Although parts of Victoria are in drought now, and dairy farmers in trouble, it may get worse with an early fire season.
Firefighting authorities warned that we could be in for an early season.
Similar situations to the Californians Palisades catastrophe could happen, long before anyone imagines it's possible.
Professor David Bowman said people are still in a daze after winter and can’t imagine, especially with the drought, that fires could be unseasonal and early.
Professor Bowman from Tasmania is a Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science and warns that preparation is the key.
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Aussie Pumps dealers are well aware of this and are getting ready early just in case.
FREE FIRE SURVIVAL GUIDE
One company who is really conscious of this is Australian Pump Industries.
Known as Aussie Pumps, their engineering team has been working on the development of new high pressure fire pumps that make similar model pumps look antiquated.
“We’ve got a brand new single impeller pump that does the job of a twin impeller model,” said Aussie’s Chief Engineer, John Hales.
“Working with cooperation of the mighty Honda organization, we’ve been able to develop a single impeller pump with a Honda GX160 5.5 horsepower engine that does the work of a twin impeller unit," he said.
The new pump, nicknamed ‘The Imposter’, is a major effort of the company and is being launched on the market this month.
The machine delivers a maximum flow of 350 litres a minute but, has a massive high-pressure rating of up to 90 metre head.
That 90 metre head is equivalent to 120 PSI.
“It’s a breakthrough product and the beauty of it is it's priced right for people who want something with a lot of capability to protect their property," said Hales.
DROUGHT SOLUTIONS … HIGH HEAD … HIGH FLOW
Knowing that farmers are having a horrible time with the drought and the capability to move water from where it is to where you want it, being paramount, the company has developed a high flow, high pressure pump as well.
The unit delivers almost 480 lpm of flow and is able to deliver it at a total maximum head of 67 metres.
It can also push water up a vertical lift of 67 metres.
That 67 metres of vertical lift can translate into hundreds of metres of horizontal or semi horizontal piping to take water from where you want it.
The pump has a closed impeller but with wider veins than normal firefighting pumps.
That’s how it handles high flows at high pressure.
Hales calls it the "fire pump that turned into a high-flow special".
The company has been working overtime during the past 12 months to bring these new products to the market.
“The high flow special, which we nicknamed ‘the farmer's friend’, has a 2” suction inlet and a 2” elbow rather than a firefighting three-way outlet.
The machine is designed in such a way that if the owner wants to get high flow, you use the 2” in, 2” out to make sure you minimise friction loss.
"Apart from that, you also need to use good quality poly pipe or hose, minimum of two inches," said Hales.
Hales warns that dropping to a cheaper, smaller diameter hose or pipe only reduces performance and of course means high fuel consumption for less water at the other end of the pipe.
AUSSIES PUMPOLOGY TRAINING COURSE
The company is working on their Pumpology Course.
“When we first launched Australian Pump 30 years ago, we thought farmers all knew everything there was to know about pumps, hydrology and all that," said Hales.
"It’s sometimes been a surprise to find a farmer buying a 4” pump to get more water and connecting it to a 2” poly pipe.
"That’s asking for trouble.
"You can’t get 4” out of a 2” hose," Hales said.
GET READY FOR FIRES
The new Aussie fire pumps are ready to roll.
They are fitted with 2” inlet and three-way outlet.
‘The Imposter’ can deliver lots of water fast to the fire.
“We are always surprised to see the basic rules of reality flouted by companies who put a 1 ½” inlet cast into the body of their pump, like one of our competitor's single impeller pumps, and then put two 1 ½” outlets and two 1” outlets on the delivery side.
"You don’t need to be a genius to work out that limiting the water flow into the pump to 1 ½” can never produce 5” of high pressure water out the other end,” said Hales.
“We think that four-way outlet with 5” of delivery capability, is nothing but a gimmick.
"How else could you explain it?” he asked.
Aussie Bushfire Survival Guides are available from Aussie dealers.
The company is also a leader in fertiliser pumps as well as also playing a major role with earth moving contractors, farmers and local government with their great range of high pressure drain-cleaning jetters.
“We think dairy farms should have Aussie drain-cleaning jetters," said Hales.
"Imagine being able to clear out blocked drains in a matter of minutes, instead of having to wrestle with an antiquated electric eel or, worse, just trying to flush it down with rods or hoses," said Hales.
Aussie claim their jetters can clear blocked drains that would take hours in a matter of a minutes.
Further information on Aussie’s great product range, designed for Australians, is available from the Aussie Pump distributors throughout Victoria.
In areas where you don’t have an authorised dealer, please call on 02 8865 3500.
Aussie Pumps is looking for dealer candidates and want to make sure their coverage is improved to get quality products out there against the cheap overseas knock-offs.
For comprehensive information on Aussie Pumps look out for their Spring Catalogue.
It’s a beauty!