Andrew I've been a volunteer firefighter for 25 plus years; started as a Jr firefighter at 13 and have recently been promoted to District Chief, and have seen a lot of different fires over the years. 1st off that's a great brush fire set up. Great job. 2nd (and please understand where I'm coming from here) if by chance something does happen and your house catches fire and you both get out....stay out. Spray from the exterior but please don't go back in. 3rd and my plug for our volunteer system is you should think about joining your local station. You would be a great asset to a department.
@@TKCL I don´t know if you have done it but not all fier needs 100 feet of hose.. make a second outlet so you can drive tractor and hose a grass fier down maeby even 2 short hoses with on big and on small hose so you conserve as mutch water to as long a drive as possibel ... when to refill main tank from drop tank .. make a 3" 1m hose from putlet on drop tank set maintank .. hoist droptank above maintank let gravety work the big outlet and the meter drop hose will suck 1000l in under 5 min
Great idea! Get a trailer and mount several totes on it that are daisy-chained together. The trailer would also add space to keep all your tools together and at hand.
I think that’s a great idea. Mount the pump to the trailer and add brackets or hangers for other tools and a gas can. The trailer would provide the complete system.
seems as if lost dude hit it on the head...just hook up to the trailer and roll where needed...be rolling in like the autobots ready to fix problems. Id probably build in a little grill and cooler setup on there as well.
Pretty much the standard Australian farm unit - I would put a T piece on the outlet. And feed back to the tank. Lets you leaving the pump idling and feed back to the tank while keeping the pump cool.
Wow, you are very inventive. You made a homestead fire system EASY. Thanks. You have a thumbs UP and a sub. I like your welding table attachment idea to your welding cart, too. Clever again!
Simple and easy. My thoughts: Good call on the exhaust shield. I myself will be spending the money for a more expensive pump with a Honda engine. For this, I need as reliable as possible. Harbor Freight is cool for some things, but I'm not hanging my life on it. I will also get real firehose. There is always a chance the hose gets drug over hot spots as you move around. Mine will be on a small trailer. If you have standing water around, make a way to drop a pick-up in to the water and fill the tank OR pump directly out the hose.
Hey Andrew great video as usual don’t forget you’re gonna have a pool you get a long enough suction hose you’ll have a ton of water at your disposal for right around the property up close to the house
That is an outstanding idea and set up. The wife and I bought rural property and are in the process of building a new home on that land. Like you, EMS, fire dept, police are not just up the street like where we presently live. It's a good 15 minutes for them to get there. This is something I definitely will do once we are moved in. Awesome! Thank you!
If things got really desperate you could drop the suction hose from the trash pump into your pool. You have probably an additional 15-18,000 gallons of water if needed. We have an inground pool with 30,000 gallons of water. Our neighborhood as 1 hydrant and it's not real close to our house.
I built a similar setup on a trailer with two totes, and needed it on two occasions. The key take away point for me was - a little water early in a fire means less water can prevent you needing a lot of water after it's out of control. (I also used mine to water animals in remote paddocks.) One of those fires happened at night, so I added a generator and lights to the trailer. That took it to another level.
The fact that your pump is removable in 1 second and swappable to another tote is BRILLANT! Really nice setup! Be safe out there! Living in the country IS life!! 😍
Andrew check with you local Fire Dept. some times they have old fire hoses that you may be able to buy or give you. Check it out, it can't hurt to ask.
oh my that brings back memories! when my friend was still alive him and i would fire up 3 3inch trash pumps a 2 inch to water his 6 acre pasture just for the grass! we would also use a tote and a 1 inch pump to water the small garden and this was all off ditch water he had rights to! we sent down millions of gallens with them pumps and they were all harbor freight pumps!
That's a good build 👍👍and great preparation for fire control. 🔥🧯 My Kubota L3901 can only lift about 1000# so at 8# per gallon, I will have to figure how full I can keep the tank. Thanks Andrew...now I have another thing on my list I have to do!! 🤣
depending on that pump motor to start 'and' keep running when ya need it in an emergency...perhaps a gravity water tank near the home for backup...or install you a private sprinkler system in the house; putting a few back up plans in the works in case (God forbid) ya can't fight a fire or aren't at home...great idea and food for thought for many in rural areas!!
As a past Aussie volunteer firey of 20 years from 1995-2018 and now an owner/operator of a private trailer unit your design is rock solid and creative including pump heat shield a few things to note for improvement * Where you can invest in 3/4'' 50 ft forestry grade lay flat hose or 25 mm 3/4'' black fire hose that will give you better pressure * Place the 250 gallon IBC tote onto a trailer that can be towed on back of your tractor * Look at also putting a hose reel on the tote frame or a trailer that will allow for instant deployment of the hose without worrying about kinks * Baffle balls or even heaps of pool noodles to stop the water from sloshing around
awsome job, coming from a retired firefighter !! the average firetruck carries 500 gallons , you can fight a lot of fire with that , they also make a forestry hose that is small in diameter that would make that tank last forever !!
@@TKCL the volunteer fd I used to volunteer at we had a tanker truck and a pump truck with 500 gallon tanks and a brush truck with 250 gallon tank . we could fight a lot of fire I agree with brian get you a forestry hose
Great setup, we did something very similar with totes and pump, but we opted to eventually go with a smaller tandem axle trailer to hold two totes, the pump, hoses, fuel, etc. We also figured that it would be easier to move around since we could use any tractor, truck, etc to pull it.
Andrew, another awesome build! Love the cradle you built to hold the pump. Ingenious design. Hopefully you won’t ever have to use it to fight an actual fire, but as you said it will be perfect to water an area quickly or washing down the house or barn. Always better to be prepared for unknown situations.
Unfortunately, dish soap is not the same thing as firefighting "foam"... Its a good theory, but I don't think that you would get the results you would want from dish soap. There's also dangers in using AFFF on some fires, so I'd suggest just leaving foam to professional fire fighters...
Add dawn dishwashing soap to your tanks. Makes a nice foam for additional capabilities. Also get some decent hoses from govdeals. Can't have enough hose! Great setup!
From the firefighter in the crowd, Could you have done a PTO driven pump ?? One less pump to worry about. I’ve got some used fire hose if you want some. Plus if it’s for brush fires, you might wanna get some red line or booster hose, the water supply will last longer. Also, add a tank on the back for an extr 250 gallons
I've got a new build planned with more water storage. The reason for the gas pump was because it's quick. In the event of a fire my front forks are always available. I might have something hooked up to the year that requires unhooking, then pto pump hookups, plus running lines. Time is of the essence.
I became a Patreon subscriber just for times like this. I needed an idea for watering my garden and for fire protection and once again Andrew comes through. Excellent video sir. Heading to HF as soon as I finish my coffee.
Looks great, got beat to it by everyone else, was going to suggest daisy chaining with a second fittting and/or a manifold so you can hot swap, and addind a trasfer pump long hose and reservouir pool so you could feed the totes from a garden hose, water truck, swimming pool or river.
Very neat build! The hazmat decal on the tote refers to vinyl adhesives, which would normally be waterproof for the most part. Assuming that was what was in the tote, should not be much leeching into the water. Sitting in the sun getting hot might affect it. Anyway, you would probably benefit from a quick overview of how to fight fires, where to stand, where to aim the water, when to retreat, etc. There are basic techniques that will make a huge difference in how effective your efforts will be and help keep you safe. You probably know a fighfighter or could find someone at your local RFD who can offer some advice.
In my field I do air conditioner refrigeration we use vinegar to kill algae it might be a little kinder to your grass or whatever vegetation that you put it on.
Thank you so much, I've been trying figure something for fire, I have a 1910 barn, It my not save the barn but would give me time to get the animals out. thanks again.
Really good idea. Totes are designed to carry about 1 ton of water. So, your loader needs to have that capacity. Smaller 3 series JDs do not have that capacity as you probably know. That is why I own a 4066R like yours. So, people should know to use a smaller tote based on a smaller loader size. Fighting a fire is a lot about getting to it quick. This seems to be the ticket!
I put together something similar and shot a video of it. My tank is not portable, though. It's a giant 750 gallon tank. Have all my hoses and nozzles in one container. I can easily drop the container and the pump on a handcart and truck it out to the backyard where the tank is. I have 150' of hose that I can reach pretty much anywhere on my property. Nice thing is, in a really dire emergency, we have a swimming pool with a massive amount of water we can tap into if we can't get a fire under control with the 750 gallon tank. Only thing that sucks is 150' of hose filled with water is next to impossible to move by yourself.
We are about to put in a huge pool and that's definitely a good backup source. I'm really kicking around the trailer idea, I need to be portable with so much property.
Hi, Andrew! I am definitely in love with your shop! It has to be relaxing and gratifying working on projects there. This is a GREAT project, Mr. Thinker Tinkerer! See you tomorrow night.
Awesome project! I attempted a similar project about 7 years ago and then discovered that Charles Branson (our Branson 4020 tractor) could barely lift 800 pounds with the "bucket forks" I have. Since I can only carry about 80 gallons of water in a tote with our tractor, I scrapped the idea and turned the tote into part of the septic system for our "guest house". The 2" Predator Semi-Trash pumps from Harbor Freight are great. I've really been abusing the one I have, leaving it out in the weather year around and it starts on the 1st pull every time. I run it a couple times a week to keep the water level in our pond up; "redirecting" water from a creek that runs thru our property slightly up hill 400 feet to the pond.
Consider adding buckets with handles to help with using to put out a fire. 5 gallon and buckets in different sizes would allow other people not as strong to help. Keeping everything necessary and dedicated to put out a fire all in one place is essential to readiness. You don't have time to look for anything but getting water to the fire. Great system and setup. Try have some practice drills for you and other family members in case you're not home when an emergency happens.
You can also make spray bars so you can attach them to the tank with the same type of hook system so you can use the tractor and drive around watering dry spots. You can hook the spray bars up with electric solenoids inside the cab so you can easily run one side or both and turn them on and off from inside the cab and hook them up with quick disconnect plugs for easy disconnection when not using...
If you have three or four of them on a trailer you can plumb them all together with 2-in PVC pipe with the single pump and then you'll have a thousand gallons of water and don't forget the quick disconnect for the discharge hose on the pump and keep up with the awesome content
Cool Idea..Would be Very handy for watering our Very large garden and 2 other small ones ..we have ben pumping water with a old sump pump from a pond with a generator an a 300gal tank and packing it in 5 gal buckets to try n get through this drought we ben in ..till yesterday but when you have a big garden & dont get rain for a month or more an it 100 degrees ish you only got 2 choices pump,haul and hand water every thing or loose every thing It is A Wack ton of Hard Work to try to stay on top of it all !
I did a similar thing except mine has a 4 inch PTO driven pump and I used a lawn trailer to haul a 320 gallon poly tank and 200 FT of actual fire hose and nozzle I got from a fire fighter friend of mine. I run mine right off the PTO on my 4066 it will flat move the water . I do like the IBC concept with the portable pump .
Another option is a short hose you could work out the cab door. Better for grass fires. Inventing a clip to hold the pump to the tote might not be a bad idea either. You'll forget to drive gently if you're under stress. If you're looking to replace the hose, a real might be a good investment. Otherwise, you'll have to control or abandon all your hose before you go fetch more water. I've been a volunteer firefighter in Australia for 10 years. Be safe about what you chose to attempt. Were still building houses, cars and you can replant grass. We've yet to master replacing people
Oh swell, another project for me to do.. ;) Seriously though, a great idea, and one I've been toying around with, but you've help clarify what I'm going to do. The IBC totes also come in a 325 or 330 gallon size, which would provide about 6.5 minutes of water (using the same rate as your 250 gal/5 min). My house in the country is round, with 4 alcoves around the periphery. I'm going to plant a dedicated 330 gallon tote in each alcove, and just take the pump and hose to whatever tote is appropriate. The VFD in my little town is a few minutes away, so with multiple totes and a long enough hose, I should be able to hold on until the cavalry arrives. Thanks for a great video!
Maybe you can fix up a diverter on one of your downspouts where you can divert the rain water into those totes to refill. That would save your well and well pump. Free water, you just have to capture it. You could expand and do drip irrigation of your garden with those totes also.
Put four totes on a trailer and build a manifold tying the four together and one outlet for the pump to pump from boom 800 plus gallons of water to pump before refilling no moving connections around. Could build a lightweight platform for four totes so you can unload off of trailer if trailer is need for other projects.
Great idea sir. Daniel Arms runs a spot sprayer that I was also impressed with, he used a small tank on his side by side that I think would also be useful. I only have six acers, but I could see having both.
Hi Andrew, I’ve been following you only for a short time, but I’m hooked. Love what you do and will go back to see your other videos. This is one of the best way’s I’ve seen the IBC being used. Wish I had come up with this idea.
This is just a opinion. Go online find some wildland 1 1/2 inch fire hose and a nozzle. You will probably need a 2 inch to 1 1/2 inch hose adapter to hook up to your pump. But it will work better than your vinyl hose. Don't forget your PPE equipment. of Leather gloves and at least a set of good pair safety goggles would be a plus.
I like your idea with the flexible input hose. I just brought my ibc tote home today and will get my pump tomorrow. I was going to plumb a hard pvc input manifold but may go with the setup you are running. Thanx
I love how you use your welder to do all sorts of projects. I have a steel dock and am thinking about making a few things for it like a kayak/paddleboard holder that hangs off my walkway. I'd love it if on your next project you could talk about the basics of welding and welding equipment. In the meantime I'll search youtube....
That's nice. When you had the video recently about harvesting the wild blackberries I wondered about this. When you were talking about a drought, I was thinking there must be a way to haul and spray water to get a better harvest. I think this would be very good. If you could rig it to be controlled from the tractor, maybe with a remote controlled valve you could just drive and spray the bushes on the side of the pasture.
😂 between your joke about the little garden hose taking forever for your grass and the Super Soaker fight I like this video. I think this method here is easier and cheaper for me than digging a small pond to try to irrigate my 3 acre garden
Fantastic project Andrew!! What a great idea to have on the property. I like all the uses other than fighting fires. I love this stuff you come up with. 👍👍👍 🌞🇨🇦
I am actually in the process of doing the same thing for our property in the Texas Hill Country. I have an old 16’ flatbed trailer I am mounting two totes on with the same pump, that way I can pull it with my tractor or truck all over the property.
That pool would be a great source of water if something was going on at your house. A friends business happened to be a ways from a hydrant, and they installed a pool to create the necessary water reserve for either their occupancy or insurance reasons, i can't recall which.
FYI, in order to calculate the theoretical pressure, multiply the manufacturers maximum head pressure by .43. So..100 feet of head pressure gives you 43psi. This does not include many other variables such as friction loss through the piping or hoses or flow rate. The pump manufacturers have a " Pump Curve" chart that will give you somewhat reasonable data on performance.
Nice project! I think it would be cool to use a car trailer and make or install a larger water tank on it with the pump attached. Maybe install a few totes that are interconnected with each other onto the trailer. Like that you don't need to be switching between totes every 5 minutes and you can tow it around with the tractor or a truck with a tow hitch. But, on the flip side, refilling will take more time due to a higher volume of storage once you run out of water.
