Installing a 1-3/4" bumper discharge

Our department is currently looking into purchasing a used Pierce pumper. The truck a 1990 model and is in excellent shape, looks, runs, drives, and pumps like new! Has a great amount of options. It has a 5" front intake with an LDH storage box recessed into the bumper. The only other option I would like to see on the truck would be a front bumper 1-3/4" discharge. What I am wondering is if anyone on here has ever installed one of these and what might I be getting myself into with this. The biggest reason I am concidering the front discharge is because we have this option on our other truck and it is very handy, we have used it on about every fire call since we have had the truck. I guess we have just been spoiled by it. Anyway let me know your thoughts, thanks.

I'm sure that you can do it, just think the routing of the plumbing through very carefully. Be sure to use the largest pipework that you can 2" minimum, 2-1/2", better), and minimize elbows, all in order to reduce the friction loss that those are notorious for. High pressure hose can be used for alot of it.

Be careful to route it where it won't interfere with the steering, and keep it away from exhaust pipes. Minimize low spots, as each one of them will need a drain valve to prevent freezing.

Do you have a port picked out on the pump for a valve, or can you tee into something else without creating excess friction loss in some other line? Do you have a spot on your pump panel for a valve handle that will allow you to run a control rod to the valve, and a place for a line gauge? A Chicksan joint at the end would be nice, too.

Those are just a few things that jump out at me. Good luck!

I would bet there are ports on the pump discharge manifold that are unused that can be tapped into and if you use the flexible high pressue hose that many manufacturers use to plumb crosslays, or remote discharges, plumbing should be a breeze. As chiefengineer11 said stay away from exhaust, sterring, suspension and other pinch or burn points.

I guess to me a bigger issue is how would you valve this discharge? Doing it at the pump panel may be a new definition of nightmare and valving it at the front leaves you vulnerable to the entire engine being out of service if the line is somehow damaged or broken to the bumper.

Why not use one of the new electrically actuated valves. No linkage issues,still be operated at panel. Pretty slick, I think it adds about $400 to the price of a new 2 1/2 valve. Try and retrofit linkage into an existing truck for that. Headache factor alone makes the difference up.

How big is the tray? Can you get a useful amount of 1 3/4" hose in there, or would you do better to back off to a 1" trash line?

Added two 2" discharge lines to front of our new demo pumper tanker two years ago. Part of project that installed CAFS to the truck.

No particular problem to do. Would have been more of a problem if you wanted to add a discharge to the side pump panel.

We extended the frame rails 24" and hook to two unused discharge ports on the pump. Each new discharge has a Elkhart electric valve (in our application an Elkhart ICS CAFS controller). Auto drains at the bumper.

Not sure I'd recommend as a fire station project, more likely a good fire dealer (who has a fabrication shop) project. Use SS and high pressure hose for plumbing.

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Originally Posted by EastKyFF

How big is the tray? Can you get a useful amount of 1 3/4" hose in there, or would you do better to back off to a 1" trash line?

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The tray is 24" X 12" X 10" deep. I think that should be sufficient enough to hold 100' to 150' of 1 3/4". The tray is currently used to hold the LDH for the 5" front intake, but the engine (once put into service on our department) will be used mostly for rural structures, motor vehicle accidents, vehicle fires, and it will be utilized for structure fires in a small town as well, so the apparatus will be set up for drafting mostly, with an occasional hydrant hook up, and we will keep 800' of LDH supply line on the truck for that, and the occasional relay pumping as well.

Thanks for all of the help brothers!

You could always dead load your bumper line leaving enough line for your engineer to make a connection at the panel. The operation can be even quicker if you place your 2.5-1.5 reducer on an unused 2.5 outlet. I've messed with this before and the engineer can normally be ready to supply the line before the line is completely flaked out.

Fexible line like a hydraulic line 2" preferred. Add a valve where you tap in at the Pump and of you want to get REAL fancy you can leave that one open and add one at the bumper(quarter turn) Follow CE11s and Fyred's advice on routing. Quite easy to do actually. T.C.