Station: [003] Hand and motor syringe

The manual pressure and the motorised sprayers represent the technological progress in water transport.

Manual pressure sprayers have been in use since the 16th century. A pumping station with two pistons was placed in a vat. Pump crews moved the levers of the pumping station up and down. Thus they built up pressure that pressed the water from the tub through the hose to the mouthpiece of the hose. Continuous pumping was essential to keep up the water pressure. After a few minutes of such hard work the pump crew was exhausted and had to be replaced.

You can see two hoses mounted on carts facing each other in front of our fire station. The left one is a hand pressure hose mounted on a two-axle cart. It was drawn by two horses. Parts of the pumping crew could ride on the racks of the carriage. Jet pipes, distributors and hoses were stowed away in the boxes of the cart.

The "Pompiersspritze" (pompier hose) is mounted opposite on a single-axle cart. The hose was drawn by hand to the fire. It is very manoeuvrable, also in narrow lanes. At the fire, the mounted hose was unloaded from the cart and placed on the ground.

The water tank of the carts shown here had first to be filled manually at the beginning of the operation. Then the water was pumped to the jet pipe and new water was sucked in from a pond or stream. This ensured a continuous flow of water.

The uniaxial motor hose of the Koebe company built in 1929, which is shown on the right, made pumping much easier: machine power replaced man’s muscle power, at least as long as the fuel lasted.

Please continue along the red line and have a look at the motorized pumps built between 1930 and 1980 on both sides of your path.