Homemade fire engine

   / Homemade fire engine #11  
Although the pressure washer idea has it's good points, such as being portable, I would seriously think twice about it, as fires are usually put out by volume of water, not by the misting action you get from a pressure washer(misting may be wrong terminogy). There isn't enough volume of water to soak the ground prior to a fire, and surely not enough to put one out. Yes I do think the pressure washer will run from barrels, as you see a lot of them in this area mounted on trailers with tanks of water for use where water is unavailable.
David from jax
 
   / Homemade fire engine #12  
we did a controlled burn last weekend, used a home made sprayer that we also use for applying 2-4-d. 100 gallon tank has extending spray booms and also has a 3/4 inch pistol grip. we start several small fires around the perimeter, put out the outside edge before it gets big usually let one man walk with the propane torch wait a few minutes then start to put out the outer edge then we light the big fire with the wind blowing it towards our little fire since it has already burned nice and slow it makes a perfect fire stop. I have always used big water before but the man that showed me this way can burn 60 acres and not even use 100 gallons of water, fight fire with fire. save water for making ice for the beer!
 
   / Homemade fire engine #13  
Restricting a "trash pump" outlet will not hurt the unit. In fact, you can block the outlet off completely on these without damage since it uses an impeller which will just "freewheel" inside the housing dragging along whatever water is there. Running them without water will damage the seals though. The maximum load on the engine or motor driving these style of pumps occurs when you have zero head of water which is when you have maximum flow, i.e. straight out of the outlet side of the pump. Counter intuitive perhaps, but true.
 
   / Homemade fire engine #14  
we did a controlled burn last weekend, used a home made sprayer that we also use for applying 2-4-d. 100 gallon tank has extending spray booms and also has a 3/4 inch pistol grip. we start several small fires around the perimeter, put out the outside edge before it gets big usually let one man walk with the propane torch wait a few minutes then start to put out the outer edge then we light the big fire with the wind blowing it towards our little fire since it has already burned nice and slow it makes a perfect fire stop. I have always used big water before but the man that showed me this way can burn 60 acres and not even use 100 gallons of water, fight fire with fire. save water for making ice for the beer!

Listen to what is said above. just use a tank on 3 pt hitch with pto pump and hand wand. Dont reinvent the wheel you would be amazed how much fire control you have with very little water applied right. When burning fight fire with fire I.E. backburning good luck
 
   / Homemade fire engine #15  
you could consider hydraulic driven pump,

or consider a PTO driven sprayer pump that would meet your requirements,

I think a turbo 90 would do what you want and it runs directly of of PTO

Turbo-90 PTO-Driven Turbine Pump
Turbo-90 Turbine Pumps
Delavan Turbo 90 PTO Pump, Model# 26566-11 | Sprayer Pumps | Northern Tool + Equipment

even the proper roller pump would work I would think,

and as far as PTO one can buy "weld a sprocket" or similar hubs with a PTO spline, and the pulley of your choice,

URL for example only not a recommendation of the company,
Sprocket Roller And Hubs

many farm supply stores and equipment dealers have them avable, some may need to be special ordered by some dealers,
 
   / Homemade fire engine #16  
You can buy a pto to keyed shaft adapter, would be a good way to go if rotation is correct.
 
   / Homemade fire engine #17  
If all else fails, I am sure your local fire department would be anxious to come out and help suppress!

No really, listen to the guys above and burn the perimeter first. Just watch the fly aways and you should be golden. Once you burn it and take that fuel away there will be nothing for it to spread to unless the wind really picks up and blows it through the trees.

One more note, if there are a lot of roots (or were at one time) around be careful to not let them get hot as fires will spread underground and you won't even know it until it is too late.
 
   / Homemade fire engine #18  
I use a small 12volt electric pump. (They are mainly used in RV's to provide water to all the showers and sinks.) I just mount it on a 55 gallon drum lid and wire it to the aux power in my trailer plug. It provides the same or better water supply than a household water hose and when one drum is emptied I just change the lid to another drum in the back of my truck that is full. This setup works great for mixing chemicals if you have a large area to spray too. The main reason I went this route is because it was the most economical.
 
   / Homemade fire engine #19  
Here's what I would recommend. My fire department has 1 that we use a lot, I also have one on the farm for maple sap. Both have been great, and we plan to buy a couple more. The one for sap is gated down to 3/4" garden hose and works good.

Honda WX15 Water Pump
1.5in. Suction and Discharge Ports
31cc 4-stroke Honda engine
Moves up to 4320 GPH
125ft. max. total head and 26ft. max. suction head lift
Model# WX15AX2
Northern Tool Item# 109417


I, however caution against letting any impeller pump chun without water moving. It will overheat the water in the pump and you will damage the pump. Been in the water moving business long enough to have seen it done with numerous pumps, from small 100 gpm's to 1500 gpm fire trucks. If it's running, let water move somewhere.

Also, when you need a pump for a fire, you need a pump that runs and is dependable. A homemade rig would be fun to do, but a Honda is hard to beat for dependability.

Here's a couple pics of my sap gathering/woods fire rig.
 

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   / Homemade fire engine #20  
Restricting a "trash pump" outlet will not hurt the unit. In fact, you can block the outlet off completely on these without damage since it uses an impeller which will just "freewheel" inside the housing dragging along whatever water is there. Running them without water will damage the seals though. The maximum load on the engine or motor driving these style of pumps occurs when you have zero head of water which is when you have maximum flow, i.e. straight out of the outlet side of the pump. Counter intuitive perhaps, but true.

It will in fact damage it. If there is no water coming in and going out, you will overheat the pump. The impeller is just churning that water, and the mechanical friction heat being produced will build up extremely fast. In time, you will warp and crack the impeller and shaft.
 

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