Hose Systems to:
Protect Homes from Wildfires,
Confine Prescribed Fires,
Deliver Water Over Long Distances.
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, 9,561,393,
and Canadian patents 2,693,158, and 2,891,833.
Deliver Water Over Long Distances.
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, 9,561,393,
and Canadian patents 2,693,158, and 2,891,833.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS FOR BUILDING ANY OF MY INVENTIONS,
PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR WEB LINKS.
Spray Hose Invention to Protect Homes from Wildfire and Embers
The above photo shows 200 ft of a spray hose that can protect a home from wildfire embers, and also confine a prescribed fire (RxFire). There is a spray nozzle every 10 ft that sprays water onto the adjacent area.
The hose in the above photo has a diameter of 3 inches.
Further experimentation has shown that a similar hose with diameter 1.5 inches gives exactly the same spray result. A 3 inch hose is needed for very long hose lengths to reduce pressure loss, however a 1.5 inch hose will be sufficient to protect most homes.
To view a VIDEO of the 200 ft hose spraying 300 gpm of water, Click HERE
The picture above shows a house that is surrounded by the spray hose (shown in blue). A pump is pumping water out of a swimming pool into the blue spray hose. The gray water spray is shown spraying vertically from the spray hose.
A simple clamping device, shown later, allows for adjustment of the spray angle.
NEW SPRAY NOZZLE DESIGN is easier to build and, uses the HFX series of hose from All American Hose. According to All American Hose HFX is "Highly resistant to both contact and radiant heat".
The two photos below show a closeup of how the spray hose surrounding the house is constructed.
At the top of the photo below is a rectangle of fire hose that has two small holes for spraying water.
Below the fire hose is a section of 1.5 inch fire hose that is inserted inside of a section of PVC. The fire hose has a small rectangle cut out of its center. The PVC has a large rectangle cut out of its center.
Below the fire hose is a section of 1.5 inch fire hose that is inserted inside of a section of PVC. The fire hose has a small rectangle cut out of its center. The PVC has a large rectangle cut out of its center.
COMPLETED SPRAY NOZZLE
The photo below shows the center hose, the PVC and the rectangular hose patch assembled together.
When water is pumped into the long fire hose, some the of the water exits the rectangular hole in the hose.
This water enters the chamber formed by the rectangular area removed from PVC.
The water in the chamber then exits from the two holes shown in the photo.
If a hose has a single hole, the water exiting will form a narrow column. The water exiting the TWO HOLES
does not form columns, but actually forms a very wide and deep spray. The wide and deep spray pattern
is very desirable for fighting a grassfire or low intensity wildfire. The spray is also useful for stopping blowing embers from reaching the house. Embers are often the reason that a house catches fire.
To see 2 Spray Nozzles on a deck, where the excellent spray pattern may be seen, click HERE
HOSE RESISTANCE TO FLAME AND RADIANT HEAT
Below is picture of top hose layer after 1 minute of propane torch. (3,623 deg F)
Note that the printing on the PVC is intact. The hose protected the PVC.
The photo below shows a prototype wooden cradle that can hold the spray nozzle at different angles for spraying.
To change the angle, remove the duct tape from the clamps, rotate the hose and then re-clamp the duct tape tabs.
Spray Hose System vs. Sprinkler System
Cost:
The Spray Hose will cost much less than a sprinkler system.
Speed of Deployment:
The sprinkler system has a very large number of pieces to be interconnected.
The Spray Hose is a simple hose that is simply placed on the ground.
The Spray Hose can be deployed MUCH faster.
Spray Height:
The Spray Hose has a spray that is HIGHER and more DENSE than the sprinkler system.
Moving Parts:
Spray Hose had none. Sprinkler system has many.
Fire Resistance:
The Spray Hose uses a very fire resistant hose.
Sprinkler systems usually use commodity hoses.
The image above is a low cost pump that can supply water to 50 feet of Spray Hose.
The system CANNOT work from a garden faucet in a home.
The homeowner must have a large and local source of water.
The tank shown below is an example of what is available.
