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Large Diameter Hose (LDH)-Do You Have It?
How many of you are currently carrying large diameter hose? I am talking about 5 inch diameter or larger.
How much of it are you carrying on your units?
We have 800 feet on our Engine 3. It takes up alot of room, but is well worth it.
Also, is it set up for quick couple or are your connections threaded?
How much of it are you carrying on your units?
We have 800 feet on our Engine 3. It takes up alot of room, but is well worth it.
Also, is it set up for quick couple or are your connections threaded?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Rusty on
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We carry about 900' of 5" on our 1st out engine, and 800' on our second. We have found that this gives us all the water we need in town, and our neighboring tankers can supply us with it on our out of town fires. We have it set up with Storz connections, and we carry standardxStorz adapters in our hydrant bags. We have also found the easiest way for us to load it is to lay everything in the roadway, still connected, and straddle it with the engine. As the hose comes otu from under the truck, we have one man on the ground, one on the tailboard, and one or two on the hosebed to complete the lay. The weight of the water left in the hose pulls a vaccuum and collapses the hose flat.
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Permalink Reply by Jason Brooks on
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We use a pump to boost the pressure. Unfortunately in our area (28 square miles), we have a small area that is unhydranted. We also cover and area that has some 20-40,000 sq ft homes. Since they can afford them, they build them way off the road. We have soem driveways that are over half a mile long. We also have some of these homes that have bridges that we cannot drive a pumper over. Money does not ake you smart. Any new ones over 5,000 sq ft have to be sprinklered.
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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on
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It sounds like most of you kinda like the idea of having the LDH as a back up in case you get a crappy hydrant or have to draft from a water source. Having "portable water main" in a village where the water supply system is old and falling apart, you can't go wrong carrying the hose.
How many of you have the jet siphons? Purchased or home made?
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Permalink Reply by Char on
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I run in the same department as Ryan Coy (listed previously in the discussion). In our area as he stated we lay typically long lays of supply line. We run in an area of approx 110 sq miles mostly unhydranted. We also run on an extensive box alarm system throughout the region. Earlier in the discussion someone asked if the reduced friction loss was worth carrying the larger hose,,,the answer is undeniably YES!!!!!!!!!!!
What you need to realize when using LDH is that you will maximize the effectiveness of whatever water supply you have. In easy to follow terms you will get more water with less work from the engine. Someone stated earlier that they didn't have the water supply to use LDH. If you don't, hose isn't your problem. The building, in every instance, dictates the flow required. If you aren't flowing enough Gallons Per Minute the fire will just continue to increase until it burns down to a point that a garden hose will put it out. This isn't opinion, it's science. You have to absorb enough BTU's for the fire to go out.
If you have enough water supply to have a fire attack than LDH will only make your operation more effective in the end. Remember, it takes four 3" lines on average to achieve the same flow potential of one 5" large diameter line.
I hope I haven't offended anyone, but helped to clarify the advantages of LDH.
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Permalink Reply by Brett on
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My company uses two rigs equipped with 5" LDH. Our main attack/suppression engine is equipped with 1,600 ft. of 5" and our rescue/engine is equipped with 700 ft. of 5". We run mostly a rural area so 5" is vital in setting up dumptank ops to locations that are hard to reach. The boro we cover does have hydrants, so our engine's 5" is also attached to dual 3" lines for hooking to a plug if necessary. Attached is a view of our 5" layout on our engine.
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Storz couplings is the gnat's ass, for sure.
But, with regards to loss to friction, nothing and I mean NOTHING beats the 5 inch in that category.
Yeah; it sucks to re-load it, but after the fight is over and you are standing there looking at a still-standing structure, isn't it a great feeling?
And think about it; it might not have been possible if you hadn't gone to the trouble of laying in all of that 5 inch hose.
It's all about expectations and end results.
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Permalink Reply by Terry Lambert on
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We use to carry 1000' of 5" and 1000' of 3" on out engines. Then last year we did away with the 5" and replaced it with 1000' of 4", and we still have the 3".
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We have a meeting in a couple of weeks with the village's public works committee, mayor, fire chief and myself.
Some years ago, we agreed that any replacement hydrants or new hydrants would have a 5 inch steamer port on it with two 2-1/2 inch outlets. The reason is obvious. However, the last couple of hydrants have not had the steamer, so now the chief is steamed. You will not get as much ISO credit for your hydrants if they do not have a steamer port on them.
Even if your water main size is small, it won't always be. You have to look ahead. Will the area be industrial, mixed use, residential or what? You have to plan your infrastructure to attract new opportunities or improve it for existing customers.
Unless you LIKE hauling and dumping water.
Art
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Permalink Reply by Van Willing on
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We have 6 pumpers and two ladder trucks and they all have a 1000' of 5" hose on them. All of our 5" hose has Storz connections.
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Permalink Reply by Aric Stewart on
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we carry a combine total of 1800 feet between both engines and it is equiped with storz connections. we also carry about 600' of 3 1/2" between both engines. and on both engines we carry 6" hard suction hose for drafting.
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