Sea-fire Automatic fire extinguisher

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hullabaloo

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Hello
Our Sea-fire Automatic fire extinguisher is showing red on the gauge,
i asked the guy / company who yearly services our extinguishers at work but he ran for the hills.
where do you get your seafire auto extinguisher serviced ? and how often ?

thanks
 
I occasionally see Sea Fire (and other types) extinguishers installed in the engine rooms of boats here - and invariably they have never been serviced.
I suggest to the owners that for peace of mind, it is well worthwhile getting them serviced annually - if only to get a piece of paper from the service agent to say that this has been done.

Some years ago a large sportsfishing boat went on fire here when they were only a couple of miles offshore after nearing the end of a 100 mile passage from the Grenadines. I think the cause was a burst oil line in the engine room, that sprayed oil on to the turbo - I don't know the full details, but when they went to investigate and lifted the access hatch to the engine room under the saloon, flames jumped out at them. They just had time to sling the RHIB on the foredeck overboard and abandon ship - thankfully they were not far offshore. It would have been a different story if they had to abandon ship midway between the islands, and 50 miles from either.
I don't know if their automatic CO2 extinguisher had gone off - if it had fired, then the extraction fans might have pumped the air out (there was no facility on the boat for remote closing of the ventilation dampers, such as might be required on a commercial boat).
Anyway, as a result of this incident insurance companies here are now rather jittery about fires on boats, so I recommend to boat owners to get their auto extinguishers inspected annually, regardless, even if they appear to be in good condition and the gauge is 'in the green'.
 
Bajansailor said:
I occasionally see Sea Fire (and other types) extinguishers installed in the engine rooms of boats here - and invariably they have never been serviced.
I suggest to the owners that for peace of mind, it is well worthwhile getting them serviced annually - if only to get a piece of paper from the service agent to say that this has been done.

Some years ago a large sportsfishing boat went on fire here when they were only a couple of miles offshore after nearing the end of a 100 mile passage from the Grenadines. I think the cause was a burst oil line in the engine room, that sprayed oil on to the turbo - I don't know the full details, but when they went to investigate and lifted the access hatch to the engine room under the saloon, flames jumped out at them. They just had time to sling the RHIB on the foredeck overboard and abandon ship - thankfully they were not far offshore. It would have been a different story if they had to abandon ship midway between the islands, and 50 miles from either.
I don't know if their automatic CO2 extinguisher had gone off - if it had fired, then the extraction fans might have pumped the air out (there was no facility on the boat for remote closing of the ventilation dampers, such as might be required on a commercial boat).
Anyway, as a result of this incident insurance companies here are now rather jittery about fires on boats, so I recommend to boat owners to get their auto extinguishers inspected annually, regardless, even if they appear to be in good condition and the gauge is 'in the green'.
Click to expand...
I doubt many people in the UK have ever had their tested and serviced. This isn't great as even Y's insurance policy required automatic engine room fire extinguisher's to be maintained.
 
When my boat turned 10 years old two years ago my engineer pointed out that after 10 years
the cylinder has to have a hydrostatic test as part of the service schedule and on checking the insurance small print
I’m glad I swallowed the pill and had it returned to Sea Fire for testing , refilling and certified for another 10 years.
Give yourself plenty of time to get done as we waited nearly two months to get it turned around.
cheers
Tetleys
 
Yes they are great. Had mine 10 year pressure tested & serviced etc. Took it to their place in Portsmouth. They will give you a quote, was very fair.

Service agent in the SoF said had to be replaced. Load of rubbish, plenty life left as confirmed by Sea-fire.
 
tetleys said:
Give yourself plenty of time to get done as we waited nearly two months to get it turned around.
cheers
Tetleys
Click to expand...
I thought you said 2 months at the first glance,
so I glanced again.
geewiz you did write 2 months, I hope this is a typo,
I will give them a call sooner rather than later!
 
hullabaloo said:
I thought you said 2 months at the first glance,
so I glanced again.
geewiz you did write 2 months, I hope this is a typo,
I will give them a call sooner rather than later!
Click to expand...
I think it was 3wks for me but that was pre-covid. They send the cylinders to Ocean Safety for the pressure test as they don't have the kit for that. The reassuring thing is their building is full of these things so they do know what they are doing.
 
hullabaloo said:
Hello
Our Sea-fire Automatic fire extinguisher is showing red on the gauge,
i asked the guy / company who yearly services our extinguishers at work but he ran for the hills.
where do you get your seafire auto extinguisher serviced ? and how often ?

thanks
Click to expand...
Wait for the weather to warm up and check it again.
 
The fluid inside is likely HFC227a which is a refrigerant. As the temperature falls so will its pressure. If you allow it to warm back to say 10oC does it go back into the safe zone ?

More important is the cylinder weight, which should match the weight mark on the cylinder.

It is interesting as few understand what 'Service' means - generally an inspection and weigh of the cylinder. If these both pass why bother taking out the refrigerant and risk loss of at least 10 - 20% in hose purge losses from a typical cylinder.
 
superheat6k said:
The fluid inside is likely HFC227a which is a refrigerant. As the temperature falls so will its pressure. If you allow it to warm back to say 10oC does it go back into the safe zone ?

More important is the cylinder weight, which should match the weight mark on the cylinder.

It is interesting as few understand what 'Service' means - generally an inspection and weigh of the cylinder. If these both pass why bother taking out the refrigerant and risk loss of at least 10 - 20% in hose purge losses from a typical cylinder.
Click to expand...
Its FM200
 
hullabaloo said:
I thought you said 2 months at the first glance,
so I glanced again.
geewiz you did write 2 months, I hope this is a typo,
I will give them a call sooner rather than later!
Click to expand...
That did include approx total of 10 days in transport as boat is in Jersey and Sea Fire sub contract the test and apparently at the time their machine was out of action. My engineer and myself where very unimpressed as communication was poor and no sense of urgency. It was actually nearer 3 months having looked at my paperwork. Thank goodness it’s only every 10 years.
cheers Tetleys
 
tetleys said:
That did include approx total of 10 days in transport as boat is in Jersey and Sea Fire sub contract the test and apparently at the time their machine was out of action. My engineer and myself where very unimpressed as communication was poor and no sense of urgency. It was actually nearer 3 months having looked at my paperwork. Thank goodness it’s only every 10 years.
cheers Tetleys
Click to expand...
Mine was a single FD900 M from a Targa 47 ,the Sea Fire part of my bill excluding any shipping was £900 exc vat .
 
Forty_Two said:
Service agent in the SoF said had to be replaced. Load of rubbish, plenty life left as confirmed by Sea-fire.
Click to expand...
I was recommended a local fire extinguisher company in Spain to service mine. They came to the boat and had a look after which there was a lot heated debate in Spanish before they attempted to remove it. Things got worse when they accidentally discharged it and then declared it a write off. This invalidated my insurance meaning that we had to carry a large portable extinguisher to take the boat out (that Y kindly agreed to).

A €1500 was subsequently procured and fitted.
 
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