A look at the next revolution in foam.

The Siren sits down with Geary Roberts to discuss the latest in foam
management technology and the unveiling of the Advantus™ foam system.

In April, 2006, after five long years of extensive research and testing, The Waterous Arizona-based compressed air foam system (CAFS) operations released what is considered by many, to be the next revolution in foam management technology — the Advantus™ foam system.

Using an advanced conductivity-based measurement technology; the Advantus is capable of monitoring the supply water and the mixed foam solution, adjusting for deficiencies in both. Simply put, this sophisticated measuring and metering system has the capability to optimize foam production, while preventing thousands of dollars of foam concentrate from being wasted over the life of an apparatus.

To find out more about this technological breakthrough and the potential it has for the industry, we sat down with Geary Roberts to discover how the Waterous' CAFS division in Peoria, Arizona, turned an innovative idea into one of the most revolutionary products of the year.

How do you find the right equipment?
You build it yourself.

The truest method for testing a foam system's accuracy is to dip a conductivity probe into the foam solution that's produced by the system (as stated in the NFPA 1901-06 guidelines under "testing foam proportioners"). There is however, a catch; it is difficult to accurately conduct the test while the system is in a flow state.

Geary Roberts, who has more than 14-years of working with compressed air foam systems saw an opportunity to design a system that could in fact test for accuracy while operating in a flow state. Roberts just needed to find a way to integrate a conductivity measurement probe into a foam proportioning system and maintain its ability to measure the proportioner's accuracy. "In my mind it made all the sense in the world," says Roberts. "If you look at integrating the technology into the foam proportioner itself, you have a system that can self-check and self-calibrate on the fly."

With only a few commercially available conductivity probes, most of which were either too flimsy or ineffective, Waterous had only one option. "We knew the only way we were going to get an accurate and durable probe was if we developed it ourselves."
In the end, the biggest challenge facing Waterous, became its biggest success. "By developing our own conductivity probe we were able to build a system that not only outperforms other proportioners, but can be warranted and serviced through one source; the same one that manufactures the best fire pumps and CAFS in the industry."

Advanced accuracy and reliability.
One of the biggest issues surrounding volumetric proportioning systems is inaccuracy. Often, when using volume-based systems you run the risk of wasting expensive foam concentrate or you allow insufficient concentrate into the fire stream. With the Advantus,' and its measurement and metering technology, waste or inadequately low ratios are never a concern.

The conductivity probes used in the Advantus sample both supply water and foam solution as they flow through the manifold. The conductivity of water is measured first, and then the foam is injected. After injection, the conductivity of the foam solution is measured and the micro-controller begins to make several calculations per second. As it calculates, the system is retrieving data from the conductivity probes and the paddlewheel flowmeter to determine the proper injection rate for the foam concentrate. Look-up tables in the micro-controller software provide data that allows the system to adjust foam concentrate injection rates for optimal foam delivery.
"Our system uses a 16-bit micro-controller, which is head and shoulders above the rest," says Roberts. "We are also using one of the toughest foam pumps in the business."

The pump Roberts is referring to is the Hydra-Cell® pump built by Wanner Engineering of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Hydra-Cell® pump is a hydraulically balanced diaphragm pump that is able to pump suspended abrasive particles and pull a vacuum. "It's the only pump we could conceive of that could do the job," says Roberts. "Hydra-Cell® pumps can handle any contaminants or abrasives that may find its way into the foam concentrate ... competing pumps just can't do that."

Operations made simple.

"Working with hundreds of proportioners over the years helped us determine what worked best from an operating standpoint," says Roberts. "Knowing the shortcomings allowed us to produce a better overall system."

One of the improvements addressed the delicate buttons on the operator panels. "In older proportioner, companies used rubber covered buttons that frequently wore out," says Roberts. "And when they did, you had to send in the entire control head--not very cost-effective." To avoid this problem, Waterous uses stainless steel buttons that have a nice tactile feel and are designed for millions of cycles.

Other simplified operations include controls that automatically activate whenever the pump is engaged or the pump motor is started, efficient automatic default to foam operations and if foam is not required, all the operator has to do is simply push the power button, and the Advantus automatically deactivates.

"We also streamlined maintenance for the system," says Roberts. "Hook the Advantus up to a laptop and you get instant diagnostics and troubleshooting." Mr. Roberts also says that they are working on an ethernet hook-up, which will allow service technicians to send equipment data over the internet directly to Waterous. And, in most cases, it can be diagnosed and even repaired remotely.

The Future Of Foam

"It's a big cultural change," says Roberts. "Compressed air foam systems are still fairly new by industry standards, but departments that have switched to CAFS are finding out just how effective they can be."

For Waterous, the Advantus is a welcome addition to their already extensive line of CAFS equipment. It is also a nice compliment to departments and brigades out there that use large amounts of foam. Both its accuracy and advanced technology are what sets it apart from the rest of the proportioners offered today.

"When it comes to compressed air foam and even nozzle aspirated foam there are so many variables; different concentrates, differences in water hardness," says Roberts. "I would think it would be hard to go back to a volume-based system that wasn't able to take these variables into consideration."

In any case, technology that can improve performance and reduce waste can only benefit departments using CAFS. Whether it's from a budgeting standpoint or a performance standpoint, having efficient, accurate and reliable equipment is never a bad thing — especially if you're in the business of fighting fires.

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