Fire Lion Global is a supplier of positive displacement gear pumps for all applications in the firefighting foam industry, with over 75 combined years of experience in foam applications and pump experience.

One potential area is sometimes overlooked with all the changes happening with firefighting foams, whether with municipal departments, industrial departments, or fixed systems.  The major change, of course, is the foaming agent changing from Aqueous Film Forming Foams (AFFF or AR-AFFF type) to Synthetic Fluorine Free Foams (SFFF).  With this change, there are other things to consider besides the environmental effects.

Pumping of the SFFF type concentrates can be severely affected if the incorrect pump type is used.  SFFFs in the market can have a very high viscosity while at standing state.  The inherent chemistry for these foams requires the viscosities to start off at a very high level.  Positive displacement gear pumps are the best pump style to use because of the viscosities of these new foams.  When transferring foam concentrate, whether from drums to storage tanks, from totes to stationary vessels, or from storage tanks to mobile equipment, gear pumps should be used to ensure that the foam agent is efficiently being transferred, especially during an event and the mobile piece of equipment needs to be refilled.

In the past, many examples of pumps have been used for transferring foam concentrates.  These range from gear pumps to piston pumps to centrifugal pumps.  The efficiencies of piston and centrifugal pumps are severely diminished when pumping the SFFFs.  These styles of pumps are designed and can be used for concentrates that are Newtonian (flow and act like water).  An AFFF or Class A type foam is a great example of this.  When dealing with SFFFs, these foams are Non-Newtonian (do not flow and act like water).  These foams require a different style of pump that can handle the viscosity range of any foam agent on the market.  Gear pumps are the pumps designed for higher viscosity and Non-Newtonian fluids like SFFFs.

Fire Lion has a VAST VARIETY of options available for transfer pumps.  We have supplied many different configurations depending on what the end user, truck manufacturer, or trailer fabricator needs.  Some of these options include either diesel powered or gasoline powered drivers.  We can supply any size diesel engine needed, complete with a clutch in between the engine and the pump.  This allows the user to start the engine under a “no load” condition and only engage the pump once the hoses and valves are all in the correct position to allow for pumping.  Gasoline powered transfer pumps can be manual or electric start, have a centrifugal clutch installed, and only engage once the engine’s RPM increases.  The pump assemblies can be mounted on a wheeled base, where one person can easily maneuver the pump into position and utilize it effectively.  The pump/driver can also be mounted on a baseplate to permanently mount it on a trailer for use as well.

No matter your situation or application for transfer pumps, Fire Lion Global have you covered!  Contact us today to learn more and begin the conversation of providing your solution for your pumping needs.

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