Pumps, Hoses and Associated Gear information and questions

Prospecting Australia

Help Support Prospecting Australia:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I like to use a 2" pump, for a while I was running just the water transfer pumps, a bit of research on lift distance and litres per hour and I scored a nice one of eBay for $200 free postage (had to wait awhile for a cheap one to pop up)
Now I tend to use 1 1/2" (40mm) fire fighting pump, a larger amount of pressure, blue lay flat seems to hold up well enough vs the weight and price of the heavier duty red lay flat, the black plastic thread on fittings were good and cheap enough until I had the coin to afford alloy cam locks :)
 
G'day all, haven't posted in quite a while.

Just wondering has anybody used or purchased the "canvas lay flat fire fighting hose" off eBay instead of buying normal blue lay flat? And cutting the ends off that it comes with to replace with whatever suits the gear you are running?
 
There are two types,
One that weeps to stop it from getting burnt, Bush Fire type.
One that is fully water proof. Town fire Brigade.
Both types are bloody good as they do not get holes in them as easy.
Only let down is they are heavier and have to be dried out.
I have two lengths of Town Brigade type and it is good stuff.
When fitting to aluminum cam locks, Cut the tail off before the first large
Barb leaving about 50mm.
Use soap and water to get it on and after about half an hour of sweating
and cursing, Use Band clamps to hold it on.
The type of clamp that has an 8mm bolt through it.
Not Radiator clamps.
Will never come off and you can nearly tow a car on them. :) :)
 
Hey Tathradj thanks for that input, quite interesting never knew that some hoses seeped to keep it cool.

I've seen the hoses hanging from a pulley system at my local fire house.
What's the reason behind hanging them to dry? Does the water mess them up? Or mould?

https://www.ebay.com.au/ulk/itm/201461691890

This is the link I'm looking at for the hose.
Do you believe this is any good? Cheers nick.
 
Yep, They are rubber lined and must be hung out to dry. A
At least on a slope to drain them.
Also if they are stored wet, The canvas will rot.
I do not know about the quality of the Ebay hose but I know that the hose I use
is rated to about 400 psi. LOL
We would only run to about 40 or 50 with a Small pump.
 
Oh right interesting! Thanks very much for that mate, now that I know that it looks like this is what I'll be purchasing and hanging out to dry after each time I'm done using it haha.
 
I have the bush fire fighting canvas layflat hose that weeps(water shield 38mm) as long as you drain it completly and roll it up properly it will dry out pretty fast. It comes in 30 mtre lengths which i cut in half to make 2x15m lengths.
1456298160_image.jpg
 
Rato pumps are good, he may also stock hose & fittings.
ebay honda clones, most are good. most have low oil shutoff so fill before you attempt to start, plugs on the clones seem to be poor, buy a good plug.
honda are good, light & priecy.
 
keep your eyes open on ebay/gumtree, i scored a aussie /honda gx50 for $175 . you can even get the gx25 ones which are lighter.
 
Please take into consideration for supplies our Sponsor's.
.
http://www.ratoaustralia.com.au/contact-us

http://www.thornado.net.au/

Me myself have a trusty Thornado 1.5 inch pump.
Using only aluminum Cam Locks, I have close to 100 meters
of lay flat for those hard to get to isolated patch's.
I will post up some Pictures on the next outing.
I also have another Delta Triple Impeller pump that I am building.
More to come. :Y: :Y:
 
https://www.bbta.com.au/search.php?search_query=water+pumps

First let me say i do not work for this company or know them personally
Not only prospecting gear i have got lots of other stuff off them as well

My first and second pumps and generator came from here top service

First was a 2 stroke 33cc noisy little bugger (2 yrs old still going strong)
Second was a 240v submersible and 3kva generator (used every weekend for the last year)
Third was a Thornado 1.5 inch pump (not used yet but will run it soon)
This one came from the same place i think that Doug (Tathradj) got his
 
Never attempt to run a pump with the inlet coupled to the outlet, after a couple of seconds the water will boil and the pump seals will be destroyed due to running dry. My mistake 1985 Honour bright 440galons/min coupled to a 8hp Techomseh engine, used to fill a 200l drum in 6 seconds. Pump used to be used for filling a dam over 400metres from the creek.

You wont be able to have more than about 8 metres (height) of suction hose without the pump loosing suction. This is due to the fact that water boils at lower temperatures at lower pressure, when a pipe filled with water is just over 10m high the pressure inside the pipe is 15 psi below atmospheric pressure or 0 psi, at 0 psi water boils at 0 celcius. The descreptancy between the pump height and the theroetical height is (I think) due to the pump impeller not having perfectly smooth rotation due to the motor in a 4 stroke engine only firing once every 2 rotations causing a surge on the power stroke. Electric pumps wuld go closer to the 10 metres as they run smoother. Ken.

Like the pump Tath.
 
Thank you Ken.
I searched for one of these for bloody ages but could only
find them in the States.
Way out of cost.
Then found one sitting in my mates paddock. 8) 8)
You are very right about the maximum suction height.
Also take into account how much pressure at either height
or distance you are pumping.
When your pump is under pressure, The edges of the impeller
will start to cavetate.
Restrict your hose to much at this point and your pump will boil.
By the time you get back to it, Bye Bye Seals.... :eek: :eek:
This one will not do that. I have a weak point designed to blow
a hose off before that happens.
Oh, This pump will run 14 irrigation sprinklers 150 meters long
with 5 mm nozzles, No Problems. :D :D
 
Never start a pump at maximum rpm as the water hammer effect (shock pressure) will split most layflat hose.

When rolling up layflat hose try to protect the folded edges of the hose, if it does split it will be on the fold line as it is the weakest point due to wear.

When making new layflat hoses cut a section (150mm) and place it in the middle of the length of the hose if it splits the splitting will stop at the middle.

Roll layflat up from the middle as when you unroll it the cam-lock fittings will avoid damage and still allow rapid deployment.
The piece of extra layflat also helps when rolling the layflat up as it lets you know where the center of the hose is. Ken
 
Great knowledge and advice there Ken. All stuff I learn't the hard way with 3" lay flat!
I also in the same vain as your talking above, when the hose was new and I was laying it out, I cut some half metre lengths of old hose and threaded them on randomly. If I had a knarley bit of rock or ground I was going over, I could slide one of these 'sleeves' to that spot and help protect the hose. Also if you did get a leak, slide one over the leak and keep pumping!
 

Latest posts

Top