Akron Brass Introduces Link2 Vehicle Monitoring, StreamMaster II Monitor at FDIC

FDIC is the home of new product rollouts, and this year’s show is living up to that expectation. One company with two stand-out product introductions this year: Akron Brass. Before the show opened, I visited with Akron Brass staff to get a sneak peek at the new Link2 vehicle monitoring system and the StreamMaster II, the next generation of Akron’s popular electric monitor.

Link2
If your apparatus could talk, what would it say to you? Would it tell you when it needs maintenance, alert you to a possible engine issue, indicate when it’s low on coolant?

Until now, fire apparatus maintenance was a guessing game–try to determine when an apparatus needs work, and troubleshoot problems as they arise rather than preventing them ahead of time. But Akron Brass’ Link2 is changing all that.

“Link2 is like the missing link between apparatus operators and apparatus maintenance technicians,” says Jeff Zook, Akron product line manager. “Ad hoc maintenance now can be done at set periods, which saves time and money.”

So how does it work?

Link2 is a module that connects to your vehicle and wirelessly monitors things like engine diagnostics, ABS status, drivetrain warnings, water and foam tank levels, pump hours, run distance and mileage and a whole host of other information. The module comes on automatically when you start the truck, and when you pull the rig back into the station after a run, it wirelessly transmits the data and populates it to an easy-to-use web interface.

Collecting the data is one thing, but the genius of Link2 lies in how it helps you make sense of it. It can be programmed with your parameters to send you email warnings; for example, when an engine diagnostic light comes on. “The email doesn’t just give you the diagnostic code, but interprets it for you in plain English, so you know what’s wrong,” Zook says. “With Link2, you tailor the data you get; you don’t just get a data blob thrown at you every 20 minutes. You configure alerts for the data you want to see.”

And the web interface furthers that data interpretation. It consists of four sections: vehicle dashboard, alerts, maintenance schedules, and electronic inspection, which is an electronic version of your morning apparatus check and can be customized for your department. You can also pull up a snapshot of the vehicle and research the vehicle’s last run.

Zook reports strong initial interest in the Link2. “The reaction has been fantastic,” he says. “There’s really a need for this. It allows data to be shared between operators and maintenance personnel, and that saves time and money for both of them.”

StreamMaster II Electric Monitor
Modern fireground research is putting more emphasis on the ability to hit the fire from the outside, making a quick cool down before firefighters go interior. Tools that allow firefighters to do this have always existed, but fortunately, they’re getting better and easier to use.

One such tool: Akron Brass’ StreamMaster II, a mid-range monitor that can flow up to 2,000 gpm and comes in a variety of models that can be mounted to an aerial ladder or a pumper. Akron’s StreamMaster I is a popular installation on many apparatus, and the new model is an obvious improvement on the older. “It’s lighter–a big deal for aerial installations–smaller and more efficient,” says Jeff Benson, Akron global product line manager. “And it comes in at a lower price point than the StreamMaster I.”

The new model is kind of like a combination of the StreamMaster I and the StreamMaster XT, which provides an extra 30 degrees of travel to allow the aerial to operate below the fire. “The StreamMaster II makes standard all options that were available on those two models,” Benson says. Those extras include oscillation, stow/deploy positions and obstacle avoidance, which allows you to program in anything stationary on the apparatus that you want to monitor to avoid (you can of course control it manually as well).

Although the StreamMaster II is smaller, it actually achieves less friction loss than its predecessor due to the unique path the water takes through the monitor and the fact that the gear box is outside the waterway.

OEMs are already taking notice of the StreamMaster II, Benson notes, in part because it’s incredibly easy to install. There’s just one piece to mount, and the onboard control box has a USB port for quick access to computerized diagnostics and in-the-field software updates.

When you need big water, you want confidence in your deck-mounted or aerial monitor. The StreamMaster II provides that confidence–in a package that’s lighter, smaller, cheaper and more technologically advanced than ever before.

Visit Akron Brass at booth #3637 to see the Link2, Streammaster II and more at FDIC this week, or visit www.akronbrass.com.