Designed to put out agricultural fires quickly and easily, Muster Fire’s transferable unit can handle the heat of high-pressure situations.
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The TUFF’s 15m-long hose gives fire- fighting coverage across the machine
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Australian farmers need no reminder they work in some of the world’s harshest and hottest conditions.
A fire starting while working in an isolated paddock could quickly mean disaster – which is where Muster Fire’s transferable unit for firefighting (TUFF) comes in.
Available in three sizes – 38L, 66L and 110L – and two different pressure capacities – 700kPa and 1,370kPa – this is the Muster Fire product most suited to the agricultural market.
Muster Fire’s biggest market is fully automatic systems for mining equipment, however, agricultural fires have several unique characteristics that require different solutions, according to Dale Sharpe, national fire product sales manager with Muster Fire distributor JSG Industrial Systems.
“Most of the fires on mining equipment are on the engine, hydraulic pumps or where all the hydraulic hoses are,” he says.
“To use combine harvesters as an example, because that’s where we sell most of them for the agricultural market, is that the engines can catch fire, but not as regularly as on other machines, and the hydraulics, not so much.
“With farming machinery, a lot of the fires start down in the actual comb where it’s actually cutting the chaff, when it’s going back through the machine in all the pulley belts on the side.
“The fire risks are very different on a combine harvester compared to a piece of mining equipment, and to cover them with an automatic system is pretty much impossible because of so many moving parts.”
Designed to be a quick but powerful solution, the TUFF unit can be mounted on the combine harvester and fully charged.
Crucially, it comes with a 15m hose reel which allows for operators to quickly deal quickly with fires that may have spread around the machine.
“If a fire does start down in the comb, the operator can shut off the machine, jump out, get down, pull the hose out and address that fire,” Sharpe says.
“If there’s a fire somewhere else on the machine, they can get that hose and run it around.
“Obviously, if that fire shifts to the actual crop or the surrounding areas, again you’ve got a 15m hose that can circle the machine to pick up any spot fires.
“The good thing about the TUFF unit is that it doesn’t just cover specific parts on the machine; it covers the general area of the machine and can get into all the little nooks and crannies, and the actual crop you’re harvesting.
“It’s a lot more versatile, as it can reach a lot of different areas, and it’s very cost effective compared to the cost of replacing the machine.”
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The TUFF can be attached to a combine harvester and easily moved as needed
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Another useful aspect of TUFF, which is suggested by its name of ‘transferable unit’, is that it can be easily moved from one unit to another, depending on a farmer’s requirements.
It uses what Muster Fire describes as an environmentally responsible fluorine free foam, which is effective for use on both ordinary combustibles and hydrocarbon fires.
TUFF is also designed to be easy to reset once it has been used.
“It’s very easy to refill and recharge the TUFF, which can be done by the farmer out in the field with very minimal components – a simple air compressor, some water and we supply foam they can add to it,” Sharpe says.
“If it’s only a little spot fire and they put it out, you don’t want the whole system to have gone off and the machine to be shut down.
“What you can do is quickly refill it, recharge it and get back to work because, obviously, time is money.”
Beyond agriculture, the TUFF unit is also ideal for machines such as fuel trucks and forestry equipment.
The TUFF unit – and all Muster Fire products – are distributed globally by JSG Industrial Systems. Its range is available at www.jsgindustrial.com, while Muster Fire products can be viewed at www.musterfire.com