| Fire-fighting
the Standard Way!
A
restored Standard Gwynne Fire Pump - I don't believe that red was an original
colour option, but the appearance of this
set would
otherwise appear to be complete and
correct. (Photo: Phil
Homer)
A series of
questions by a correspondent on the Standard Motor Club forum has
lead me to research this topic and publish my findings in the form
of this illustrated article:
Standard Gwynne
Fire Pump with covers removed
Around 5000 of these
units were built during the war by a collaborative effort between
Standard and Gwynne, who were based in West London. It isn't clear
tom me why the pump was made but it was probably the result of a
procurement competition by the War Office for fire-fighting
equipment.
| These fire pumps
were based on the prewar Standard 8 Engine coupled to a Gwynne
Rotary Pump, giving up to 230 gallons per minute at
60psi. The pump came on a trailer that could be towed
behind a car or lorry or pulled and manhandled by a
number of firemen.
If required, The pump could
be demounted from the trailer and carried nearer to the seat
of the fire, by two* operatives, using the wheelbarrow type
handles fitted at both ends. (as shown in the illustration
to the right) The pump also used a small pair of bogey
wheels to aid manoeuvrability.
Engine and Pump
There are some notable
differences in the design of the engine ancillaries,
compared to the car version:
The engine carries
magneto ignition, the magneto being mounted vertically,
above the head, where one would normally expect to see the
distributor. This
means that there is no need for a battery, hence no starter
is fitted and the engine has to be started on the handle. I
can only assume this was done to keep the weight down. |
|
A 4 gallon petrol tank is
positioned above the engine and the fuel is fed to the normal
cam-driven AC fuel pump. The
cooling water for the engine is held in a small tank alongside the
petrol tank and forms a closed loop system with the water in the
block, making a total of 6 and 1/2 gallons. As there is no radiator
or fan, special provision needs to be made to keep the engine cool,
as the water would otherwise start to boil after 15 minutes
idling. This consists of a bypass valve from the pressure side
of the pump, the water taken from there passing through a filter and
a non-return valve, then through a cooling coil in the sump and a
similar coil in the water tank, before being expelled onto the
ground. There is no clutch
or gearbox, so the flywheel drives the
pump shaft directly at engine speed, determined by the
opening of the hand throttle. The drive shaft has lubricating
glands composed of graphite impregnated fibre. These have to
be periodically adjusted to take up wear, this being achieved by a
pair of adjusting screws. It is important that the gland, lubricated
by water from the impellor is not allowed to run dry and the correct
"leak" is described as 'sufficient to cause a misty spray
inside the pump casing'. Also, another mechanism is fitted to prime
the water pump. This consists of a valve in the exhaust manifold
which is moved by hand to force exhaust gas through an ejector jet,
thereby creating a vacuum that draws up water into the impellor
until the pump is primed. Instruments comprise a water pressure, vacuum
and oil pressure gauge, (though no temperature gauge) and these
together with the main elements of the system and its controls that
I have described, along with the pump itself , are all mounted on
the one end of the casing, as shown below. 
*The
pump unit weighs in at 5 and 1/4 cwt so I think it would be a four
man job to lift it, rather than the two shown! Cutaway
Drawing: You can click on
this drawing to see an enlargement: 
Trailer
Design A
substantial braked trailer weighing over 7 cwt is supplied
with the pump unit. Two car wheels with 5,50-16 tyres are fitted.
The trailer has Bendix brakes operated on the overun by the towbar,
or by a handbrake. Three jacks provided for stability when unloading
The trailer also carries the hoses and
fittings to make the whole assembly a self contained fire-fighting
unit.
The photos below shows
the sequence of events for demounting the pump from its trailer,
requiring 3 people:
Commission
Numbers:
To be added, come back soon
Pumps in use:
The badge says
Standard Gwynne, but there appears to be a number of different or
missing items and the Trailer seems to be from somewhere else? (
Photo: Phil Homer)
A number of Pumps seem to
have found their way to the New Zealand Fire Service, here are
ones I have found:
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A
Standard Gwynne in active service towed by a Ford V8 pilot,
pictured in use with the Norsewood Fire Brigade, New Zealand
in
1964.
(courtesy of the Norsewood Fire Brigade) |
Another
Standard Gwynne in service in New Zealand (undated) (courtesy of
Plimmerton Fire Service)
Other Fire-pumps
Where are they today?
If you know the whereabouts
of a Standard Gwynne Fire pump. or know of someone that does, I
would be pleased to record its existence here, maybe with a
photograph?. Please send all material to the webmaster.
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