Reviews
The following are three evaluations of The Klump Pump performance on a fire and during testing:
Todd Sexton, Garden Valley Helitack, Boise National Forest
The problem with a conventional fold a tank is the logistics; find a level spot, set the pump up, wondering if all of the fittings arrived, fill the tank and hopefully start the pump. The spot that we had to put the tank would have been marginal for a fold a tank because of the uneven surface and tree stobs, not to mention that it would have taken hours to set up.
We received our Klump Pump and had it filled in about one hour (about half of a fuel cycle) while it was being filled we laid out the hose and once it was filled started the pump and proceeded to spray water. The first tank of water was used for suppression and it worked, it bought us the time we needed to limb trees and line the spots, effectively stopping the spread of the fire.
The final size of the fire was estimated to be about three and a half acres, which by the way, worked out to be a little over and acre per person as there were only three of us on the fire.
Tom Schultz, Gables North IC, Engine Captain, Boise National Forest
"I used the Klump Pump to help control and mop up an initial attack fire in a remote portion of the Boise National Forest. The Klump Pump worked great. It was just like having a Type-4 engine parked next to your fire. Refilling the Klump Pump can be done in a timely manner with a light or medium helicopter and having the ability to put this water directly where you need it is a definite advantage over helicopter bucket drops. The unit was easy to use and worked perfectly. All posted instructions/directions were easy to understand. The plumbing on the tank was easy to follow and very similar to the model 52 engines that many firefighters have operated.
Ron Chaplin-Pilot, PJ Helicopters, Total time in helicopters: 15,000(+) hours, USFS and CDF Carded Helicopter pilot since 1988
"As a reference for Jim Klump and his Klump Pump, I was personally involved in the testing of the Klump Pump by flying the machine with a UH-1 (Huey) on a 100 foot long line. At no time did the machine pose any in-flight, and, in fact, flew so smooth I hardly noticed it was on the line. I further participated in the testing by filling the machine using a 324 gallon Bambi bucket with no apparent problems. I did test drops with the Bambi full of water at various heights to test the toughness of the machine and it again passed with flying colors. Three years later, in September 2006, I had the opportunity to actually fly the machine on the Bar Fire near Weaverville, CA with both a UH-1H and a Bell 214 on 100 foot long line. The machine flew then as it did when I first tested it, very smoothly with no bucking or spinning in flight."
