Hose System to Move Water Long Distances
Remote Controlled Relay Pumping
IFFC, LLC Contact: steve.shoap@alum.mit.edu Twitter: @steveshoap
The ideas presented here are protected by US Patents 7,819,345, 7,942,350,
Canadian patent 2,693,158 and a pending Canadian patent.
IFFC proposes a system that simplifies the control of a long, multi-pump, hose system.
Click HERE to see how the long hose system can deliver water to people and firefighters after a disaster, like an earthquake,
has destroyed their normal water supplies.
A relay pumping system is used to move (fluids) water long distances.
It uses multiple pumps to boost the pressure in the hoses to compensate
for pressure loss due to friction in the hoses.
A hose system can be rapidly deployed from vehicles. It can be used and then recovered when no
longer needed.
The system can be used to deliver water to fight fires.
(A new water curtain hose system is proposed later in this website.
It uses the digital relay pumping network techology, and can be used to
Confine Prescribed Fires, and to protect Homes and Critical Infrastructure from wildfire.
The water curtain hose can be seen now, if desired, by clicking HERE).
The relay pumping system can be used to supply drinking water, and firefighting water, to regions
that have lost their water supply because an earthquake has broken their water mains.
If a town has lost its local water supply, the long hose system can bring water from 10, 20, or 30 miles away. There is actually no limit, other than expense, to the length of the hose system.
Current relay pumping operation requires a the use of many fire pumper vehicles and a
dedicated operator at each pumper who must be able to communicate with all other operators,
via radios, to make changes to flow.
See figure below.
It is proposed that pickup trucks with portable diesel pumps be used to replace the pumper vehicles. (See next figure below)
The figure shows three pickup trucks, with pumps, that have deployed hose from reels.
It is also proposed to embed a small gauge wire pair in the system hose. The wire pair supports a
digital data network which monitors and controls the pumps in the relay.
All of the pumps in the relay can be controlled by a personal computer that is driven from a control panel.
Once the hose and pumps of the system are deployed, there is no need to dedicate a firefighter
to control each pump.
Firefighter safety is enhanced since there is no need to remain with a pump that is in an area
that might be overrun by a fire.
(Another embodiment of this invention embeds a wire pair into a plastic pipe instead of a flexible hose.
This PVC pipe system could be used to deliver water to towns whose wells have gone dry.
The PVC pipe system would used diesel pumps in the same way as the digitally controlled hose system.
The two systems can be connected together to move fluids long distances.
The PVC could be used where the terrain is flat, and the hose could be used where the terrain is rough.
To see the plastic pipe version click HERE.)
The figure below shows a tractor towing two trailers. Each trailer carries a large reel of hose with an embedded wire pair.
Each trailer also carries a diesel powered pump that can be controlled by a digital data network.
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