The Ag Superstore Ute Back Firefighter VS The Rapid Spray Ultimate Fire Fighter

After the events of last years fire season, it has become evident how important fire protection is for your farm. Two of the best fire fighting options in 2020 are the Ag-Superstore Ute-Back 550 litre Firefighter and the Rapid Spray Ultimate Firefighter. Regardless of which firefighting system you choose they both offer you the versatility, response speed and safety, of a ute-back that can get you near the action and back to safety when you need it. Below we will outline the similarities and what sets the Ag-Superstore Ute-Back apart from the Rapid Spray Ultimate Firefighter.

Similarities

•   They both have the same 36metre fire hose. Tough Poly Hose reel with 36m x 19mm fire retardant hose. Includes an adjustable nozzle.
•   Dual access forklift points
•   Aussie Fire Chief 2’’ pump and Honda GX160 motor

3 Key Advantages to the Ag-Superstore Ute-Back Firefighter

1. 13mm spring bolt to ensure the hose reel does not uncurl whilst you are driving

2. The unit is plumbed with a three-way valve’ meaning that it is simply a matter of moving the lever to a different position to turn the pump from fire fighting to tank fill mode.

The three-way valve enables you to bottom fill the tank without changing hoses. Simply turn the valve in the opposite direction and your firefighting pump becomes a suction pump and the tank will fill from a dam, pool etc. in under two minutes. In other fire units there is a lack of a three-way valve meaning to achieve the same result you need to disconnect and reconnect hoses between fittings to instigate the suction. And then return them to the original position to return to fire fighting mode.

3. The unit includes a dam or bottom fill kit. This is 6m suction hose, filter and camlock fittings. The ultimate has this as an optional $418 option. (Note that this is on the special only)

The average person would think to  buy the bare tank and not the bottom fill option as it is an additional $418, and the unit will work without it. And this is correct until you are faced with fighting a fire.

In a fire situation you would typically load the tank onto the back of your ute and go to the fire front. Utilising the Firefighting unit, you will start the pump and fight the fire, very easy. IF you run out of water and there is still  fire to fight you will need to refill the tank and this is where the issue comes to a head.

Without a bottom fill kit, you will need to travel back to an area that has pressurised water to fill the tank. With an average and an estimate flow rate of 30L/MIN from a tap, the tank will take approx. 20 minutes to fill and you still must return to the fire to continue your control measures. 20 minutes is a long time in this panic situation.

The bottom fill kit in the AGSS Firefighter enables you to connect the 6m suction hose via a camlock fitting to the pump and for the other end of the hose, that has a strainer, to be placed in a dam, a trough, a pool or something similar and to suck water into the tank.

 With the assistance of the three way valve, no hoses need to be disconnected and filling the tank in this way is accomplished in under 2 minutes. The bottom fill kit is included in the price at AGSS not a $418 option that you think you don’t need until you realise, at the fires edge, that you do.