Electric Pump

[combat_medic]

I read a thread on here that was talking real quick about electric pumps for your rescue tools. Do these provide the same power as the gas engines? I assume they are much quieter.
Can anyone point me in the right direction for some more information?

Thanks,
Mike

[Halligan84]

Same power but your limited to the length of your power cord. In some cases you need a 240V power supply. I believe all the manufacturers of rescue tools offer both gas and electric (in some cases air, water and hydraulic too)

[pwc606]

Like Halligan said, you are limited to the distance that the power cord will go. I have found that if you have a small gas unit or two that one person can carry it makes things much more manageable. The gas power motors can get pretty large and also can be heavy, which inturn requires more man power. The new motors that Hurst has out can offer some real options to combat the "long distance" extrication. Also don't forget about the portable hand power hydraulic tools on the market. I would check with your nearest fire supplier or local fire manufacturer reps for more options. Also, Firehouse magazine has all those adds for tools in them, call one up. Other magazines have those leaflets that fall out all over the place when you read the magazine, pick some of those up and send them off. Click on the websites here on Firehouse.com. They have it all. If you are going to buy a system do a lot of research first. An educated consumer is the best thing for your department.
Matt

[tomgranat]

Don't forget that the further the electric pump gets from the power source, the heavier (larger wire size) the power cord will have to be. Motors need alot of current to start and you will need a larger wire size in the power cords the further you get away from the truck.

[raricciuti]

We have a Hurst JL-110-AC electric pump. It works fine with a single Maverick combo tool, no real difference in tool speed or power. A little quieter than the gas pump (sounds a lot like a big shop vac), no exhaust to contend with, runs on 110 volt power (can be plugged in inside a building if needed), but can draw 25 amps at full load, so appropriate sized cable must be used to power it. Works good for us; we've got a second one budgeted for next year.

[Pyro128]

We have a battery operated scissors and jaws stored in the engine. We use them in case of emergency, or to break our way in (locks, gates,...) at firegrounds.
They do the job, especially in places you are not able to reach with cables, but a full size extrication is not recommended, simply because the batteries run down quickly.
We've done it, like in hazmat situations, but it's a lot more difficult than with regular tools.
I would still recommend them, especially because they're so easy to use, but not for (auto) extrication.

[Dalmatian90]

Just found this thread!

My department used electric exclusively 1976 to 1995 or so. Since 1995, our *second* tool has a gas engine; primary is still electric.

The electric v. gas speed doesn't seem to be an issue. What does slow us down a bit is the long hydraulic system (2 100' reels in series, plus some extra to the tools themselves). Same principle as water and hose...more friction loss = less flow. Power is still the same, and frankly, I'm not sure that the slower tool speed is a) significant (maybe 2 minutes on removing a couple doors & a roof) and b) may actually be a hidden benefit -- safe and sane. I don't know...maybe that's just me being devil's advocate.

When we use the gas unit (a late 70s 2 cycle gas engine, with Hurst JL-32 spreaders) it is noticeably a lot faster -- of course, it's a h*ll of a lot noiser, and there's only 30' of hose between us and the pump. But when I'm done with it, I always say, "Wow, this thing hauls!"

Prior to us having a reel (then later reels) on our rescue, the electric pump was kept on a 150' 10/3 cord reel to supply it -- that's a heavy wire!

FWIW, we're working on the funding for improvements on our tool setup to meet the changing extrication needs. Probably going with a smaller "one-man" jaws on the reel to handle the everyday door-pop, and a new gas engine to go with the JL-32s for the major extrications. In other words -- electric + hose reels + small tool for convience in 90% of extrications; gas + short hose + big tools for the serious entrapments.

Matt

[Squirrel]

We use an electric Hurst unit mounted in our truck hooked to a 100' hose reel. We run it off our Kawasaki generator and it works great. We also have a gas power unit if the incident is farther than our hose reel will go. Seems to work good for us.

[rmoore]

I agree that a gasoline-powered power unit seems to have more 'snap' to it when the tools take on a good load. The electric seems to load and slow.

But, that's nothing new. I notice the same difference when running a hydraulic system off a 16 foot hose or a 100 foot hose reel. I don't care what the manufacturer tlel you should happen, the short hose gives the tool a quicker and a seemingly more powerful punch during the heavy stuff.

Rom Moore