The Social Network & Community JUST for Firefighters
Advice on Cold Weather Storage of Fire Apparatus
My department is in a rural mountanis area in central California - our winters nights dip into the low teens occasinaly lower and as one would expect we run into freezing problems - any one out there use a type of anti-freeze mixture in there tanks or practice the draining of the pump and piping untill needed - ? We already use piping wrapped with electrical tape etc but still the valves freeze up - Just looking for some advice from departments that have been there - Not in the mood to lose a pump -
Thanks in advance
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Bull on
-
This may sound dumb, but dont your buildings have heaters ??? Im assuming you store them in buildings. Otherwise your going to need to drain tank and pumps, unless you want to run your truck all day and night in recirculating mode. Wrapping your pipes in black tape is something i have never heard of, unless you meant heating tape. Sorry.....thats all I got. We deal with 30 below here, but our trucks are in a building.
-
Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
-
I'm with Bull....really it is no secret to those of us in the typically colder climates.....(not this year though, you may want to seek advice from someone in like Arkansas or something).
Yep, pretty much keep the vehicle in a building. Even keeping it out of the elements should be enough to avoid freezing issues, but heck some insulation and a little heat goes a long ways to avoid such problems. It may be easier to just get some heaters as opposed to what you are doing.
-
Permalink Reply by Gregg I Curry on
-
Non heated barns -and not black electrical tape heat tape - wish I could heat the barn but it would cost to much - I just remember talking with gent who was stationed in alaska Iand I swear he mentioned an antifreeze solution they ran in there tanks and plumbing - thanks for the reply
-
-
They are in a non-heated barn and usally that is enough but the last two years we had two valves freeze up eetc. thanks for the reply -
-
Permalink Reply by Don Catenacci on
-
Geez, go to the local big box store and buy a couple or 4 electic milkhouse heaters and on those few nights it gets that cold put 2 on each side of the truck and plug them in.
Frankly though, after 1 year with my firetruck freezing up in the fire station I would have put in some type of heater or furnace instead of risking having the truck out of sevice because it has become a popsicle.
-
Permalink Reply by Moose on
-
You have to look at the costs involved; Either put in a cheap economical furnace or electrical heater like Don suggested, or face the repair bills to fix the pump and the plumbing. Either way you have to spend a little money, but the safest way would be to put in a cheap heating system, they have them for barns and garages and such that are cheap to run, and are fire safe. I would form a committee and look into the different types of heat systems that are available and find one that best fits your budget for the building and grounds and work it into the plans. Best of luck to you in your decision and I hope the truck doesnt freeze! lol
Moose
-
Permalink Reply by Ryan Ocepek on
-
Question... Are you worried about the tank or pump/piping freezing? I work for Vail Colorado (The ski resort) and deal with this every year. Temperature ranges that we deal with are times at 20 below. We run Pierce apparatus with built in heat shields below the pump that the exhaust pipe runs through in order to help keep the pump warm when were out. Our department policy is from the months of Oct. till May is we run dry pumps. We drain our pumps after every use. The proper way to drain it is to open up all discharges and intakes, then pull your pump drain, Let this sit open as long as you can..! Preferably hook up some type of air line and blow out the pump. When the apparatus sits leave the pump drain open. It is imperative if you find a valve leaking, get this fixed ASAP. We have been practicing this method since the department started in the late seventy's. We have had no major problems in doing this.
As for you not having heated bays, I agree, invest in some form of heating.Cheaper to buy smaller heaters than it is to buy a pump!
In the event you are out on a call and not using the pump or even just out of the building for a long period of time during cold weather, have your operator prime the pump and then recirculate the water. Then when you get back to quarters, drain the pump properly again. We look at this as training for the engineer by getting the apparatus into pump gear and ready to discharge. It also makes the individual learn where their valves and controls are, so in the heat of the moment they do this with out thinking to long... Good practice!
Good luck!
-
Permalink Reply by Russ Marks on
-
A simple heat lamp will work, Set a heat lamp underneath the truck, under the pump, plug the lamp into an inline thermostatic plug. The lamp will come on around 36 degrees and shutoff at 40. All for about $30 at the local hardware store. This an old USFS trick.
-
-
I just don't undestand the resistance to installing some kind of heating system. Everything else is less reliable, and in some cases, a potential fire hazard.
Unless this is a temporary building and not your regular permanent it is nothing more than a long term investment in protecting you pumper and the building. What about your water pipes for the building? Aren't you worried about them freezing and bursting too?
Heck around here you can get a 125,000 BTU 95% efficient natural gas furnace for around $1600 plus installation. So for around $2K you have a professionally installed, reliable, fire safe, heat source that could heat your entire building. With a potential life of ove $20 years the cost is incredibly small over the years of use.
-
Permalink Reply by Brian Veach on
-
My department is in the high desert of West Texas. We don't have too many cold nights, but when we do our trick is to place the pumps into a recirculation line-up. We'll start the pumps and open a nozzle just a little and point that nozzle into our tank overflows on the tops of the trucks. This seems to work well. However, it only works for trucks with pump and roll capability, like all of our grass trucks. Our big Ferrara structural pumper doesn't seem to have an issue with freezing, even when it's been in the single digits here. But, we've been lucky enough to never have to work a structure with temps below freezing. We just keep all our trucks in the station and the bays are heated to around 50-60F, and all the trucks are plugged in to keep their engines warm. Hope this helps.
-
Permalink Reply by John S-B on
-
You can put RV antifreeze in the pump, it's non toxic and cheap. Just add through the highest fitting, 1 or 2 gallons. As for the tank, if you can find a heater like the kind they use for cattle troughs that will fit through the fill tower, you cand secure it with a cable and secure the cord and heat the water in the tank that way. Less chance of a fire than with a space heater. You can also get magnetic block heaters to put on the pump.
-
-
Or they could stop screwing around with silly, half-assed, solutions and put a furnace in the station.
Honestly, the resistance to the most obvious, and by far the safest, solution to keeping the fire engine from becoming a popsicle is quite possibly one of the goofiest things I have ever seen on this forum.
© 2024 Created by Firefighter Nation WebChief.
Powered by
