A while back there was a discussion on underhood fire suppression and a
message sent about what to use. I work with fire sprinkler systems but am not
a authority on Special Hazard type situation but I do have a frien who owns
and operates a special hazard company and forwared him the message that was
sent to the list for his opinion. Below is the reply for anyone interested.
Wild Bill,
Sorry for not getting back to you earilier on this, been out of town since
the 17th.
Halon 1301 never really was a good agent for vehicle protection as it
discharges as a gas and is hard to contain in a open area like an engine
compartment. By the way Halon 1301 has the highest ozone depletion rating of
all the CFC's including Freon 12. Also, Halon 1301
if drown into a Diesel engine will cause the diesel to increase in RPM
instead of shutting it down.
The expert from Grinnell jsut doesn't know his facts.
Halon 1211, on the other hand was used in hand portables.
It discharges as a liqiud and vaporizes when it meets the evelated
temperatures of a fire. Also, Halon 1211 is approved for use in engine
compartment on Boats.
Dry Chemical is the agent I would use as it is extremely effective.
Ever watch a auto race.
There are ways to restore/clean up after the agent.
Dry chemical will get everywhere. It is important with any agent, to shut
off the engine to stop the chance of the agent getting into the combustion
chambers ( see comments the Diesel/HALON 1301).
Depending on the type of dry chemical used the clean up differs.
I have a list of recommendation from Ansul if needed.
Dry Chemical in itself is not corrosive. Only when moisture ( even humidity)
is added is there need for concern.
I guess that if you have high enough insurance coverage and don't care about
your vehicle you can stand back and let it burn or call the local Fire
Dept., they are known to save the basements.
Water Mist might work if you can stand the weight.Also, they only appear to
work on large, hot fires.
They need the heat to produce the steam to put the fire out. They are not
very effective on deep seated fires, as would be present with all the
plastics and rubber in engine compartments.
Dry chemical systems are approved by the Bureau of Mines and they have
requrements that underground mine vehicles have dry chemical systems on them
and that the vehicle be shutdown when the system goes off.
Sorry for getting so long winded but good Fire Protection/Suppression is not
always about the hazards of the suppressant agent but the lack of damage
caused by putting the fire out fast and keeping it out.
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