Portable pumps continue to have their specialized uses, especially when firefighters simply can't get a larger apparatus-based fire pump close enough to make a difference on a fire scene.
BY ALAN M. PETRILLO
Portable pump systems are being offered in a wide variety of types and models-from hand-carried versions to skid-loaded units-and firefighters are finding an array of uses.
Jim Darley, national sales manager for Darley Company's fire pump division, says Darley makes three different models of portable pumps, with all its pumps and engines being modular so they can be mixed and matched. "Our largest portable, the HE model that's used for water transfer, has a four-inch suction and can be coupled to an 18-horsepower (hp) or 23-hp engine," Darley says. "This is a direct-drive model and is great for volume flows for filling tankers, but it won't do more than 70 pounds per square inch (psi)."
Another direct-drive model that Darley Co. makes is the 2BE model, which Darley says is a multipurpose pump with a three-inch suction that can be driven by a 23-hp Briggs & Stratton engine, a 21-hp Honda engine, a 23-hp Vanguard engine, or a 24-hp Kubota diesel engine. "We use it on our skid units and sell it to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who are building skid units," he notes. "It's useful in flowing water through a one-inch booster line or a 1½-inch hoseline but also can be plumbed with a 2½-inch discharge."
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| Darley Co. makes the 2BE series portable pump that's often used in skid units. Shown here in the 2BE23V model; this pump is driven by a 23-horsepower Vanguard engine. (Photo courtesy of Darley Co.) |
Darley points out that the 2BE model will generate in excess of 400 gallons per minute (gpm) at low pressures. "At 140 psi, it can do 100 gpm, and at 110 psi it can do 200 gpm, enough for two 1½-inch hoselines," he says.
Darley also makes the 1.5AGE, a gear-driven, engine-drive portable pump. "We put the gearbox between the pump and the engine, which allows the operator to not have to work the engine so hard," Darley points out. "If we use an engine capable of 3,600 revolutions per minute (rpm), and with a 2.7 gearbox ratio, we will have the pump impeller spinning in excess of 9,000 rpm. We can modify the impellers inside the pump casings to give higher volume or pressure depending on what is needed."
Other portable pumps Darley makes are the 2.5AGE, a gearbox and engine-driven pump with a 2½-inch pipe-threaded suction that is capable of higher flows than the 1.5AGE; the Hercules, a four-inch suction pump mounted on a Rotax 582 gasoline engine that also is available in a skid-mounting version or for mounting on a boat; the HE10.5 floating pump powered by a Briggs & Stratton 10½-hp engine; and the HE11H floating pump powered by an 11-hp Honda engine.
Gasoline or Diesel Power
Jerry Halpin, vice president of sales and marketing for CET Fire Pumps, says his company's most popular models are powered by both gasoline and diesel engines ranging from 20 to 60 hp. "A predominant number of those pumps are used for some kind of structural fire up to the point where you have to flow 1,000 gpm," Halpin says. "They mi