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 Russ on November 11, 2011 at 10:35pm

LDH pays for itself when you have to do a long lay. The stumbeling block is the cost. Back in the day it was called "Surface Water Main" and considered an extravagance. I recall the first department to have it was criticized for it because nobody understood it saying it was "too much water comming into the engine". i used to ask, too much water? Are we paying for the water we use to fight fire? Whats gonna happen if its too muche water comming to the engine, is the engine gonna reject it? having used it in a rural and urban setting i can tell you its a god send and after a little thought and training, you'll see the benifits.

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Permalink Reply by Russ on November 11, 2011 at 10:47pm

8.33 x how many gallons a hundred ft section holds (so im gussing about 100-150lb)

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Permalink Reply by Diamond Chief on November 18, 2011 at 12:55pm

It's been almost three years since I started this discussion. About two months ago, we were awarded a grant to purchase enough 5 inch ldh to pack 800 ft on all our engines and service truck. Keep the ideas coming !

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Permalink Reply by Don Catenacci on November 18, 2011 at 1:45pm

Put your intake relief valve on the opposite side of the rig as the pump operator. The same for any discharges set up for pumping the LDH. That way in the event of a broken line the pump operator is not put in danger.

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Permalink Reply by Nathan Henderson on November 20, 2011 at 1:55am

I like LDH. When we reload the hose we roll the sections (100') into a straight roll then we lay them on a lazy susan which makes loading it pretty easy with 2-3 people. Our LDH is rubber jacketed though I have heard they can get pinholes in them from wear but I havent seen that yet. It's held up well for us. We have 1000' on our engines due to long driveways and not alot of hydrants in the area. Plus the stortz fittings make connections quick and easy. Congrats on the grant and hope the switch works for you.