But thanks to Air Canada I'm still wearing my old glasses, so I still can't see so well. Therefore, for added precaution, I'm getting a bucket of water and a pitcher of water (before I shut the water off), in case something bad happens like something catching on fire, due to sloppy aim with the torch later on. Fortunately nothing bad happened, but it's always good to be sure anyway. So here's a bucket and pitcher of safety:
Now I'm deciding where to install the firehose hookup. The watermain
coming in seems to be approximately six to eight inches. That's a little
more than we need:
The watermain supplies a 4 inch iron pipe for the sprinklers (note the
number "4" written on the elbow):
This green pipe is a 1.5 inch water supply to the showers, etc., so
it seems like a good choice. Since most fire hoses are 1.5 inches in
diameter, this seems like the best place to tap in:
So I shut off the water:
Now I let any residual water out of the system, through a GHT
(Garden Hose Thread) coupling previously installed for that very purpose:
Now I grab the pipecutter, and cutout a section of pipe:
I prop up the part below what I'm cutting, so it won't sag down:
Now I finish cutting out a piece of pipe:
This gives me a short piece of copper pipe that I am cleaning with
alumina 180 sandcloth, because I plan to put it to good use later on
(note the green color of the copper --- perhaps that's why ground wires
are green, to denote the fact that they are connected usually to copper
pipes):
Once I have cleaned all the copper oxide off of it,
I light up the acetylene
torch to solder on the firehose connector. This is the most common size
of firehose connector, 1.5 inch NPT (National Pipe Thread). This will
later accept a quarter turn quick release connector.
I used non-lead solder, because this is actually drinkable water. Getting
an education in emergency planning is like taking a drink from a firehose.
Now I have a short pice of pipe with a 1.5 inch NPT connection.
So I solder this to a 1.5 inch ball valve that I bought at Home Depot.
To keep the ball valve innards cool (to avoid damage to the seal),
I fill it with snow, and pile up some snow around the outside of it.
I next install a "T" fitting, and join it into the water pipe:
We are now ready!!! We are now prepared... to hose down the participants. As usual, DECONference will be held in the warm weather, but if this were a real emergency, it could happen at any time of year! We are ready!