Dump Site Operations #39 - Old School Open Butt Jet Siphon
By President Mark Davis
February 5, 2026
A few photos from our 2013 seminar in Fitzwilliam, NH at the Meadowood Area Fire Department's Fire Training Center. We were so honored to teach at this facility for it had a whole bunch of history for fire service folks throughout New England. We were sorting some photos and found the ones we took of a water transfer set-up we built using an open-butt end of 1-3/4" hose, a 25-ft length of rope, and a 10-ft section of suction hose - no nozzle needed. The homemade jet siphon worked pretty well; we used to demo this skill as part of the seminar but in reality, there are a number of things that can go "wrong" so we removed it from the skills packet. From a water motive efficiency perspective it probably ranks low on efficiency; but absent no water transfer device, the set-up was better than 0 gpm transferred. We no longer endorse the skill for safety reasons, we just wanted to show some pictures of the end product because we had someone ask.
A "hasty-made" jet siphon using some rope and a length of 1-3/4" hose. Worked pretty well - we just don't show it anymore because too many things can go wrong in the execution.
An awesome training center with an incredible amount of history. Unfortunately it is no longer open.