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Hydraulics Calculator

Pump discharge pressure worked the way the standard works it — nozzle first, back to the pump. Every coefficient, nozzle pressure and appliance loss on this page is Orem’s.

PUMP — —
—PDP psi
—Flowing gpm
—Net pump psi
—Nozzle reaction lb

Total lay from the pump to the nozzle.

5 psi per floor above the 1st · 0.5 psi per foot.

From the hydrant. Net pump pressure is PDP minus this.

Combined flow decides whether a small appliance counts 10 psi or 0.

Worked out — start at the nozzle

Pump discharge pressure—

Formula — C×Q²×L

—

Friction loss by coefficient.

Field method

—

The drill-ground shortcut.

Friction loss per 100 ft — the standard’s own table

HoseGPMFieldC×Q²×L
1-3/4"1603040
2-1/2"2651614
3"30097.2
5"1,000108 *

One discrepancy in the source. The printed table shows .08 in the 5″ C×Q²×L column. That is the coefficient repeated, not a pressure — C·Q²·L at 1,000 gpm is 0.08 × 10² × 1 = 8 psi, which is what this page uses. Worth raising with the training committee.

Nozzles

NozzleTypeGPMNP psi
7/8" tipSmooth bore — hand line16050
15/16" tipSmooth bore — hand line18550
1" tipSmooth bore — hand line20050
1-1/8" tipSmooth bore — hand line26550
1-3/16" tipSmooth bore — hand line30050
1-1/4" tipSmooth bore — hand line32550
1-3/8" tipSmooth bore — master stream50080
1-1/2" tipSmooth bore — master stream60080
1-3/4" tipSmooth bore — master stream80080
2" tipSmooth bore — master stream1,00080
TFT Mid-Matic BlueFog150100
Elkhart Select-O-MaticFog200100
Elkhart Chief XDFog16050

Orem rates the Chief XD at 50 psi, not 100. It is a fixed-gallonage nozzle and pumping it at fog pressure would badly over-pressurize it.

Coefficients & appliance loss

HoseCoefficientApplianceLoss
1"150None—
1-3/4"15.5Wye · gated wye · siamese · reducer10 / 0
2-1/2"2Deck gun · ground monitor25
3"0.8Aerial master stream — pre-plumbed (T33)25
5"0.08Playpipe (Tiller 33)15
Standpipe25
Rapid Attack Monitor10

Training reference only. Every value is transcribed from the OFD Apparatus Driver/Operator Hydraulic Calculation Standards. Elevation follows that standard — geographical 0.5 psi per foot, structural 5 psi per floor above the first, sub-level a gain subtracted from the PDP. Verify against the current standard and your own rig before pumping.