Pool pump fire hose

[EmpirE231]

Due to recent events… I have heard of pumps you can drop in your pool that can pump high volume water to use as a fire hose in the case of an emergency.

Does anyone have any experience with something like this and is there one you can recommend? Not looking for anything built into the pool but something you can grab and drop in / hook up.

 

[4Waters]

Due to recent events… I have heard of pumps you can drop in your pool that can pump high volume water to use as a fire hose in the case of an emergency.

Does anyone have any experience with something like this and is there one you can recommend? Not looking for anything built into the pool but something you can grab and drop in / hook up.

You want a gas pump, you can't count on a drop in electric pump because the power will most likely be off

 

[timstoy]

When my BIL lived in Norco they would have fires in the Santa Ana river bed on a regular basis mainly due to homeless encampments starting fires that then got out of control. He had a large generator and a stand alone water pump with commercial grade water hoses. At the time his house had a wood shake roof and he would wet his roof and vegetation around his property. It worked well pumping water out of his pool.

 

[77charger]

Definitely a gas pump and some goood hose. Expect lower and water to be shut off why I say a gas pump. Drop line intro pool and get working.

 

[Get415]

Honda makes a great pump. There are companies that sell a complete package but its cheaper if you piece together yourself. You need the pump, a large hose that you throw in the pool (add the filer, if you need it there may be a bunch of debris already in the pool) and a decent fire hose, fire nozzle.

 

[boatpi]

And a 1 1/2” line will flow well.

 

[TPC]

Hold this thought:
We will feed the low pressure water to a 30 gallon container that has our high pressure submersible electric pump in it.
Then feed the garden hose from the high pressure pump.

Solar powered with a stand by Harbor Freight Generator.
I learned in the Marines nothing is indestructible, learned as a civilian Mother Nature doubles down on that take.

50 gallons in the water heater, 200 gallons in the RV, if the water pressure diminishes or fails still have a way to at least tackle burning embers or flare ups under the eves.
I never surrender.

 

[DILLIGAF]

Check in with @2Driver

 

[TPC]

And a 1 1/2” line will flow well.

Absolutely, a 100% increase.

 

[TPC]

When my BIL lived in Norco they would have fires in the Santa Ana river bed on a regular basis mainly due to homeless encampments starting fires that then got out of control. He had a large generator and a stand alone water pump with commercial grade water hoses. At the time his house had a wood shake roof and he would wet his roof and vegetation around his property. It worked well pumping water out of his pool.

At the least it puts the advantage in his favor if it goes sideways and he has to battle it.

 

[C_J_J_C]

I consider myself some what of an expert on this......

We have some property in the canyons of O.C. and every few years we have fire scares and in Dec 2021 we lost four storage containers full of tools and construction supplies, a few trailers, two classic cars, a project boat, and two jet skis In the Bond Fire. We did not have insurance but the tax write off was over 250K in losses and that number was conservative.

It was horrible but our main shop with irreplaceable and sentimental stuff / vehicles survived.

My opinion is the emergency pump and hose set up are great but they rely on someone with more balls than I have to be on the end of the hose. Nothing I own is worth a human life, especially my families or mine.

We set up a hard mounted, copper lines to metal sprinklers, roof shower system. We have three rain bird type 360 sprinklers on the building and a gas powered pump that is dedicated and also hard lined. Only thing is to drop the supply hose in the water source, start the pump, and get out. You can build a custom better system for 30% or less than you can buy a "Complete Kit"

We run it twice a year to keep the system clean and gas fresh.

 

[TPC]

Due to recent events… I have heard of pumps you can drop in your pool that can pump high volume water to use as a fire hose in the case of an emergency.

Does anyone have any experience with something like this and is there one you can recommend? Not looking for anything built into the pool but something you can grab and drop in / hook up.

Yes:
Foot valves. Learn about them and absofuckinlutely use them. Cheap and essential :

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=foot+valve&crid=2964BQNM4971O&sprefix=foot+valv%2Caps%2C156&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Best $11 ya ever spent:

 

[DWC]

Honda makes a great pump. There are companies that sell a complete package but its cheaper if you piece together yourself. You need the pump, a large hose that you throw in the pool (add the filer, if you need it there may be a bunch of debris already in the pool) and a decent fire hose, fire nozzle.

Wonder if they’d give a CARB exemption for those?

 

[Gripside80]

The Keene Fire-Fighter, Honda: Keene Engineering Online

SEO: META DESCRIPTION

www.keene.store

I own one.

They are based in Chatsworth, CA

You can no longer buy one if you live in CA.

Can’t make this SH*t up

Or you can build your own setup for less like said above.

 

[DWC]

The Keene Fire-Fighter, Honda: Keene Engineering Online

SEO: META DESCRIPTION

www.keene.store

I own one.

They are based in Chatsworth, CA

You can no longer buy one if you live in CA.

Can’t make this SH*t up

Or you can build your own setup for less like said above.

CARB didn’t finalize their 2024 generator specs until last month! Suppliers didn’t even know what to make so most didn’t do large build-ups. CARB just approved an exemption to sell non-2024 specs on Friday. Retailers have to keep records on everything sold through this summer.

 

[socal0487]

I’m looking into this setup.

Champion Power Equipment 2 in. Gas-Powered Semi-Trash Water Transfer Pump with Hose and Wheel Kit 100742 - The Home Depot

Get a smart addition to your home by selecting this CHAMPION POWER EQUIPMENT GasPowered SemiTrash Water Transfer Pump with Hose and Wheel Kit.

www.homedepot.com

 

[Pattle]

Any old Navy guys remember the P250 pumps? I sure hope they've retired those damn things by now, but we had them back in the 90's for damage control.

An extremely loud, gnarly 2-stroke motor that immediately went to full throttle. Full pressure fire hose sucking from the ocean (or a flooded space). I don't remember any of the specs on thing, but I do remember they were a complete PITA to get started. Needed constant maintenance in order to be ready-to-go, but luckily we always had sailors with nothing to do besides our regular PMS work.

 

[4Waters]

You want a gas pump, you can't count on a drop in electric pump because the power will most likely be off

Also you will want a Y so you can run 2 hoses that way you don't have to drag a charged hose from backyard to front yard and back

 

[Go-Fly]

The talk of pools, high volume pumps and fire hoses makes my hands itch with excitement.

 

[X Hoser]

Search “Floto Pumps”. Firefighting floating pumps work well. Gasoline powered and no suction hose. Float in the water source, (Pool, Lake, Stream), and draw in the water through the bottom. Attach hose and nozzle and you are all set. Don’t let it give you a false sense of security though. A single 1 1/2” line will not fight much fire when the shit hits the fan. If you don’t have the appropriate personal protective equipment, you won’t believe how fast the heat will drive you out! Set it up and leave for the firefighters to use to supplement their hose streams or refill their engines. As stated before, property is not worth losing your life over.

I like what Mel Gibson said about his house burning down. “At least I don’t have to worry about those nagging water leaks anymore!” I know his ability to sustain a loss is much greater than most of ours, but I like his perspective, even if he is just trying to find a little humor in it and a way of coping with it.

 

[samsah33]

Can you make your own out of an actual pool pump? Could be run off a generator if necessary. Pool pumps deliver a pretty high volume of h2o... Maybe even tap into your existing pump and make sure that could be run off a generator...?

 

[4Waters]

Can you make your own out of an actual pool pump? Could be run off a generator if necessary. Pool pumps deliver a pretty high volume of h2o... Maybe even tap into your existing pump and make sure that could be run off a generator...?

They are high volume low pressure

 

[Flatsix66]

Honda makes a great pump. There are companies that sell a complete package but its cheaper if you piece together yourself. You need the pump, a large hose that you throw in the pool (add the filer, if you need it there may be a bunch of debris already in the pool) and a decent fire hose, fire nozzle.

We have that same setup, must be 20+ years old but still fires up and works great every time we test it. We connect it to a 1500 gal water tank with about 300ft of fire hose. The pump will shoot a stream over our two story house. We have never had to use it but have been under evac a half dozen times, we tell the fire crews about our setup they then sit outside our property.

 

[2Driver]

Absolutely, a 100% increase.

Thats what I like about the waterax. It has a 2” and 2, 1” outlets for a total of 3 outlets

You can run 2 dedicated golf course sprinkler systems and still have your fire fighting hose running all at once. If shit gets bad, leave and let the sprinkler system run by itself.

VERSAX® Multipurpose Pump

The VERSAX® is a versatile, rugged and economical twin-impeller self-priming pump powered by a Honda or a Briggs & Stratton Vanguard . It provides superior water-transfer performance as well as the ability to combat fire from greater distances and points of elevation. The VERSAX® is a...

www.waterax.com

 

[NIKAL]

I’ve been wanting & planning on doing a roof sprinkle system for my house. The design is to be able to use city water until we lose pressure, then switch over to the generator pump to pull from the pool. I’m plumbed to the side of the house, and just need to finish the roof and buy the gen/pump. I have a few ideas on how I want to do the roof. Concrete Spanish tile makes it a bit trickier.

I do have a high power sprinkler mounted in my backyard. The sprinkler shoots 40-45 plus feet and goes 360. Behind my house is a few acres with some big eucalyptus trees. The sprinkler runs on city water and hopefully is turned on early enough to soak everything before loosing pressure.

 

[mash on it]

I added a Honda water pump to the back of my truck, ~300 gallon water tank in the truck. For the ranch. Fire department is 17 miles away. Summer/fire season the water tank stays full. Only had to buy a nozzle for the hose. Everything else was already on hand, just had to assemble it.
Crude but effective. And 4wd.

Dan'l

 

[Orange Juice]

Harbor Freight has the poor man’s pump in stock usually cheap. Probably a good idea to have two available, so you can daisy chain for high volume shower setup. Turn it on as the fire approaches, and a 23,000 gallon pool water will last an hour covering the roof.

23,000 gph

https://www.harborfreight.com/3-in-301cc-gasoline-engine-full-trash-water-pump-23000-gph-56718.html

This setup could be just as good as home fire insurance, if perfected.

Makes me think about adding a pool to the backyard, and exterior fire sprinkler system.

 

[brgrcru]

Any questions ?

It’s my last resort
We have high unregulated pressure hoses

If those fail . Or run out of water .
We have gas powered 2”pump
Works great and shoots 50 + feet

 

[HTTP404]

I’ve been wanting & planning on doing a roof sprinkle system for my house. The design is to be able to use city water until we lose pressure, then switch over to the generator pump to pull from the pool. I’m plumbed to the side of the house, and just need to finish the roof and buy the gen/pump. I have a few ideas on how I want to do the roof. Concrete Spanish tile makes it a bit trickier.

I do have a high power sprinkler mounted in my backyard. The sprinkler shoots 40-45 plus feet and goes 360. Behind my house is a few acres with some big eucalyptus trees. The sprinkler runs on city water and hopefully is turned on early enough to soak everything before loosing pressure.

Good ideas here.

 

[Get415]

Roof sprinklers are cool and better than nothing but there are wayyy more sensative areas that will ignite before roof shingles and gutter debris. Gable vents need special attention. If an ember makes its way to your attic...shows over. Each home is different but really walk your property and think of vunerable spots that you need to defend or clean up before a disaster

 

[4Waters]

Good ideas here.

I put it in the other thread so I copied and pasted here


The problem is that the wind would relocate that airborn water somewhere else. Drill small holes in the pipe and let the water run down the roof and keep the gutters and anything in the gutters wet. Sprinklers on the known/normal up wind side might help

 

[SoCalDave]

Roof sprinklers are cool and better than nothing but there are wayyy more sensative areas that will ignite before roof shingles and gutter debris. Gable vents need special attention. If an ember makes its way to your attic...shows over. Each home is different but really walk your property and think of vunerable spots that you need to defend or clean up before a disaster

Spot on^^^

 

[DWC]

Roof sprinklers are cool and better than nothing but there are wayyy more sensative areas that will ignite before roof shingles and gutter debris. Gable vents need special attention. If an ember makes its way to your attic...shows over. Each home is different but really walk your property and think of vunerable spots that you need to defend or clean up before a disaster

Was just going to post the same. Sprinklers would be great but the velocity of the embers during a fire makes it very tough to stop. So.
Cal has a big advantage with stucco siding. We also have big dormers and gable vents.
These are self closing.

 

[SLT Kota]

When we had bad wind driven fires in Tennessee a few years ago that burned an entire town the last thing the fire department did before they had to evacuate the fire hall was rig a fire hose to spray a mist straight up over top of the fire hall. It save the fire hall when the the structures around it burned.

Yes, I see the irony in the fire hall having to evacuate for a forest fire but at the time it was spreading through the mountains so fast they had to focus on getting people evacuated.

 

[skiracr]

Waterous Floto Pump

Waterous Floto Pump

Weighs less than fifty pounds, is self-priming and operates in as little as six inches of water. Durable, powerful and easy to maintain, it is the clear choice for a quick response to fires in inaccesible areas. Easily carried by one person. Standard model reaches pressures of 105 PSI. A special...

www.nationalfirefighter.com

These work very well too!

 

[4Waters]

When we had bad wind driven fires in Tennessee a few years ago that burned an entire town the last thing the fire department did before they had to evacuate the fire hall was rig a fire hose to spray a mist straight up over top of the fire hall. It save the fire hall when the the structures around it burned.

Yes, I see the irony in the fire hall having to evacuate for a forest fire but at the time it was spreading through the mountains so fast they had to focus on getting people evacuated.

Lies, fires like that only happen in California, gavin said so

 

[Nosocks]

Good ideas here.

Cool idea but his mouth smacking noises made me want to scream.

 

[yz450mm]

For anyone that's going to get themselves set up with a pump and hose, It would be a good idea to get at least a little bit of training on where to put the water and when to apply it so it's not a wasted effort.

Take a gallon of ice cream or box of donuts down to your local fire station and ask if they wouldn't mind doing a little public relations or community outreach. If they're not busy, they'd probably love to come by and take a look at your house to give you some pointers on your setup.

Having some fire hose and a pump from the pool is a great idea, but if you just piss it into the wind before the fire gets there then it didn't do you any good.

 

[lbhsbz]

Cool idea but his mouth smacking noises made me want to scream.

Am I watching that right?...he's attempting to "fire proof" a house with shake siding on the top half? lol. Shits more flammable than matches.

 

[EmpirE231]

Thats what I like about the waterax. It has a 2” and 2, 1” outlets for a total of 3 outlets

You can run 2 dedicated golf course sprinkler systems and still have your fire fighting hose running all at once. If shit gets bad, leave and let the sprinkler system run by itself.

View attachment 1468825

View attachment 1468831

VERSAX® Multipurpose Pump

The VERSAX® is a versatile, rugged and economical twin-impeller self-priming pump powered by a Honda or a Briggs & Stratton Vanguard . It provides superior water-transfer performance as well as the ability to combat fire from greater distances and points of elevation. The VERSAX® is a...

www.waterax.com

Did you build that cart setup yourself or was this some sort of kit you can purchase?

 

[EmpirE231]

Honda makes a great pump. There are companies that sell a complete package but its cheaper if you piece together yourself. You need the pump, a large hose that you throw in the pool (add the filer, if you need it there may be a bunch of debris already in the pool) and a decent fire hose, fire nozzle.

I am assuming most of these are not avail in CA due to carb stuff? every Honda link I click onto says not available to ship to ca

also, is this HF pump similar in specs to the Honda pump you posted?

https://www.harborfreight.com/2-in-212cc-gasoline-engine-semi-trash-water-pump-158-gpm-63405.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=21901739219&campaignid=21901739219&utm_content=173216763511&adsetid=173216763511&product=63405&store=&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9ufK683zigMVzSxECB15ljmgEAQYAyABEgJoj_D_BwE

 

[2Driver]

Did you build that cart setup yourself or was this some sort of kit you can purchase?

Waterax offered it as a kit.

I didn't see it on the site anymore but Id call and ask. all that stuff is heavy and the pump can walk sitting on its in.

 

[Get415]

I am assuming most of these are not avail in CA due to carb stuff? every Honda link I click onto says not available to ship to ca

also, is this HF pump similar in specs to the Honda pump you posted?

https://www.harborfreight.com/2-in-212cc-gasoline-engine-semi-trash-water-pump-158-gpm-63405.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=21901739219&campaignid=21901739219&utm_content=173216763511&adsetid=173216763511&product=63405&store=&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9ufK683zigMVzSxECB15ljmgEAQYAyABEgJoj_D_BwE

Looks about the same output (158 vs 164 GPM), and connections. Just slight differences Probably a good buy since you cant buy others in Cal anymore, And they also sell the matching hoses. If you piece together on your own be sure everything jives. There are clamp type connections or screw on

 

[EarpRider]

Steven Zap on Instagram

456 likes, 24 comments - steven_zap on January 13, 2025

www.instagram.com

 

[4Waters]

I would also get a wildland jacket, it helps a lot with blowing embers and wear denim pants

 

[wash11]

For those RDP members that can't have these gas pumps sent to them- we've had a quiet workaround for years. Have it shipped to me in AZ. We do a beef delivery to Fontana almost monthly and it's no trouble for me to bring your stuff with me for you to pick up. I can't count the number of Honda 3000 genies my truck has hauled out there over the years. Joel 928-486-4043

 

[Havasu blue label]

A friend is building these

 

[4Waters]

It would be great to have a universal sign that's recognized by FD whether you this unit or your own

 

[78Southwind]

I’m looking into this setup.

Champion Power Equipment 2 in. Gas-Powered Semi-Trash Water Transfer Pump with Hose and Wheel Kit 100742 - The Home Depot

Get a smart addition to your home by selecting this CHAMPION POWER EQUIPMENT GasPowered SemiTrash Water Transfer Pump with Hose and Wheel Kit.

www.homedepot.com

 

[River Dirt 2]

Waterous Floto Pump

Waterous Floto Pump

Weighs less than fifty pounds, is self-priming and operates in as little as six inches of water. Durable, powerful and easy to maintain, it is the clear choice for a quick response to fires in inaccesible areas. Easily carried by one person. Standard model reaches pressures of 105 PSI. A special...

www.nationalfirefighter.com

These work very well too!

Those work well and were recommended to us years back. Try and buy a 2 stroke motor in California now
They want us to have one with a solar panel with windmill backup….