Engine room fire extinguisher

[Csail]

The main engine room auto fire extinguisher has emptied itself but they want £400 for a new system (old stuff is illegal now) so should i bother? My biggest concern is if there was a fire i need to remove the seat, carpets then get the huge floor panels up which would make the fire worse.

 

[sarabande]

Umm ! Sounds as if you might get a better value from a new system altogether, rather than have part of an old system replaced.

Your concern about access to a fire is solveable by having a remote manual or automatic discharge. A small, say 3 inch dia, hole with a removeable panel is also a quick way of squirting an extinguisher into the engine compartment without letting too much air in.

 

[widgeon]

I have a plate with a hole and internal diffuser in the side of my engine compartment, adjacent to the alternator and starter. I have a CO2 fire extinguisher with a bayonet fitting on the end, in place of the standard horn, that locks into the hole in the plate. It is a system that I have seen used on commercial, big-ship electronics cabinets. Unfortunately, I don't know who made the plate and injector, but the people who service my extinguishers recognised it as a standard item.

In the best of all worlds, I think that I would have an automatic system and the ability to inject more CO2 without opening the compartment.

 

[2Tizwoz]

Seems like an expensive fire extinguisher.

Would this type suffice? On ebay

Or a more expensive gas type

 

[Csail]

Trouble iis with those types is in a bigish engine room they might miss the fire. Our current one discharges at the point of the fire.

 

[ccscott49]

The point of firem extiguisher systems are some of the best, with a halon repalcement gas, that´s the way I would go, in fact I have.

 

[2Tizwoz]

How big's the boat? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

This size does up to 40sq. metres

 

[Csail]

Also not keen on powder. The engine room is only about 4 sq. m.

 

[pyrojames]

CO2 or halon replacement are the way to go. Prefereably automatic. Works, mostly, for the shiiping industry.

 

[Ruffles]

Something I've always wondered. If you're motoring and there's a fire, would you hear the extinguisher go off? I can envisage a situation where, say, an oil leak ignites, the extinguisher puts the fire out, which then re-ignites when the gas dissipates.

BTW I have to replace my firemaster this year. The pressure guage shows the needle in the 'green' but the cannister is obviously empty!

 

[pyrojames]

If the extiguisher puts out a fire in your engine bay, there is a 99% chance it will stop you engine too. So a) you will probaly notice /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif and b) the oil leak fire should be put out too. Although re-ignition is not uncommon as the fire gases and CO2 cool and suck fresh air back into the space. It all depends on the temperature of the engine/exhaust and the fuel remaining in the engine bay.