank coupled to a 250 gallon per minute 2 or 3 stage pump with an 18h.p. Briggs and Stratton V-twin engine. There are a number of reasons for this other than shooting '30 feet' the first is to over come friction loss, not that I'm going to drop more than 100 maybe a 150 feet of hose. The second reason is if I'm drafting from a static water source I can actually do a long hose lay and put a serious amount of water on the fire if I really needed to.
Once I get around to it I'll get some more fittings for the larger pump and I'll install an adjustable relief valve that will allow water to circulate back to the tank thus preventing cavitation of the pump I just haven't had the chance to do it yet. The little pump still works fine and needs an oil change before I use it again it has also been very reliable as I've used it for a variety things ranging from watering the garden from my rain tote, to pumping out my backyard during the spring thaw, and washing out excavator oil coolers and radiators.
A tote would be nice but I'm not going to be hauling one of those around in a 1/2 ton truck especially when you consider I already have a slip tank in the truck box with a capacity of 125 gallons. lol

L47TLBwannabe · May 20, 2019

countrybumpkin said:
You may want to look at your pump curve chart again, your not going to flow 125 gpm at 85 psi with that.

Well duh! LOL

countrybumpkin · May 20, 2019

Just correcting what you stated in your first post.

L47TLBwannabe · May 20, 2019

Thought I'd post some pictures of some other set ups I've encountered. The home made ATV set up is used by a nearby Fire Department for fighting grass and brush fires as it can get to places that a 1 ton or 3/4 ton can't and because manpower is always at a premium and we don't get much help from the Provincial government unless a fire is on 'crown land', the ATV or sometimes UTV can do the job of ten or more people with backpack pump, brooms, shovels and pulaski's. This also depends on the severity of the fire of course etc. etc.
This particular Fire Department has three ATV's all equipped the same way and they use a sort of hit and run tactic knocking down what they can and where the larger trucks can't get to, running back and forth usually refilling from a tanker or pumper. My Fire Department didn't have one but these guys that do have them say they do an excellent job in most circumstances. As you'll see in some of the pictures some Departments tried using little trailers to haul larger volumes of water but are now switching to carrying water on the backs of the machines as the tank trailers can be difficult to maneuver in thick brush and difficult to back up in an emergency as you can imagine.

Aquamoose · May 21, 2019

Having water is handy but the basics should include woodland firefighting tools, starting with a shovel followed by a McLeod and a fire swatter. If going with a tank setup, you should incorporate foam injection or utilize a “dump & pump” to stretch firefighting capability. Many topics via google.

I built a 750 gallon setup on an old military wagon trailer (carried bombs to planes on bases)that I tow wherever it’s needed and did incorporate an automatic recirculating setup when the nozzle is off.

L47TLBwannabe · May 21, 2019

Being an excavator operator I usually carry a spade or two and I carry a corn broom as that's always been my go to for grass fires. A former Fire Chief of our Fire Department bought a bunch of those bug swatters and probably paid too much for them none of us really liked them much and they usually stay on the truck as guys tend to go for the broom, backpack pumps, the two Stihl backpack style leaf blowers, and the 1 ton wildland truck/rescue truck. I'm not putting a foam system on my set up most Departments around here only put that on pumpers, tankers, and some wildland units but we usually have enough lakes, streams, creeks, and swamps to draft from....

kthompson · May 21, 2019

Not being critical of what you have built, just do not overlook spray rigs which are kind of designs and many of us have them sitting just not filled and ready to use. Depending on your sprayer keeping them basically filled with water and ready to go can help many.

Ken45101 · May 21, 2019

"Indians and brooms", ugh, the memories

A setup like the OP's would have been a vast improvement.

It's amazing how effective a little water is on a grass/brush fire. Of course, that's the whole point of the Indians.

An alternative to brooms is a 1' x 2' piece of heavy conveyor belt bolted on to a broom stick.

WranglerX · May 21, 2019

L47TLBwannabe said:
No actually I'm not over compensating when you look at how most firefighting rigs are built our wildland truck carries a 300 gallon water tank coupled to a 250 gallon per minute 2 or 3 stage pump with an 18h.p. Briggs and Stratton V-twin engine. There are a number of reasons for this other than shooting '30 feet' the first is to over come friction loss, not that I'm going to drop more than 100 maybe a 150 feet of hose. The second reason is if I'm drafting from a static water source I can actually do a long hose lay and put a serious amount of water on the fire if I really needed to.
Once I get around to it I'll get some more fittings for the larger pump and I'll install an adjustable relief valve that will allow water to circulate back to the tank thus preventing cavitation of the pump I just haven't had the chance to do it yet. The little pump still works fine and needs an oil change before I use it again it has also been very reliable as I've used it for a variety things ranging from watering the garden from my rain tote, to pumping out my backyard during the spring thaw, and washing out excavator oil coolers and radiators.
A tote would be nice but I'm not going to be hauling one of those around in a 1/2 ton truck especially when you consider I already have a slip tank in the truck box with a capacity of 125 gallons. lol

Really think you are over engineering this.... IF you can not put fire down with the 55 gallons it's time to make the 911 call, building for the static supply and it may not be there is probably beyond the capabilities you theorizing needing...

I have on my site, 5000 gallons of water storage, a hydrant with 2.5 inch hose connection for a "engine" and 1.5 inch connection(s) for as mentioned earlier Honda pump, and gas generator to run the well incase of power failure... Living in California dead tree zone makes one think alot about fire precautions... Look up Detwiler and Ferguson and Camp fires in California.... Also thinking of 100 (maybe 200) feet of 1 inch line and nozzle that may never be needed.....Very FIRST thing to do is call 911... Rather it be false alarm than let it get away from me and it's to late....

Dale