We are very pleased to announce an upcoming joint venture research project with our friends Mike Guzy and Henry Lovett at Water Supply Innovations, LLC (WSI). For many years we have struggled to quantify the flow capabilities of fire department suction hose strainers. During our training classes it is clear that certain strainer styles and designs out perform others, but we have never had the time to complete a scientific analysis of what we know to be true.

This summer, we decided to move forward with conducting flow test research on a variety of different style suction strainers - barrels, low-levels, floating, etc and produce a document that combines the test results in one location. The folks at WSI hopped right on the offer to join forces and we are all set for a September 30th day of flowing water and collecting data. The plan is to control all variables in the drafting equation except the suction strainer. Thus, when we change out suction strainers, the data captured should be pretty darn "pure."

The important part of this research is that NO manufacturer is involved in funding the project or helping with the project in any way. We view this as a true, "third-party" research project.

There are a number of folks involved in this project and no one is receiving compensation, including the fire department providing the pumper or the training center providing the facility.

To help cover some of the operating expenses for the day (fuel, test equipment, etc) we established a Go Fund Me account to collect a few dollars so that our time is the only expense encountered. Any left over funds from the Go Fund Me account will be donated to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

To support our research efforts on this important matter, please go to our Go Fund Me link below:

https://www.gofundme.com/gotbigwater-suction-strainer-flow-test-project

Video results of our study will be posted some time on mid-October with a complete report posted by November 30th.