PRODUCT BRIEF
Water cart pumps are working hard supplying much needed water in the current drought.
Water Cart Pumps… Unsung Heroes With country towns around Australia trucking in water as dams and bores run dry, water cart operators are under pressure to increase the number of loads delivered per day. Tank loading times significantly dictate operator efficiency and there is a move to use larger pumps for this fast fill application. When Australian Pump started, 25 years ago, one of their first products was a Honda powered 3” tanker pump designed for basic water delivery applications. Since then, the world has changed and big 4” & 6” pumps are being used with larger flows and more fuelefficient engines. 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 firefighting. These big pumps deliver flows of up to 1,800 litres per 18
Waste + Water Management Australia | January 2020
minute but also come in configurations that operate at up to 90 psi,” Hales added. “Those high flow, high pressure combinations made them ideal for fast filling big tankers.” 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. There is a continuing sophistication of water carts with water cannons, adjustable 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,” John Hales said. Australian Pump claim that the beauty of the hydraulic drive, is that it defeats the massive maintenance problem of dust on those single cylinder engines which are 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 because of the flexible hydraulic lines,” he said. The big self-priming cast iron pumps are also 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. The company chose Casappa gear motors for their reliability, reasonable cost and rugged design. The motors are simple, capable of dealing with a little contamination, and easy to repair. More information on the Aussie Pumps range, including a free tanker water cart selection guide, is available from authorised distributors around Australia or online at: www.aussiepumps.com.au