TRUDESIGN Red Hose Reel Fire Nozzle Brass Director & Clamp

When I was a kid I misheard the Stevie Wonder song: "For once in my life I won't let Zorro hurt me, not like he's hurt me before..." I was confused. True, Zorro used to bully poor old Sgt Garcia a bit (Sgt Garcia, you big, fat pig." Zzzt zzzt zzt with the sword and a big 'Z' appears on Garcia's belly or buttock), but I thought he was OK. I wondered just what he'd done to poor (and blind) Stevie to hurt him. Imagine my relief, thirty years later, when I discovered that Stevie had been talking about "Sorrow" not "Zorro".

Be that as it may, I am talking about Zorro, and how it hurt me. Spoiler: happy ending.

Here's what I'm looking for in a nozzle for a farm firefighting unit:
1. You've got to be able to shut the water off completely at the nozzle, instead of running back to the pump all the time. That wastes water.
2. You want a long-distance knock-down jet pattern.
3. You also want a spray pattern, still pretty focused, using a lot less water, to spray along, rather than through the line of fire. This is what I use the most.
4. The wider, fog-type pattern is less important, except for structures and personal protection.
5. You want to be able to adjust it easily under full water pressure.

My previous Zorro Fire Nozzle let me down, big-time. The plastic adjusting collar that controls the whole thing became unstuck from the metal barrel. This meant that you would twist the collar and nothing would happen-no control of water whatsoever. I was just twisting the collar by hand when it failed. No Snowy Hydro water pressures, just a 6.5 HP twin impeller firefighter pump; the collar is just not attached securely enough to the barrel. The nylon washer just inside the orifice also failed, giving all streams a Grey Nurse, gap-toothed pattern. The Phillips head screw to access this washer is made, as far as I can tell, from case-hardened plasticine and the head promptly stripped. These issues emerged in the Black Summer bushfires when every drop of water counted. Say no more.

The TRUEDESIGN red plastic nozzle is a different story. It works a treat; the design has less to go wrong, plus it's made by our mates in New Zealand. You've got to tweak the pump pressure a bit to get that semi-tight, low volume spray I like, then boost it for jet work. That's ok. Note: that rubber tip thing has nothing to do with controlling the water, so it can't fail like the Zorro one. It's just there to protect the rocks if I drop the nozzle on the ground. This thing suits me fine.

When I was a kid I misheard the Stevie Wonder song: "For once in my life I won't let Zorro hurt me, not like he's hurt me before..." I was confused. True, Zorro used to bully poor old Sgt Garcia a bit (Sgt Garcia, you big, fat pig." Zzzt zzzt zzt with the sword and a big 'Z' appears on Garcia's belly or buttock), but I thought he was OK. I wondered just what he'd done to poor (and blind) Stevie to hurt him. Imagine my relief, thirty years later, when I discovered that Stevie had been talking about "Sorrow" not "Zorro".

Be that as it may, I am talking about Zorro, and how it hurt me. Spoiler: happy ending.

Here's what I'm looking for in a nozzle for a farm firefighting unit:
1. You've got to be able to shut the water off completely at the nozzle, instead of running back to the pump all the time. That wastes water.
2. You want a long-distance knock-down jet pattern.
3. You also want a spray pattern, still pretty focused, using a lot less water, to spray along, rather than through the line of fire. This is what I use the most.
4. The wider, fog-type pattern is less important, except for structures and personal protection.
5. You want to be able to adjust it easily under full water pressure.

My previous Zorro Fire Nozzle let me down, big-time. The plastic adjusting collar that controls the whole thing became unstuck from the metal barrel. This meant that you would twist the collar and nothing would happen-no control of water whatsoever. I was just twisting the collar by hand when it failed. No Snowy Hydro water pressures, just a 6.5 HP twin impeller firefighter pump; the collar is just not attached securely enough to the barrel. The nylon washer just inside the orifice also failed, giving all streams a Grey Nurse, gap-toothed pattern. The Phillips head screw to access this washer is made, as far as I can tell, from case-hardened plasticine and the head promptly stripped. These issues emerged in the Black Summer bushfires when every drop of water counted. Say no more.

The TRUEDESIGN red plastic nozzle is a different story. It works a treat; the design has less to go wrong, plus it's made by our mates in New Zealand. You've got to tweak the pump pressure a bit to get that semi-tight, low volume spray I like, then boost it for jet work. That's ok. Note: that rubber tip thing has nothing to do with controlling the water, so it can't fail like the Zorro one. It's just there to protect the rocks if I drop the nozzle on the ground. This thing suits me fine.