tiny kart, HAD to buy it....

[firemanjim]

Here is a couple pics. Was raining when I got home so its still in the Tahoe. Tell ya the story tomorrow. Good night.....

 

[itsid]

Boy that's cute.. it already looks like a firetruck...
some water'n'soap and one or two decals and you have a perfect little boys dream.

Or, thanks to the nice frame, some bendable plywood to add a 60s style formular race car body...

This is great, I have an idea why you HAD to

'sid

 

[Oxymoron]

I like the steering wheel The driver pulley looks cool too. So, what's the scoop?

 

[firemanjim]

Ok, so here is the story..... found this on craigslist for $100. It was built by a retired electrician named Eddie Wells for his newborn grandson. (Notice how close pedal is to seat) From what I've been told,by the time he was done, the child was too big to fit, so no one got to enjoy it. Sad......
It was built using emt conduit brazed together, all bent by hand. Its pretty heavy for such a tiny kart. And SOLID..... This cat actually made his own clutch! Too cool, and talented.....The brake and throttle are on the same pedal. At rest,the brakes are applied, and push the pedal to throttle up makes brake release and then throttle activates..... really cool work for a man who never had a go kart..... It has Ackermann too! Check it out!
Not sure if Im gonna just hang this on a wall as art or modify it for one of my lil monsters to ride.... Took a pic next to hydrant so you get an idea how small it reall is.....
So what do y'all think? I only paid $60...... SCORE!

 

[OzFab]

Took a pic next to hydrant so you get an idea how small it reall is.....

...& how does that help me, we don't have hydrants over here...

But, I get the idea from the truck behind it...

So what do y'all think? I only paid $60...... SCORE!

Great score, even if it does just turn out to be a display piece

 

[danssoslow]

That is pretty freakin cool! If you are having any doubts about doing any modding to it, and feel like it'd be a cool wall hanger (which I agree with); just leave it as-is and let the kids enjoy it. What kind of changes would you have to make to ready it for your kids?

 

[Doc Sprocket]

...& how does that help me, we don't have hydrants over here...

So... What the heck does your local fire brigade tie into, to get enough water to put out a blaze?

The little kart is cool. I like the fact that if you have a blowout, the spare tire is quite literally at your fingertips...

The combined brake and throttle is a lovely idea for small children. Completely cuts out any operation confusion, and entirely eliminates the common problem of kids burning the clutch from pushing both pedals at the same time.

 

[firemanjim]

Dan, if you look, the pedal is about 4" from the seat......might just add an extension.cause I really like the way it is. If I cant easily make it a "driver", Im gonna just hang it up somewhere. I think its just too cool to have passed up.....

 

[Oxymoron]

Cool story behind the kart. Electricians are awesome

 

[OzFab]

So... What the heck does your local fire brigade tie into, to get enough water to put out a blaze?

We have hydrant points, just not the big red thing jutting out of the ground, the location of which is usually near an intersection (so you can't park next to it) & is marked on a power pole

This one (pictured) is literally right outside my house (the pole features in one or two of my vids...) & the ironic part is that until about 2 years ago it was totally overgrown to the point that, if you didn't know it was there, you wouldn't have known it was there

 

[firemanjim]

So the hydrant points are not pressure fed? Our hydrants flow @ 60 psi and I can fill a 1000 gallon tank in about 4+ minutes..... IF it even takes that long.

 

[itsid]

Ours are under the street (well 95% of the times) as they are in Australia ;
and they are under pressure, just as the common water supply (same line)
that is anywhere from 4-10 bar [58-145 psi] (6.5bar / 94psi at my home)

And according to wikipedia, depending on the size of the hydrant connector it can feed up to 4500l/min (1189 gal/min) for a 300mm pipe.

Sounds like enough pressure for me

'sid

 

[OzFab]

What he said...

 

[firemanjim]

So the hydrant points are not pressure fed? Our hydrants flow @ 60 psi and I can fill a 1000 gallon tank in about 4+ minutes..... IF it even takes that long.

My post was a little mis leading. Hydrants in the U.S are painted certain colors , not to be pretty or nice looking, but in order for firemen to know how much water they can get from it at a glance. The areas of my district that are lucky enough to have hydrants, are blessed to have blue[/ B] hydrants ,wich flow at an average of 60psi are flow 1500 gpm or more. Blue hydrants provide the most water. The psi is kinda determined by the water district board, but they use fire dept input to make the decisions. It can vary much like yours,50 - 100 psi....It really depends on a lot of factors.
And it takes 4+ minutes to stop, hook up hose,fill tank,disconnect hose,and go..... On water shuttle runs,the hose will stay connected, and left behind by first truck. All trucks there after only have to connect n disconnect instead of unloading n loading a hose every time.