Engine Room Extinguishers

Divemaster1

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Just been quoted for a full flood aerosol system;

£1.140 for fully automatic.
£1.600 for automatic with manual override, detector and discharge alarm. (MCA Approved).

Any ideas/thoughts on these costs.

Toatal area to cover is just under 20 M3 .... and yes we have taken into consideration the equipment, airflow, tanks etc.

....or is there another way of meeting my insurance company's requirements for an automatic system ?
 
I'm not sure there are really any suitable alternatives.

Rather like lifejackets, they're one of those pieces of safety equipment that cost more than you want to pay and may never need but when you need them, you really need them and will be glad of every penny spent!

The only thing I can suggest is that you get another couple of quotes to compare against. There's no denying fire extinguishing kit is expensive though.

Good luck
 
Yup know that ... just ripped out old CO2 system as pressure cylinder did not pass testing ... and I do not want another whopping big cylinder.... with the maintenance cost of that, hence going for aerosols.

actually what I posted here is so far the most reasonable one ... some of the other ones made my eyes water...
 
Find out what 'automatic' means, does it stop the engines. If not all of your aerosol extinguisher gas will be rapidly pumped out of the engine room via your engines resulting in a very reduced effect on the fire.
 
Automatic means "automatic discharge of agent"... and yes, I am giong for 200% coverage for the engines air consumption.
Detector in the area will detect the fire before discharge, allowing for manual engine shutdown at time of, or before discharge....
 
Have you tried Firetrace I fitted one of their systems recently - 2 Kg fully auto with alarm to cover engine bay, tank compartment and electricals behind the dash, about £700+vat all in.

Seems well made and easy to fit.

Haven't tried it yet. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Like the FireTrace principles ... but the size of system I need to cover 20 cubic metres with liquid CO2is a bit of a pain ... and my guess is that your area is not the same size, which makes it, if possible, more expensive... considering one of the self contained parts for the electrical panels next to the helm though...
 
I fitted an fm200 system last year about that price.

I am sure you would not but dont use powder as if it accidentaly goes off while the engines are running you would need to rebuild your engines.

As well as being automatic I had mine with a pull lever so if I Knew I had a fire I could set it off manually as well.
 
Apparently you shouldn't deduct the space taken by engines etc.

Also remember that if you have fireflaps you ideally need to be able to shut these along with stopping any engine room fans before discharge.

W.
 
Getting a FM200 quote from Piers' contact ... but need a 12 Kg Cylinder ... have the space, so not a real problem ... getting quotes for manual activation as well.

Know that the space taken up by the engines are not to be deducted, hence the 20 m3 .. needs.... also want to account for at least 50% excess to cater fro loss in engine air intakes etc.. On the Aerosol kit, I calculated with 200% coverage at highest concentration for C and E fires, which may have been a bit excessive.

Key as far as I see it is the detection part of the system... if fire can be detected early, then the chances for an effective discharge is better.... and if you can combine that with the isolation of batteries, fuel, engine shutdown, intake shutters etc., in the operation (can do that with the £1.600 proposal, as it involves 4x 8A relay connections ... but not the setup of them .... I could do that myself, hooking to the two engine solenoids etc., after the main installation ), then I know that I should have as good a system as I could have .... but at a certain price..
 
Appreciate all the input so far... and looks like I have to wait until I get the FM200 quote to make my desicion.... and I'll let the forum know about desicions and see if I can take some pics etc., of the installation etc., as it happens.
 
My system (FM200) automatically shuts down the engine before activating, I get a warning alarm at the helm position before this and can elect to disable the shutdown if I wish.

The only time I have experienced this was when I forgot to switch on the engine space blowers after slowing down and continued at reduced speed for some time.

Tom
 
I have the Sea-Fire system installed. If the temperature increases in the engine room to the point where the FM200 sensor bulb melts/breaks, the extinguisher fires. Falling bottle pressure triggers a switch which shuts down the engines, generators and blowers.

If the system has not fired automatically, the manual handle overrides it. If all is then OK. setting the Sea-Fire Normal/Override switch to Override allows the engines etc to be re-started.
 
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