If you have Sonihull heed this warning.

Elessar

Elessar

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Mine filled the cabin with smoke this weekend and melted. Lucky I was delayed in the marina by jergen and he was there to help me rip beds out to find the source of the stink. Then point my biggest fire extinguisher at it whilst I cut the power to it. I think I was very lucky to have to have been there as it was going to ignite or ignite something.
If you have one, turn it off until I get a reply from Sonihull.
 
Elessar said:
Mine filled the cabin with smoke this weekend and melted. Lucky I was delayed in the marina by jergen and he was there to help me rip beds out to find the source of the stink. Then point my biggest fire extinguisher at it whilst I cut the power to it. I think I was very lucky to have to have been there as it was going to ignite or ignite something.
If you have one, turn it off until I get a reply from Sonihull.
Click to expand...

Sounds a close call, thank god you were there and all ok. Will be interesting to hear the diagnosis.
 
Elessar said:
Mine filled the cabin with smoke this weekend and melted. Lucky I was delayed in the marina by jergen and he was there to help me rip beds out to find the source of the stink. Then point my biggest fire extinguisher at it whilst I cut the power to it. I think I was very lucky to have to have been there as it was going to ignite or ignite something.
If you have one, turn it off until I get a reply from Sonihull.
Click to expand...

Just looked at the Sonihull website
It seems that they also market fire extinguishers!
Maybe you didn't buy the complete solution from them.

Still - good that you were there to save the day.
 
Thats interesting because there is a technical article in this month's Passagemaker magazine extolling the virtues of ultrasonic antifouling and in particular, the Sonihull product. There was no mention of a fire risk. Thanks for the heads up on this because based on the article I was thinking of trying the Sonihull product but now I think I'll give it a miss
 
If its been designed properly it should be made from self extinguishing plastics, with preferably its own inbuilt fuse device. All electronic devices contain things called electrolytic capacitors which can catch fire (and they do but rarely). Usually when they fail you get a lot of smoke and a terrible smell. So problem may be just seriously bad luck on your part. And good luck you and Jurgen were there at the time. Do you have smoke detectors on board?
 
kashurst said:
If its been designed properly it should be made from self extinguishing plastics, with preferably its own inbuilt fuse device. All electronic devices contain things called electrolytic capacitors which can catch fire (and they do but rarely). Usually when they fail you get a lot of smoke and a terrible smell. So problem may be just seriously bad luck on your part. And good luck you and Jurgen were there at the time. Do you have smoke detectors on board?
Click to expand...

Yes 4 detectors, none sounded. And an auto extinguisher in the space under the bed because there are electrical things there, but obviously that needs a live fire.
It wasn't a capacitor that burned, it was the connector to the ultrasonic head. Same result though smoke and stink.
It may well be true that they are self extinguishing but I didn't know that when I was pointing the extinguisher at it in case it ignited.
 
kashurst said:
If its been designed properly it should be made from self extinguishing plastics, with preferably its own inbuilt fuse device. All electronic devices contain things called electrolytic capacitors which can catch fire (and they do but rarely). Usually when they fail you get a lot of smoke and a terrible smell.
Click to expand...

There's a nearby cottage owned as a second home. After a weekend visit, the owner closed down all the electrics, and four days after he left, the TV burst into flames, causing a lot of damage before the Fire Brigade sorted it out.

The FB forensic chap showed me how the smoke patterns on the switches proved that they were OFF during the fire. Other smoke patterns showed where the fire started, which was near the TV. The final answer was that the capacitors had retained the charge for several days before one of them failed catastrophically and set fire to the TV Internals.


I get a bit twitchy about leaving electrical stuff ON when leaving the house now :(
 
Ok update. Spoke to them and sent them a photo - they were most concerned and said it was a one off (and I believe them) They asked me to send it back and immediately dispatched a new one. Will be interested to hear what they say when they've investigated it. Will let you know :)
 
Elessar said:
Ok update. Spoke to them and sent them a photo - they were most concerned and said it was a one off (and I believe them) They asked me to send it back and immediately dispatched a new one. Will be interested to hear what they say when they've investigated it. Will let you know :)
Click to expand...
Hmmm. I would be very cynical about a 1-off Mark. You may be the first to experience this, but I am not a great believer in 1-offs.
 
Elessar said:
Ok update. Spoke to them and sent them a photo - they were most concerned and said it was a one off (and I believe them) They asked me to send it back and immediately dispatched a new one. Will be interested to hear what they say when they've investigated it. Will let you know :)
Click to expand...

I think I would be mindful of powering up the new one and leaving the boat without knowing what did happen to your original one.
 
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