Class A foam

[FF4020]

What brand of class A foam do you use and have you found it to be excessively corrosive?

[lance38]

We use Angus Hi-Combat. Ph is 9. Some cheaper brands can be higher. Do your research and be careful what you buy. We tested one with a ph of 12.

[FF4020]

Anybody have any experience with Sil-vex from Ansul?

[lance38]

The ph for sil-vex is around 8 but it also has a fair bit of alcohol in the concentrate. If you look at the msds it actually has a moderate flammability rating with a flashpoint of around 100F.

[CaptLou]

Hi FF4020,

My department uses Phos-Chek WD-881. Have been using it since 1998. We are very happy with it. We use it for CAFS and aspirating operations. Whatever Class "A " foam you do use, it should be on the US Forestry List of "approved" Class "A" foams. Their Quilified Product List, QPL is what it is referred to as. All of the Claas "A" foams listed on this list are "enviormentaly" friendly. Here is the link for the QPL list. http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/fire/wildland_chemicals.htm

By the way WD-881 not only works great, but has a nice "orange" smell to it.

Hope this helps.

Captain Lou
"Got Foam?"

[hvfd507]

We use USFoam class a foam. It is very inexpensive and havent had any corrosion problems. www.usfoam.com

[jtstoney]

Hi FF4020,

My department uses Phos-Chek WD-881. Have been using it since 1998. We are very happy with it. We use it for CAFS and aspirating operations. Whatever Class "A " foam you do use, it should be on the US Forestry List of "approved" Class "A" foams. Their Quilified Product List, QPL is what it is referred to as. All of the Claas "A" foams listed on this list are "enviormentaly" friendly. Here is the link for the QPL list. http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/fire/wildland_chemicals.htm

By the way WD-881 not only works great, but has a nice "orange" smell to it.

Hope this helps.

Captain Lou
"Got Foam?"

Good advice, Capt Lou.

One of the USDA QPL's toughest requirements is the corrosion tests.

Careful on the WD-881 smell though, their MSDS claims toxicity issues. I think its the only class A with toxicity warnings.

Personally, I like the National Foam Knockdown. No toxicity, its biodegradable, contains no alcohols to react with AR concentrates, and makes stiff CAFs foam at .01%.

JT

[lance38]

Knockdown and Hi-Combat are the same foam

[pfd4life]

Don't remember our brand, I'll post later.....It's fairly corrosive, it eats away our level sensors in the foam tank, in all our engines EXCEPT, our HME The best truck in the fleet IMO.

[MalahatTwo7]

Malahat VFD uses Spitfire Class A most of the time. Not sure about ph levels though. Never seemed to be an issue. I tried to find a link in Acklands Granger because that is who supplied the last lot that I picked up for the station last Spring.... They only show Angus foam online.

[Sleuth]

We also use WD 881, with excellent results to date. We also have to use foam from the Forest Service list, since we go to some of their fires.

[Dalmatian190]

Silvex.

Have had trucks with it since 1995, no significant problems that weren't related to human error (do not use AFFF to top off the foam tank )

However, the tanks are all poly.

The minipumper does have some cosmetic corrosion on the diamond plate below the foam injection mechanism, where a small amount of foam drips when it's running. Certainly nothing structurally damaging, just looks like crap.

[RareRamAir]

We use USFoam class a foam. It is very inexpensive and havent had any corrosion problems. www.usfoam.com

We get all the USFoam we want. The owner is our board president.

[PeteySt1]

anybody have any experience w/ chemguard?