A Jack-of-all-trades in
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Municipal Units
APIECE of apparatus recently introduced by Tuke and Bell, Ltd., Carlton Engineering Works, Lichfield, Staffs, should prove of particular interest to municipal officers. In addition to providing efficient facilities for street watering and washing, channel and sewer flushing and tree spraying, the unit incorporates suitable apparatus for fire-fighting and decontaminating.
It consists, essentially, of a tank, a petrol engine and a pump having a capacity of 120 g.p.m. By housing the complete pumping unit in a compartment formed in the after end of the tank, it has been possible completely to protect it from accidental damage or unauthorized usage.
A Self-contained Unit.
The overall dimensions of the complete equipment are, therefore, governed by the size of the tank, whit can be supplied in any capacity to suit the requirements of the purchaser. Power for pumping is derived from a twocylindered, water-cooled, four-stroke engine, giving 17 b.h.p.. at 2,860 r.p.m., the maximum requirements, under load conditions, being given as 15 b.h.p.
The pump, which delivers up to a pressure of 80 lb. per sq. in., has a hydraulically balanced, shrouded impeller, is self-priming and is provided, with a header chamber on the delivery side for maintaining a water seal during priming. The pump has a suction lift of 10 ft. when dealing with a normal volume of water and a maximum suction lift of 25 ft.
When it is desired to use the pump from an independent supply of water, the lead from the tank is cut off, the tank then being available for chemicals, such as would be used for spraying or other purposes.
Equipment for first-aid fire-fighting includes, as a mini
mum, 60 ft. of bore, four-ply hose, mounted in a n24
revolving reel supported on ball-bearing brackets. For more serious work there are 50 ft_ of 2i-in. bore, 24-ply hose, mounted on a revolving storage reel. The first-aid unit can be fitted with a mist jet for tree spraying and similar duties.
Provision is made on the sides of the tank for the carrying of chemical fire extinguishers, and side racks are available for carrying, in suitable containers, bleaching powder and sand.
In addition to the uses already mentioned, this Universal municipal unit, as it is called, can be used for lime mixing, a manhole chamber being provided with a basket into which the lime is placed. The actual mixing is brought about by circulating the contents of the tank by means of the pump.