TurboDraft Test - Kansas (2010)
 
By President Mark Davis
April 30, 2015
 

While sorting through some photos we found information from a test that we did on a Turbo-Draft device back in 2010 while conducting one of our 2-day Rural Water Supply Operations Seminars in Marion County, Kansas. The goal was to see what kind of "gain" would be obtained when using the TurboDraft.

Given some of the recent discussion in our Members Area about TurboDraft - we decided to put the info into a News Story. The full report is available under the Data Tab of the Big Water Information Tab on our Home Page.

April 2010
Lincolnville Engine 1 - 1,500 gpm pumper with a 1,000 gal on-board water tank.

3,000-gallon dump tank

100 feet of 3-inch hose supplied the TurboDraft which sent water via 100 feet of 4-inch LDH to the dump tank.

Using on-board tank water and a 200 psi pump discharge pressure, the 3,000-gallon dump tank was filled to overflow in 4:15 minutes - which equates to about 705 gpm. The engine used just about all of its 1,000 gallons of tank water - so in effect - that 1,000 gallons of water acquired 2,000 additional gallons - thus equalling the capacity of the 3,000-gallon tank.
 
The TurboDraft device that was tested. The 5-inch Storz outlet was reduced to 4-inch Storz.
The TurboDraft device that was tested. The 5-inch Storz outlet was reduced to 4-inch Storz.
A crew of three deploys the device into the lake.
A crew of three deploys the device into the lake.
 
Ready to go - it could be out a little bit farther but it worked just fine in this location.
Ready to go - it could be out a little bit farther but it worked just fine in this location.
The hose layout.
The hose layout.
 
The 3,000-gallon dump tank was used as the "control" measure. It sat on level ground. The 4-inch line from the TurboDraft fed into the suction hose so that a kink would not form going over the top of the tank. There were no control valves anywhere on this part of the set-up.
The 3,000-gallon dump tank was used as the "control" measure. It sat on level ground. The 4-inch line from the TurboDraft fed into the suction hose so that a kink would not form going over the top of the tank. There were no control valves anywhere on this part of the set-up.
The stopwatch was started when water first entered the dump tank. The timer was stopped when the dump tank overflowed.
The stopwatch was started when water first entered the dump tank. The timer was stopped when the dump tank overflowed.
 
The tank was full in 4:15-minutes which equated to a flow of about 705 gpm. Of course, there is some variance (exact tank size, exact moment of flow starting and stopping, etc) - but we think this test provides a reasonable example of the device's performance.
The tank was full in 4:15-minutes which equated to a flow of about 705 gpm. Of course, there is some variance (exact tank size, exact moment of flow starting and stopping, etc) - but we think this test provides a reasonable example of the device's performance.