Builders Using Technology to Increase Pump Performance, Reduce Size
For apparatus dedicated to fire suppression, there’s nothing more important than its pump and the plumbing. Every drop of water used at a fire scene is moved and controlled by pumps and there accoutrements. And, experts seem to agree there a couple trends emerging when it comes to pumps—they’re getting smaller and more high-tech with the integration of electronics.
There’s a trend to make trucks smaller and more efficient and one way to do that is reduce the pump house which, in some cases, can be 48 inches wide. One way to make the pump house smaller is by using electric valves, which eliminate the space needed for pull/push levers and actuators that open and close valves.
“Electric valves are ‘coming on strong’ and have been for the past few years,” said Ryan Rollins, OEM product specialist for Elkhart Brass. “I’ve seen more and more people talking about installing them,” he added, noting the big advantage with electrically controlled valves is pump panels can be located anywhere on the apparatus and can have multiple control locations. He said unlike mechanical controllers, which need virtually straight-line connections to the valves, electric valve controls can be in the cab, at the pump panel and virtually anyplace wires can run.
“It depends on the end user,” Rollins said. “You can have them at any point.”
And to those who question the wisdom of mixing electric equipment with water, Rollins said fear not. All of Elkhart’s electric valves are unibody with potted electronics, which means the circuit boards are covered with epoxy and sealed against water and dust.
Rollins added that the valves themselves are the same across manual or electric control lines. It’s only the actuator that changes with the electric ones being motor driven and the manual ones having mechanical levers to open and close.
Elkhart also makes a line of EXM monitors that are electronically controlled for water flow as well as directional flow, Rollins said, adding the same level of protection to valve circuit boards is given to monitors.
Rollins said his company uses the same motor on all of its valves—from the smallest 2-inch models to the largest 8-inch butterfly valves for master intakes. That universal approach means all valves benefit from the motor torque produced to open the largest valves, which is used to open the smallest and all between.
And for those who are still skeptical about electronics, Rollins said all of Elkhart’s electric valves come with manual overrides standard. A 3/8-inch manual override drive is built into all valves, which allows the valves to be opened without the motor or controller.
“In today’s age, all the captains, officers and the chiefs accept technology,” Rollins said. “There’s technology in everything. It’s in their tablets, their cars—it’s in almost everything.”
At pump maker Waterous, Matt Wolf, OEM sales manager, said that much of the innovations on pumps today are driven by the needs of the apparatus builders.
“Emissions and the trucks are changing,” Wolf said, noting that apparatus makers are looking for smaller, lighter weight pumps to accommodate emissions equipment and to reduce engine loads.
To keep up with that demand for innovations, Waterous has been practicing rapid prototyping, which means that new designs and parts can be developed in days and weeks rather than a typical six-month turnaround time.
“That’s a big deal,” Wolf said, noting that most apparatus, especially those working with program trucks, don’t want to wait 180 days just to find out if something is possible.
Wolf also notices a move toward electronics in the pump and plumbing componentry of apparatus. Today, engines and transmissions are all electronically controlled, as are many other components. So it was a natural progression for Waterous to come up with a touchscreen Tellurus digital control system in 2016, Wolf said, noting that it makes the Waterous ONE-STEP compressed air foam system (CAFS) even easier to use.
“It helps produce a perfect foam product out the end of the discharge,” Wolf said, adding that air, foam solution and water are all monitored through an electronic program.
Wolf also said there are modifications being made to pump bodies to accommodate thermal couplers and sensors to more accurately read pump and component performance, all with the intent of making it easier for the pump operator to monitor operations.
Waterous is working with WiFi and Bluetooth technology and Internet connections so pump information can be uploaded and downloaded easily, Wolf said, noting the technology can even recognize pump problems before the user knows there’s an issue. The company has also been innovating with 3D printing that allows it to produce new products without the need to send parts to the foundry and experiment with composite materials that are lighter weight, stronger, more durable and less expensive, Wolf said.
“We’ve tested some pumps and they are just more durable,” Wolf said of the new composite-bodied pumps.
The ability to innovate means that Waterous will be ahead of the curve as fire departments continue to look for smaller chassis that are still rated at 1,500 gpm, Wolf said, noting that the 1,500-gpm, single-stage pump is still the company’s most popular pump. It also produces pumps up to 2,250 gpm, which is the top rating for municipal pumpers, Wolf said, noting that Waterous also produces 250-gallon pto pumps for wildland and “pump and roll” applications.
More recently, Waterous has been seeing an uptick for larger volume industrial pumps with up to 6,000-gpm ratings, Wolf said, noting that competitors have also experience similar upswings in big pump interest.
“The most common trend I see, however is in smaller, lighter-weight pumps,” Wolf said. “And electronics are huge. There’s a big move toward electronics.”
David Durstine, vice president of marketing for Hale Products and Akron Brass, has also noticed trending toward more electronics in pumps and apparatus plumbing. He said, however, that electric valves are not as new as many may think.
Durstine said Dick Young, founder of Young Fire Apparatus out of New York, was putting electric valves on fire apparatus back in the 1960s.
“He was miles ahead of everyone else building fire trucks at the time,” he said.
While Young may have been a pioneer in the electric valve market, Durstine said he’s seen more manufacturers move to electronic fire apparatus.
“Fire trucks are becoming more complex,” Durstine said. “They are also becoming smaller and smaller.”
As departments put CAFS on their apparatus and try to marry it with all the other technology available today it becomes an exercise in “putting 10 pounds of stuff in a 5-pound sack,” Durstine said. With the introduction of electronic technology into the fire pump system, it allows departments to do a lot more and have greater control with limited space, he added.
Akron Brass, according to Durstine, has been a leader in electric valves for years and continues to improve product quality by enhancing water flow paths and reducing friction loss in its valves.
And the innovation continues on the Hale side of the business. Hale, through its Class 1 division, has developed a pressure governor that has a cavitation prevention feature, Durstine said. He explained that as intake pressure drops, the pump will try to “balance itself out” by automatically adjusting pressures, using proprietary programing with the intent of reducing and eliminating cavitation that can damage the pump. He added many other systems will simply sense the loss of water and will idle up to maintain the pressure and then drop off and kick out to prevent cavitation, which is not a good situation in the heat of the battle.
Durstine said Hale is “upping the game” when it comes to pump efficiencies. He said the company has taken its most popular QMAX XS line of pumps and increased flow efficiencies and optimized water flow.
Using computer aided drawing (CAD), the company can look at one particle of water and trace its path through pumps and valves all the way to discharge and measure its accelerations and decelerations with the intent to adjust pathways to move most efficiently as possible.
“By doing so, it enhances performance,” Durstine said, noting that translates into better performance transmissions and gear boxes that enhance fuel efficiencies and save wear and tear.
“By lowering RPMs, you’re not working the apparatus so hard,” Durstine said. “We’re always looking at that. Our differentiator is we always try to have our products work above and beyond what is expected.”
Also, as part of the optimization program, Hale has been able to reduce the overall size of the pump and discharge manifold, Durstine said. The company has removed excess pump volute to the valve exiting the pump. The result is a smaller, more efficient pump and a reduced pump house, he said, noting that Hale has developed one that is under 30 inches wide.
He added that Hale recently showed and demonstrated a pump module that was under 38-inches wide and it had “everything under the sun,” including CAFS.
“We’re always trying to figure out how we can optimize a smaller, shorter pump house and help you in the process,” Durstine said.
Over at W.S. Darley, a pump and apparatus builder, technology and innovation has been in the forefront, said Troy Carothers, AutoCAFS product manager for the company.
“There’s been a lot of talk about technology lately,” Carothers said. “Darley has not shied away from it. We’re working on smaller pump panels and electronic controls.”
Carothers said Darley has a niche in the fire market and caters to volunteer fire departments who want poly bodied apparatus so their trucks don’t corrode and want CAFS to stretch their limited water supply and staffing.
One place where the technology shines for Darley is in its AutoCAFS product, Carothers said. He added the system is able to create foam with a touch of a button using electronic controls and automatic valves. The end user can select wet or dry CAFS and the entire process is automated.
He added the Darley team is perfecting controller area network (CAN bus) to integrate touchscreen controls, engine signals and valve positions for the company’s Smart Panel II electronic pressure governor. He said Darley introduced a version of it at a trade show this spring.
Darley is even bring the technology to the level of replacing all incandescent bulbs for pump shift levers and indicators with LED technology, Carothers said, noting that maintenance free, when it comes to bulb replacement, is the goal.
Carothers said he’s particularly proud of Darley’s CAFS Commander, which turns the air compressor on and off sensing the temperature of oil in the unit, making sure the pressure inside the compressor is less than 10 psi before turning on and monitors engine RPMs and foam proportioning to prevent “slug flow.” He explained that foam must be flowing with the water before adding the air component or violent shaking and bucking in the system and discharge lines will occur.
“It looks at all those parameters for proper settings before engaging,” Carothers said. “It’s one thing you don’t have to remember.”
When it comes to pumps, Darley is making proprietary units for several large apparatus manufacturers, Carothers said. And a trend he has seen is a movement away from the “large-bodied, cast-iron, fully manifold, fully split shaft pumps.”
Rather, there has been a move to 1,500-gpm PTO pumps that are smaller and a lighter duty unit than the large-bodied pumps.
And Darley still has a strong market for front-mount pumps, where as other manufacturers have all but phased them out entirely.
“We still have a lot of departments that use them,” Carothers said. “It’s all about having the right tool for each job.”
