Australian Pump Industries is famous for its range of Aussie Fire Chief fire pumps. That pump has raised the bar for high pressure firefighting equipment, outperforming and providing better value for money than any of the old guard, Davey and Onga.
The pumps are now applauded by dealers and users around Australia with the Aussie Fire Chief well on its way to becoming Australia’s most popular lightweight, portable fire pump.
Selling the world’s best pump with a five-year warranty has changed the way people think about Honda powered fire pumps. The Fire Chief is also now gaining ground in the export market, proving to be just as popular outside Australia as it is right here at home.
THERE’S MORE TO AUSSIE
Our preoccupation is regional Australia and Australia’s farming community. We know that with $90 billion in production we’re seeing only the beginning of what Australia’s agriculture could do provided government take water security seriously and actually do something about it.
Aussie is busy developing new products for farmers all the time. Here’s a selection of some of the most innovative new products under development and, in some cases, already on the market.
AG CHEM PUMPS … AUSSIE GETS SMART
Aussie introduced their 2-inch and 3-inch Smart Pumps just as liquid fertilisers began to really take off. The pump end was made from 30 per cent glass-filled polyester material developed for NASA.
To use it for injection, moulded pumps was a new idea. The pumps were corrosion resistant and handled virtually all agricultural chemicals from weedicides and pesticides to liquid fertilisers.
“We learnt a lot from working with Goldacres. Their team were busy designing the innovative Batchmate as an adjunct to their terrific sprayer production. To think that we can work with a company of their calibre and quality was a great stimulus to us,” said John Hales Aussie Pumps chief engineer.
Aussie Smart Pumps’ unique configuration really suited what Goldacres was setting out to do.
They needed a pump that would handle liquid fertiliser through the batching process, as well as being capable of fast-filling big sprayers in the field.
“A hydraulic drive pump was useful for mobile plant applications (sprayers). We know that farmers were using aluminium firefighting pumps or sometimes end suction cast iron pumps to handle aggressive liquid fertilisers.
“Those pumps didn’t last long and were horrifically inefficient,“ said Hales.
Aussie introduced the Smart Pump to provide not only a solution that would handle a range of liquids but also provide real efficiencies.
The 2-inch pump is available with two different impeller options. One is a high flow impeller that delivers up to 835 litres per minute. It offers a maximum head of 25 metres (approximately 35 psi in pressure). The high head impeller delivers less flow, only 720 litres per minute but has a maximum
head of 37 metres, that’s approximately 52 psi.
Both configurations use a Honda GX200 6.5HP recoil start engine and will draw water through a vertical lift of six metres!
Three different elastomer options give users the ability to handle a range of chemicals. For example, EPDM elastomers are compatible with most agricultural chemicals and liquid fertilisers.
Viton elastomers suit a wider range that includes diesel fuel, seawater and some other chemicals.
“Viton is a great synthetic material not natural rubber, but can be less flexible and harder than EPDM or our third option, Buna N,“ said Hales.
The Buna N versions are compatible with diesel fuel, oils, even seawater.
The “N” stands for Nitrile. It’s a flexible elastomer but, not what we recommend for agriculture chemicals or ferts”, said Hales.
VERSATILE DRIVE SYSTEM
The company has found wide applications for both the 2-inch pump and more recently introduced a 3-inch version for applications requiring faster fill times for big sprayers.
The 3-inch pumps are now becoming really popular. The 3-inch high flow version, will deliver up to 1010 litres per minute and a maximum 25-metre head using the same engine, GX200 6.5hp Honda.
The high head version of the 3-inch pump will produce a maximum head of 37 metres and deliver a flow up to 870 litres per minute.
Both great performances, both showing exceptionally high efficiency levels.
Aussie Pumps now offer the Aussie Smart Pumps in 2-inch in single phase or three phase configuration. The
3-inch pump is supplied with a big 4 KW 415 volt heavy duty motor.
AUSSIE GMP .. THE CAST IRON OPTION
Aussie’s GMP cast iron pump range are all self priming and provide a new convenience for any agricultural pumping application. Whether it’s for a river pump installation or yard wash down in a dairy, they feature heavy duty cast iron bodies that are robust and durable.
The Aussie GMP range is also available in cast nickel aluminium bronze or cast 316 stainless steel.
“Our 316 stainless steel pumps are much cheaper than you would think and are ideal for pumping caustics, chemicals and even whey”, said Hales.
Pumps are also available with a range of drive configurations including electric and hydraulic motors, Honda engines, Yanmar diesels and even as bare shaft pumps.
WHERE AUSSIE IS HEADING
Aussie’s export business is growing all the time. What they learnt from working with Australian farmers is now applied in the USA, Canada and through South East Asia.
“Recently we were able to provide valuable support during the flooding of Juba, in South Sudan, by supplying big 6-inch self-priming, heavy duty trash pumps, all built right here in Australia”, said Hales.
Further information is available from Aussie Pumps’ website (aussiepumps.com.au) and through its Gold Distributor network.
