"Hose-O-Matic" Moves Water Fast

Hose-O-Matic Moves Water Fast FARM HOME Miscellaneous Larry Black’s mobile pumping tank moves water fast Dubbed the Hose-O-Matic by Black it fills itself up fast from a pond or stream and empties out just as fast “I can fill the 500-gal tanks in less than 5 min ” says Black “Reversing the process gives me high pressure to clear off parking areas or clean out cattle guards and culverts ” Black put his system together after attending a surplus equipment auction of county highway equipment He picked up a 500-gal tank on a skid with a 7-ft watering bar for holding down road dust He also picked up a surplus gas-powered self-priming pump It had a 3-in intake valve and output valves Both were originally U S Army surplus “The county had the tank on a skid to slip on a truck bed ” says Black “When the local fire department discarded some fire hose I decided to mount the tank and the pump on a trailer with the hose ” He built a frame out of channel iron and angle iron and mounted it on 2 trailer axles discarded after hauling mobile homes into place Knowing the full tank would total more than 4 000 lbs Black built the trailer to heavy-duty specs He mounted the axles far enough apart that they will support the tank and keep it level He left room at the front of the trailer for the pump and fire hose “It’s about 11 ft long and about 3 1/2 ft wide ” says Black He used 3-in pvc pipe from the output valve through a T-connection with a reducer to the 1 1/2-in fire hose At the T pvc pipe equipped with a ball valve also connected the output valve to the top of the tank A 24-ft 3-in black hose was attached to the pump’s intake valve “When I am filling the tank the ball valve is wide open and the spray nozzle on the fire hose is closed ” explains Black “If I want to spray out of the tank I drop the end of the black hose into the tank and adjust the ball valve to give me the pressure needed for the fire hose and recirculate the rest of the water back into the tank ” Black mounted a hose bib on the back of the tank If he simply wants gravity flow he can use the tank with the hose bib “It has lots of applications ” says Black “I can clean off a dozer that’s been in muddy ground faster than I could with a power washer or blast leaves and mud out of a 20-ft culvert ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup W L Black 301 Black Trail Mountain Home Ark 72653 ph 870 425-9898; toll free 877 425-9898; black@larryblackandassoc com

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