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From: Lee Huddleston (no email)
Date: Sun Dec 07 2003 - 15:39:13 EST
>I presume you mean a pump to fight a fire. I have a 2" pump with a B&S
gas engine, three 9' suction >hoses and a 1 1/2" fire hose and nozzle.
> Norm
> S/V Bandersnatch
> Lying St Augustine
Several years ago after reading advice on this list that no bilge pump
could keep up with a serious hole in a boat I happened on a contractors
"mud pump" at Harbour Freight, a discount hardware/tool retail
establishment. It was a gasoline engine (about 3 hp as I recall) attached
to a large centrifugal pump with 2" intake and discharge -- probably the
same thing Norm was writing about. I was able to get a long
wire-reinforced plastic hose from a local industrial supplier to use a shte
intake hose and a fire hose and nozzle for the discharge.
I have kept in on standby for many years. But during Hurricane Isabel
there was a neighbor's boat that had taken on a great deal of water and was
about to sink. I and other folks at the marina were able to rig the pump
to bail the neighbor's boat. It took some work to get it primed, but once
it was going I was very pleased with its power. We later pumped out a
wooden boat and there were times I was afraid that we were going to suck
the floorboards right up into the intake. :-) The nozzle I have produced
a good spray and mist but we could not get it adjusted to make one heavy
stream. It did not seem to bother the pump when we shut off the nozzle,
blocking the discharge, to see what would happen.
I am glad to have the pump just sitting around in case of an emergency. My
only concern is that when the emergency occurs, I won't have any gasoline
or it will be old. As I get more time to cruise this may not be a problem
since I will be keeping fresh gasoline for use in the tender outboards.
Lee Huddleston
s/v Truelove
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