L.D.H. "Love It, or Hate It"

I am wanting to start using LDH in our dept. and am wondering if I can convince the majority into changing their thought process. Let me add that we are in a rural area, and no departments that might provide aid uses LDH. Should we make the switch?

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on January 7, 2009 at 5:45pm

We routinely repack our 50inch hose with three or four firefighters. We've had LDH for so long and we're so used to it that it's no longer a big deal to drain and repack it.

Our two quints (75-foot rear mounts) have an enclosed chute from the midship hose bed under the turntable to the rear. Packing 5 inch in the quints isn't fun, but it's the hose bed configuration, not the LDH that is the problem. We have to extend the outriggers and partially elevate the aerial in order to repack the supply line. Once again, not the most fun in the world, but we've gotten used to it. Our unwritten expectation is that everyone helps the quint companies repack their LDH.

Our new engines were designed with a LDH discharge on the curb side so we don't need adapters to either relay pump or to supply a portable monitor.

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Permalink Reply by Brandon W Burgess on January 8, 2009 at 12:18pm

what kind of vacum? Im interested if you can shoot me some info on it...

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Permalink Reply by Brandon W Burgess on January 8, 2009 at 12:24pm

My vol department uses it as well as nearly 12 of the other 16 volunteer depts in our county. First off make sure your water system can handle LDH if not 5" then possibly going to 4"...GOTTA use 100 sections.. keep pony sections for short lays and such. As for air, we use the hose walkers kinda like an old clothes ringer, but just like in fire school...fold the ends over after you walk it out so they wont fill back up. All of our engines carry 1000' of 5" and 300' of 3 " and 250' of 2.5" attack line on the rear...

For the old school folks....NO MORE RELAY PUMPING...only 4psi of friction loss per 100' of 5"....
As for water supply...its a given, you bring the plug to the truck....no problems flowing 1750 gpm through 5"!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on January 8, 2009 at 6:59pm

You still need to teach relay pumping for tactical situations, even if you don't need to relay for friction loss.
We teach relay pumping, reverse lays, and split lays.

We often use reverse lays to supply ladder pipes.

We also use split lays for a lot of our small housing developments (5 units or less) that don't have a hydrant in the development. If the closest hydrant isn't right at the street corner, the 1st due engine lays forward from a sign post to the fire and the 2nd due engine completes the split lay back to they hydrant.

If an engine is at the hydrant, it makes sense to relay, even if only at idle pressure. That gives you the ability to boost pressure if needed.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on January 8, 2009 at 7:01pm

This is how you keep air out of LDH until you load it - no extra LDH cap needed.

Hand roller system for draining LDH in use.

Rear-mounted LDH intake. The intake relief valve is in-line, beneath the engine, so no big manual relief valve is connected to the pump panel steamer intake.

Officer's side LDH discharge.

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Permalink Reply by Diamond Chief on January 8, 2009 at 8:01pm

Thanks, Ben. Good pics. Love the rear intake with the chevrons.

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Permalink Reply by Pat Griffin on January 9, 2009 at 1:48am

check with your mutual aid depts. and see what they use. In many areas different depts. use their own size thread. Def get stortz for LDH connections, makes life easier when breaking the connection.

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Permalink Reply by Pat Griffin on January 9, 2009 at 1:53am

At a convention in PA I saw an engine's LDH packed so tight and neat. I ment to get ahold of one of their members to see if they use one of those rollnracks..but never did. Hands down...it was the nicest looking hose bed I ever saw.

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Permalink Reply by Pat Griffin on January 9, 2009 at 2:00am

If water pressure is a problem with your hydrants you can do a reverse lay, and pump the water from the hydrant to another engine at the address. Or drop a manifold at the scene, along with firefighters, tools, and preconnected attack lines. This would work for your fires that are sorta close to your hydrants...which im sure isnt that close.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on January 11, 2009 at 2:28pm

Joe,

I did some calculations, and if my math and unit-of-measure conversions are correct, I came up with 106 gallons and change for 1000 feet of 5 inch. A 6-gallon difference is meaningless in the real world, even when running a water shuttle, so you're right there with your numbers.

Ben