Calculator?

[cgerdes97]

I'm a new fire egineer... and I heard that there is a calculator designed especially for fire engineers. I guess that it has pre-programmed calculations in it already (ie, coefficients). Has anybody heard of this... and if you have, do you know where i can get ahold of one?

[GreggGeske]

Akron offers a FireCalc pocket calculator and it will calculate engine pressure, flow rate for strait tip and fog nozzle, application rate, friction loss, and reaction force. I would imagine you can buy one from any fire products supplier that handles Akron products.

[BirkenVogt]

I thought it might have been discontinued, and a long time ago too. What I use are two handy cards from Waterous, which have friction loss for any hose on one card, and discharges from smoothbores of all sizes on the other card. So long as your eyesight is good enough they are very handy

Birken

[takonik]

Task Force Tips offers a slide chart pocket guide. One can be requested from their site.

http://www.tft.com/tftasp/service/li...equest_new.asp

[RNite1]

I found the Akron Brass friction loss calculator on their website but I don't see how to acquire one. I did see one of these once and play with it some. Here is the link that shows the calculator if you scroll down a bit.

http://www.akronbrass.com/pages/akro..._equipment.htm

[Dave1983]

Ive had one for years. VERY handy little gadget. It drives my opps Chief nuts though, as I constantly use it to prove his flow and friction loss numbers wrong.

[InAndUp]

Akron offers a FireCalc pocket calculator and it will calculate engine pressure, flow rate for strait tip and fog nozzle, application rate, friction loss, and reaction force. I would imagine you can buy one from any fire products supplier that handles Akron products.

Here it is:
http://www.allhandsfire.com/page/AHF...ggestions/9900

[cgerdes97]

Thanks for the info. I purchased one off of a 3rd party site that sold the Akron calculator. It is a very nifty tool indeed. If you try to purchase it from Akron directly, you have to call and order it through a telephone sales rep. I ordered it from the site listed above and it was $30 cheaper. It has been very helpful thusfar in training. It is a great tool to use during training for complex scenarios when I do not feel like writing everything down on paper. Anyways, thanks again for the info.

[Eno821]

A lot of times just set the pump to 1000kpa / 150psi ... and worry about fine tuning when your crews tell you it's too much or not enough. Frankly, I'd concern myself less with PDP as I would with deciding how much water I have left to put through either more lines, into another truck, or if it's time to start telling the chief to look to another hydrant for the incoming.

Unless of course this calculator helps you figure that out too...

Frankly, you shouldn't need the calculator... learn your coefficients and PDP formula... as you become more experienced, it'll just fall into place. But depend too much on that calculator and you'll remove your ability to develop a better understanding of the operations and an appreciation for short forming the math.

Just an opinion...

[cgerdes97]

A lot of times just set the pump to 1000kpa / 150psi ... and worry about fine tuning when your crews tell you it's too much or not enough. Frankly, I'd concern myself less with PDP as I would with deciding how much water I have left to put through either more lines, into another truck, or if it's time to start telling the chief to look to another hydrant for the incoming.

Unless of course this calculator helps you figure that out too...

Frankly, you shouldn't need the calculator... learn your coefficients and PDP formula... as you become more experienced, it'll just fall into place. But depend too much on that calculator and you'll remove your ability to develop a better understanding of the operations and an appreciation for short forming the math.

Just an opinion...

...and I appreciate your opinion. I don't intend to rely solely on a calculator for friction loss on a fire scene... as a matter of fact, I don't think relying on a calc would be at all feasible on a fire scene. I use pretty much the same tactic that you use. I also have a cheat sheet that we post on the pump panel.. it has our hose sizes and lengths already written out on the paper.. as well as high priority structures on base with recommended GPM. I've been on 3 good sized fires since I recieved the calc in the mail and I haven't once pulled it out during an emergency. Besides... how would it look when your crew is waiting for water and your playing with a calculator scratching your head?

[Eno821]

Yeah, I hear what you're saying. I know we have a cheat sheet too and it comes in handy. But, at the same time I love gizmos as much as the next guy... I'd be interested in seeing such a product.

[CaptOldTimer]

Checkout Firefighter Calculator on Android Market or iPhone app store (if you have one of those types of phones). It's not only a pump calculator that's easy to use, but has foam calculators, and other key calculators you might find useful. Let me know what you think. More info on the app is located at: www.a2app.com

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