When Australian Pump got started 25 years ago, one of their very first products was a Honda engine powered 3”tanker pump designed for basic water delivery applications. Since then, the world has changed and dust suppression is not just a desirable but an essential addition to all earthmoving and construction projects.
Input from the market lead this company to develop a wide range of pumps suitable for water carts with petrol, diesel and even hydraulic drive configuration. “Our first step was to turn a high volume pump into a high pressure and high volume pump just by changing over the impellers and volute. “, said Aussie Pumps’ Chief Engineer, John Hales
This was the origin of our ‘Brigade Boss’ series of pumps that also found their application in high pressure fire fighting. These big pumps deliver flows of up to 1,800 litres per minute but also come in configurations that operate at up to 90 psi. Those high flow, high pressure combinations made them ideal for dust suppression on big tankers”, said Hales.
The company progressed to diesel drive pumps with a focus on both Yanmar and Kubota as the key drive. “These reliable Japanese design engines provided loads of power and reliability. Parts are also readily available in Australia and overseas”, said Hales.
THE TIMES ARE A’CHANGING
Twenty five years ago, most road construction work was limited to a motor grader, a vibrating or multi tyred road roller and a beat up old tanker with a dribble bar. Today we live in a more sophisticated world where dust is regarded as a pollutant and people don’t like their shiny new sedans being covered with dust or mud when they drive through a road under construction.
The result is the continuing sophistication of water carts with water cannons, sophisticated angle sprayers and pumps that are a capable of working ten hours a day without failure.
HYDRAULIC DRIVES ARE COMING
Australian Pump was one of the first companies to develop a hydraulic drive tanker pump. They took a cast iron industrial trash pump and turned it into a high pressure hydraulic drive piece of kit that can deliver flows of 1,200 lpm and pressures to 50 psi. “Not only is that a great success but we even were able to offer the advantage of a clean-out port being built into the pump’s bowl. That means no disconnecting pipework to carry out a pump flush”, said Hales.
Australian Pump claim that the beauty of the hydraulic drive defeats the massive maintenance problem of dust on those small single cylinder engines normally mounted at the back of the tanker. “Dusted engines are a thing of the past when you go hydraulic”, said Hales. “The system is sealed and what’s more, the pump can be mounted wherever you like, that means the drive lines, being flexible, from the hydraulic pump, to the hydraulic motor driving the water pump”, he said.
There are loads of other benefits. The big self priming cast iron pumps are not subject to issues with pressure spikes. They prime from vertical depths of 6 metres meaning you can refill the tanker from streams, rivers or dams where necessary.
“We’ve heard of construction site tankers being used in emergency fire fighting applications where that self priming capability is a god send”, said Hales.
More information on Aussie Pumps free tanker water cart selection guide is available from Australian Pump Industries at aussiepumps.com.au and from Aussie Pump distributors throughout Australia.
