Useful Tips For Selecting An Appropriate Fire Pump

The fire pump is an important accessory that helps you combat fire if and when it breaks out. These pumps are available in different categories and have to be carefully chosen so that they appropriately meet your requirements. The right choice will also be influenced by your location because if you are planning to use the city water supply as the primary source of water for your fire pump, you have to make sure extensive water testing is conducted over a year.  This tells you whether the water pressure is uniform throughout the year or the pressure increases or decreases at various times during the year.

The pressure and the size of the pump should be decided based on the water availability levels, which will usually be less during the summer.

Fire Pump Classification

Before you embark on your shopping journey, it is mandatory that you know the classifications of the fire pump.

These pumps can be used in a wide variety of locations and water can be tapped from different sources based on your requirement.

There is car firefighting equipment, street motorcycle installation, marine installation and even oil transfer pumps used for specific scenarios. Vehicle based fire pumps are commonly used because they are capable of covering a good bit of distance and can easily be mounted around the chassis of the car or the truck. You may also come across engineering pumps which are used predominantly with the fire hydrant technique.

Check Maximum Rated Stress

Maximum rated stress is the factor that determines the functional capability of a fire pump. The normal measured level for a pump is when it has a MRS of 1.6. Higher levels of pressure can be exerted only when it is above 4.0.

While the basic function of a fire pump is easily understood by its name, sometimes the decision making will be influenced by its application. You can also choose between motored and motorless fire pumps based on the source. In case the location where you want to install the fire pump is already equipped with motored water supply at all points, you may choose to reduce the budget and go for a motorless water pump. They are easy to install and operate, compared to their other counterparts.

Types of Locations

The choice of a fire pump will also be heavily influenced by the various levels of hazard in which you are planning to use the aipumps.

These hazard levels are divided into different categories namely the light hazard, ordinary hazard 1, hazard 2 as well as two levels of extra hazards.

The names are self-descriptive as you can see. The light areas are office buildings, churches, hospitals and other places where accidents happen occasionally. Even when they occur, they may not usually cause very heavy damage, which is why they are categorized as the least hazardous.

When locations have moderate quantities of combustible material or have heavy quantities of the same, they will fall under the ordinary hazard levels one and two. Places like saw mills, aircraft hangars and processing plants will fall under the extra hazard levels. The size and pressure of the fire pump should be appropriately chosen based on the location so that it comes in handy, if a crisis arises.

Different Variants

The pumps are available in different variants including the horizontal split case, the inline and the vertical turbine. The most common type used in a majority of locales is the horizontal split which will come with a minimum rpm of 2500 and is one of the oldest models to be used in fire protection systems.

The inline variant is used by people who work within a tight budget and have minimal installation space. For places where positive suction pressure is not available, vertical turbine pumps are the only available option. The size of fire pumps matters a lot because they are supposed to be fully compatible with the fire sprinkler system so as to keep the property as well as the people in it safe in case a fire breaks out.

At Australian Industrial Pump Systems you will find a wide selection of pumps including fire pumps; you will easily be able to identify the appropriate product to suit your installation requirements. The experts there will help guide you to choose the right pumps for your needs. You can also get the best product at the most affordable pricing.