Best way to pump water?

[Pilot]

I have 42 slash piles to burn after logging. The state fire guys want me to have a pump on site capable of pumping 50 gpm & a 200+ gal. water source. As far as I know, I will never need to use this pump again. They will let me burn 2 piles a day, maybe more.

What's the cheapest setup I can rig? Will a trash pump work? Are they meant to generate pressure or are they just for bailing water against no resistance? Do they have a bypass so you can shut off the nozzle without harming the pump? What about a PTO pump? Any other ideas?

Thanks.

 

[turnkey4099]

Can't speak to the other questions but on the trash pump:

They are volume, not pressure pumps. No good at all for spraying water AFAIK. If you have to buy new, visit an irrigation supply store. You might also check with your local fire department to see what they use.

Harry K

 

[chim]

Did they give you any info on how the pump was to pump the 50GPM as far as pressure? With little head pressure, 50GPM is a cakewalk for a cheap pump. As the pressure increases, so does the price of the pump.................chim

 

[Cowboyjg]

Talk to the guys at the local firehouse. My guess is that you have a volunteer crew nearby. They could be an invaluable source of info. heck they may be willing to rent you their forest rig, if they have one.

 

[CTyler]

Most of the 2-3" pumps only put out 40-50psi max.

Northerntool has a 6hp 4800GPH(80GPM) pump that puts out 134psi but its' $999.

I'd get some more specifics on what they really want you to have. Let me put it this way....good luck getting 15GPM out of garden hose let alone 50. Are they expecting you to have an actuall fire hose and nozzle?

 

[Pilot]

They want a 1" hose. I see I can get 1 1/4 & larger hoses on Ebay for reasonable prices. The hardware may be spendy; I haven't looked at that yet.

Water source will be my utility trailer which I'll line with plastic & fill with about 400 gallons.

BTW, the ground is mostly level, so I don't have to pump uphill very much, maybe 10 ft. at most.

 

[bczoom]

Pilot

Do you really need a pump? If you have a 200 gallon or larger tank with a 2" dump/hose, I would bet that if parked up hill a little, you could discharge 50 gpm. Maybe something like one of these.. Here is the hose I would consider attaching. BTW - they show them sitting in a pickup but watch your weight. The 300 gallon would weigh about 2400 pounds.

I have those large white tanks in the cages that I believe could discharge at that rate but haven't tried it.

Brian

 

[fishman]

Pilot,

Check here:

Honda WX10

It's only rated for 37 gpm, but that's far more than your standard garden hose. I have a couple and they are really nice. They are 4 stroke with a throttle to adjust water volume/pressure. I have mine rigged with a ball valve on the hose to allow me to turn it off and on, as well as a straight brass spigot, which yeilds a lot of range. It comes with a suction hose and a reducer to change the output diameter so one can use a garden hose (that's what I do).

I've used several different small pumps and this one is the best by far. Street price should be less than $300, maybe as low as $250 on-line.

There is a WX15, which pumps about 70 gpm, but it is quite a bit more.

 

[dmccarty]

Pilot,

Do you have a rental place nearby? They should have a pump to handle and might have the hoses as well. My local rental place has water trucks as well.

I have a pile of wood the size of a two story house. I want to chip it but that costs dollars. If its too many dollars I'm going to burn it after talking with the Forestry department that is a mile or so from our house. I suspect I'll ask the Volunteer fire department to come out and sit and watch for the first four hours or so. I'll feel better if they do. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Later,
Dan

 

[Pilot]

I did look into renting. Water buffalo, pump & hose would rent for about $100 per day, so it's out of the question.

The state fire guy comes out tomorrow; we'll see how flexible they are. The last guy they sent was strictly by the book & they have gotten rid of him, so here's hoping.