Gelled Foam

[Truck_3]

Have a 91 Seagrave with a 25 Gal. SS Foam Cell. Tried Flowing some foam during checks last Weekend and it did not draw Concentrate. Looking at the fill lid, it appears the concentrate has gelled. Anyone have any recommendations on how to get it out short of a Supervac and taking out the level sensor? For info the fill pipe is only about 2" in diameter.

[FWDbuff]

Lots and lots of really hot water.

[Truck_3]

Lots and lots of really hot water.

I was afraid of that. Gonna be a helluva mess

[MG3610]

Just for the sale of making sure....because I am not sure how familiar you are with foam...

AR-AFFF appears like Gel in its normal state. It should be gooey and if you scoop up a handful it should ooze through your fingers. If its bad it would be more like Jell-O.

Before you undertake a monumental project, just make sure there isnt a problem with your foam system. Sometimes the foam will gel up in the system, not the tank. You may have to clean out the system. What type of foam system do you have?

[Truck_3]

What type of foam system do you have?

Akron 95 GPM Eductor. System is built into the truck. Front Cross lay. 150' of 1.75 with a break apart nozzle and a matched 95 GPM aspirating tip.

[MG3610]

Akron 95 GPM Eductor. System is built into the truck. Front Cross lay. 150' of 1.75 with a break apart nozzle and a matched 95 GPM aspirating tip.

Eductors are notorious for getting gunked up....might start there if the foam still seems like goo, rather than jello. Do u have a bucket of the foam u keep in your tank u can use to compare to whats in the tank?

[PrestoC125]

I am taking it that this is a class B foam that gelled up in the tank? You can try using a shop vac on it to pull as much as possible out first, then lots of hot water. I have heard quite a few places recommend putting a layer if mineral oil on top of the foam in the tank. Keeps the air off of it (which causes it to gel), always stays on top when you add more foam, and doesn't hurt anything if you drain the tank and suck it through the eductor.

[captain7]

What pump pressure were you pumping on the discharge the has the eductor inline? We have the same setup and I took ~185 psi of pump discharge pressure for that line to flow foam.

[Truck_3]

What pump pressure were you pumping on the discharge the has the eductor inline? We have the same setup and I took ~185 psi of pump discharge pressure for that line to flow foam.

200 PSI. 150" of 1.75" with a 95 GPM Foam nozzle

[ENG103]

When you refill it, I'd make sure to use only one type and brand of foam. don't mix ARC with AFFF and dont mix Ansul with Kidde or whoever else is making foam these days. Our Haz-Mat officer has always told us not to mix foams. At least not in the tanks. Finished foam is fine to mix (depending on what is burning of course)

[slackjawedyokel]

Engine 103 is giving good advise - mixing (in the tank) AFFF and ARFFF - will make plastic worms.