[TowerTalk] ...Compressed Air Driven Tower

[Jim Lux]

>
>>They're not something you bolt to a trailer and use once a year at FD.
>Beg to differ there, Jim: occasional use is exactly what they *are* good 
>for. It's an essential feature for their intended military or commercial 
>application. Both of mine had been stored a long time (one was NOS, the 
>other had seen some field use) and they both went up with no problems.
>
>It's no trouble to keep them pressurized for the FD weekend, and if you 
>store them correctly (read: dry inside) for the rest of the year, they 
>should be fine for next time.

Perhaps I should distinguish between bolting to a trailer in a depot with 
soldiers to take care of it on a monthly basis, and bolting to a trailer 
and leaving it in a dirt lot until the 3rd weekend in June when it gets 
hosed off and loaded up with other junk for a trip to a hill on the 4th 
weekend.  You're right, they ARE designed for occasional use (with proper 
storage) in some cases: The ones that run the dishes up and down on news 
trucks get used many times a day, and are basically the same sort of design 
with telescoping tubes,seals, etc.