Fire Supression System questions

Tacoma747

Tacoma747

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Winston-Salem
Scored a couple bottles and brackets today, paid $120 for what you see in the pics, small one is a 5lb, big one is 10lb. Both are full.

My question, the larger one has what looks like a little glass vial at the end, I am thinking it would be mounted over a fuel cell, so that if it catches fire it would heat the liquid in the vial and bust it, to release the agent. Sound right to anyone who knows about this stuff?

The other one has a pin in it, but I don't have a cable for it. Do I need the cable, or is just pulling the little pin out enough to release it? I will probably buy the "fire" cable setup to pull in case I need it. I am thinking about mounting the 10lb tank where the nozzle will be above the fuel cell, and mounting the other one to have the nozzle spray in the 'cab' area.

Ideas?
 

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pm burrellsjeep...he can probably help
 
Tacoma747 said:
I will, but what exactly does a fuseable link do for something like this?
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I'm sorry it's not a fuseable link... a fuseable link has solder or Wood's metal holding it together. that is a heat sensitive bulb. there should be an air bubble in the liquid. the fire heats the bulb then the air bubble expand in the liquid to break the glass. or at least that's how I understand it to work
 
Bobby D. said:
I'm sorry it's not a fuseable link... a fuseable link has solder or Wood's metal holding it together. that is a heat sensitive bulb. there should be an air bubble in the liquid. the fire heats the bulb then the air bubble expand in the liquid to break the glass. or at least that's how I understand it to work
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Correct, just like some sprinkler heads. It reaches its rated temp and busts allowing whatever to come out.
 
Likely that it could bust from off-road use? I was thinking about shrouding it so it would only spray downwards toward the fuel cell, this would keep rocks and stuff from hitting it. I figure Nascar cars take a good beating, so if should be OK, I would hate for that glass to bust and empty the bottle though....
 
IMO, I'd worry more about underhood and trans tunnel FAR more than the fuel cell, especially if you're planning on a KOH-style cell?
 
Well, the fuel cell is sitting directly beside the engine, I have no trans tunnel, and I can't race in KOH anyways (no transfer case), the cell is just an aluminum cell, no bladder. It is pretty well protected though. Transmission take motor oil, not ATF, is that more or less flammable than ATF?
 
Rich said:
IMO, I'd worry more about underhood and trans tunnel FAR more than the fuel cell, especially if you're planning on a KOH-style cell?
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x2 every auto & off road fire that I have seen has been under hood... I would put it at the highest point under your hood if you have one. if not you need some type ofheat collector for the heat to reflect the heat back on the nozzel.

I would like to see a better pic ofthe nozzel if you don't mind. I'm wanting to design & build one for my tj.
 
Even with the cell beside the engine, I'd still focus on putting out the fire. Fuel tanks don't just explode like on TV, so I wouldn't waste the agent "protecting" the cell.

Just my $.02
 
Keep in mind the following:

1) You put it at the highest point under the hood and then you flip over and the fluids start dripping on things and BOOM...fire. Now that nozzle is on the ground and the fire is above it. It wont do you much good.

2) You put it in an open area, and you catch fire...The agent doesn't disperse over a large enough area to put out fires in big open areas. You need to have more nozzles. NASCAR systems are not there to save the car. They are there to give the driver those few extra seconds to get out. They are not pointed at the motor, they are not pointed at the transmission. They are pointed at the driver.

Basically what I am saying is that a fire suppression system...while a great idea. Should NEVER be your only way to fight a fire. You need extinguishers. You need to be able to fight the fire if you really want to save the rig. You will need different agents for different classes of fires. You will need more nozzles pointing at SOURCES of the fires if you want the suppression system to help you at all.

Fire is a VERY realistic way for us to lose our rigs. You need to really think about nozzle placement, fluid amounts, agent types, etc etc. One other big thing to think about is preventing the fire from the source. Do not loom your wires in shitty plastic looms, put them in fire sleeves if you want to loom them. Don't use junky wiring supplies. Otherwise bunch them neatly together and use CORRECT wiring ties to keep them in place. Use catch cans and routing hoses to route fluids away from heat sources. De-grease and clean the buggy after every trip to make sure there isn't fluid sitting everywhere.

I have been giving fire suppression a lot of thought lately and have just begun setting my buggy up to be as fire proof as possible (by doing all the things I stated above). Its a ton of work...but so is rebuilding a burnt out buggy.
 
Tacoma747 said:
...and I can't race in KOH anyways (no transfer case)...
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What's that got to do with anything?



I didn't use the little auto actuator thing (like pictured) I have because I didn't know if it'd take the abuse...

If you're going to mount the bottle beside your seat then you don't need a cable. Just wrap a tag on the pin. Otherwise a remote mount will need a cable.
EDIT: You might need a cable regardless. That head doesn't look tall enough to be a pull cable. Is it a push style?


Screw trying to put the car out, this stuff is to save your ass.
My 5lb. bottle is mounted with only two nozzles. One above my head pointing in my lap and the same on the passenger side.
Chances are you won't know where the fires going to start. Electrical, fuel, oils, exhaust...by the time you put enough nozzles everywhere to address all possible suspects your going to get a small squirt out that 5 lb bottle that fire will laugh at.
I think you're better off using that as a last effort to get yourself out safely and use manual extinguishers to put out smaller fires. When you get out of the car you can see the source of the fire and put it out easier/quicker by hand using the entire bottle to address the exact source of the flames.
 
As far as I can remember, I've yet to read a thread on pirate or any desert board where one of these systems has actually saved the car. Like will said, depending on what's in the bottles I'd point that bitch at myself maybe one above the engine and get rid of the fusible bulb. Then get lokar locking dipsticks for trans and oil as well as firesleeve for the fuel/trans lines. If you care that much about your shit not burning.
 
Thats what I was afraid of on the temp sensing bulb. I'll point the 5 lb bottle in the cab at me, I'll try and split the 10lb bottle to spray on either side of the engine. I also plan to mount a couple extinguishers with quick release pins for handheld use. I'm planning on re-wiring the buggy, don't really like how it's done right now, but it works.
 
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