Building a Water Truck FOR YOUR SPECIFIC NEEDS
In Industries such as Construction, Mining & Agriculture etc. there may be a requirement to manage large volumes of water on a daily basis. Building a water truck that is customized for a certain application can increase efficiency and productivity greatly. A custom built water truck as opposed to a generic or ‘off the shelf’ system or a rental water truck can provide enhanced performance in your unique application. Water Wise can provide information & options as well as guidance in building a water truck specific to your requirements rather than just building a water truck because ‘that’s the way we’ve always done it’ - this is not always the best option.
Identifying Your Unique Needs.
Building a Water Truck often begins with identifying your application needs. This could range from dust suppression, compaction or soil stabilization support, irrigation, first response/fire fighting etc. and also how often are these tasks are performed. Required volume of water will determine the tank size and truck chassis and configuration.
Choosing the Correct Truck Chassis.
One of the most important decisions in building a water truck is selecting the appropriate chassis type, configuration etc. Assessing the basic factors such as engine power, transmission type, load capacity, dimensions, configuration etc. etc. is very important but critical factors such as suspension type, transmission gearing must equally be considered. The chassis not only must be able to support the weight & size of the planned water tank but must also meet legal & safety requirements. Ensuring it will perform within the chassis design limitations as well as legal requirements is vitally important.
Choosing the Water Pump Drive System.
- Direct Drive - Is often the cheapest way of driving a water pump. A bare shaft water pump is driven by a shaft directly from a PTO on the side of the transmission (water pump direction will often be different in automatic and manual transmissions). The PTO ratio must be a minimum of 1:1.3 up to maximum of 1:1.6
- Engine Drive - Where a separate engine drives a water pump but this system may have water volume limitations & the engine may be prone to dust ingress.
- Hydraulic - Often has the biggest initial cost but is often ’set & forget’ and has the biggest water pump variability i.e. often designed so it is independent of truck engine speed
NOTE: Often the water pump system can be independent of the tank
Choosing the correct Water Pump.
The choice of water pump will depend on the drive mechanism but can either be a rope seal pump (where the water passing through the pump lubricates the rope seal - these will create a small drip of water from the seal) or a Mechanical Seal pump where two surfaces rotate against each other and are held together by a spring. The water pump size will depend on the output volume required, tank size & piping size
Designing a Water Tank.
Not only must the tank be designed for your application & truck chassis but it can either be made from steel, stainless steel, aluminium, fibre glass or plastic. It must be designed with baffles to limit water ‘surging’ (most noticeable with a partial water load) and have the correct mounting system.
Spray System
A spray or ‘outlet system’ can consist of many options but in choosing a spray system, consideration must be made to many issues including, but not limited to, output volume, tank size, spray pattern & adjustability, water type & condition, tasks to be undertaken, pump type, number of spray valves or outlets active at one time.