Help choosing a water pump for burn pile safety

[StanR]

I have used one of those 275 gallon totes for 6 months on my property for the main source of water. I got a travel trailer pressure what pump from Tractor Supply. Use a deep cycle battery to power it. It is like 5.5 gallons per minute. It will put our a very strong stream of water.

It should work just fine. The pump was around $75 It is sitting on a small trailer and used it when I did a burn on my pasture.

 

[blueriver]

I have done a tremendous amount of spring time control burns of bermuda grass and bahia grass fields ... my favorite weapon is a small 25 gallon sprayer on the back of my 4 wheeler ... the spray wand is adjustable and a fine mist of water will put out alot of fire.

For more security I have a 100 gallon spray tank in my gator with a sureflow 12v pump. The secret is not a big flow of water ... a wide angle mist pattern like a firefighter fog pattern.

When I'm real concerned the spray rig goes on the tractor with a pto pump ... again that hand nozzle works best with a wide pattern.

I have some knowledge of fire and also when I bought my irrigation system I got extra 2.5" fire hose and Nozzles for fire protection ... I can be hooked up and pumping water on a structure here before my wife gets off the phone with 911

 

[Ken45101]

First issue is what are you trying to protect from fire spreading? A barn full of hay 25' away from the burn pile is quite different from pine trees or having nothing but low mowed grass within 1000ft.


Those requirements determine your flow needs and how much water you need.

I've fought plenty of field fires with just a 5 gallon backpack tank and a hand operated pump. They do wonders for small spreading fires in weeds and grass, but so does a broom or the back of a shovel.

I think one of the weed sprayers with a 12v pump would be a good way to go and would be an effective use of the water. Use the big cube to refill it if needed.

There is no sense having a high flow pump if you are going to run out of water in five minutes. As has already been commented, wise use of a spray can be very effective.

But this time of year can be very dangerous. Most wildfires around here happen when the ground is muddy but the old weeds are dry and burn fast. Depending on your terrain, it may be a good idea to do your burning on a rainy day.

 

[Pilot]

I had this same problem several years ago, burning slash and the state (Oregon) required I have water and a pump. It was a needless expense in my case as I could simply wait for a rainy day. So the pump I got was similar to the little Honda gas pumps that sell for around $300. State gave me the OK on my setup, but it would have been of little help. No bypass valve and pushing water thru a nozzle would have shortened the life of the pump as it is designed to move water against little resistance.

You need a pump that has some kind of bypass valve so that when you shut off the flow at the nozzle it doesn't hurt the pump or bust a hose. And it needs to be able to push water against the resistance of the hose and nozzle without damaging the pump. Mine wouldn't do that.

I did burn a lot of brush piles with just a weed sprayer for protection, but the piles were small and I could choose my burn days. It worked quite well, but fire would just creep and you could just about stop the spread by stepping on the flames, which never got more than a couple inches high.

Atascadero is a different matter. What's around your piles? Cleared ground to mineral soil? 4 ft. high brush? Live oak? Grass? Flat ground or sloped? And if it's cleared ground, will you be able to get all your piles burned before the grass comes up?

 

[andyro]

I have a similar need - have a water tote I need to fill from a river and then transfer to a larger central tank uphill. PTO driven pumps seem to be much more expensive than hydraulic pumps like this one: Pacer SE2FL HYC - SE2FLHYC - 160 GPM (2") Hydraulic Drive Water Pump

Can a standard roller pump be modified for PTO? I don't need huge flow, just want to be able to suck from river (-5') and fill tote, then empty tote into the large tank. I'd consider anything, shureflow 12V, hydraulic or PTO - if price was right.