Student builds hose scrubber

 

Glenlyon Group Officer and Franklinford Fire Brigade Lieutenant Dean Jones works as a systems engineering teacher at Daylesford College.

 

He saw an old hose scrubbing machine built locally about 40 years ago, and he thought it would be a good student project to build an improved version.  

Dean showed the machine to Year 11 student Beau Henderson and he jumped at the opportunity to build a better hose cleaner.

“The old machine didn’t have a scrubbing function and it used galvanised pipe,” Beau said. “I was hopeful I could do better, using more modern materials, so began by making some sketches.

“I built it from scratch, getting ideas from the old machine and adding my own touches so that the hose flowed easier.”

It uses off-the-shelf parts so it will be easy to maintain.  

It took Beau about six months to build the hose scrubber, which uses the water pressure from a tanker to wash the hose as fast as it is dragged through.

To test how well the machine worked, Dean asked Franklinford Fire Brigade members to bring their tanker to the college.

“I was happy with the way it worked. It cleaned the hose pretty well,” Beau said. “I used high pressure glue on the fittings and it was a relief when it worked well.”

“While we were testing it, a group of Year 7s were more interested in looking over the truck,” Dean said. “It may have turned into a brigade recruitment drive.”

After the hose scrubber was finished in July, it was given to Franklinford brigade.

“I was happy to make something that will help the community,” Beau said.

Whatever method a brigade uses to clean and maintain its hoses, it must comply with CFA’s work instructions and SOP 5.04 Service Hose Testing. All these documents are on Members Online. 

 

Submitted by	News and Media