Ron Earp
Admin
Re: Fire suppression systems....who has em??
[ QUOTE ]
Ron Earp - did you have any problems if you were in contact with the foam in your incident.
[/ QUOTE ]
You fellows have bench raced this one to death. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I have the SPA bombs in my cars and I like how they work. Mechnical activation, with two nozzles per bomb. Simple, easy, and you want simple when on fire. Trust me.
The foam isn't really a foam like some folks are thinking. It sprays out and in the end resembles more a yellow fine powder than anything else. I breathed some in, naturally, but didn't choke, die, or expire. Irritated my thoat and nose, but it was not too bad. It did put the fire out, which is what you want.
I was warned by everyone in the entire padock who stopped by afterwards, which was most of them, "I heard that stuff will eat off the paint", "corrode metal", "ruin stuff" etc. It did none of the above. I took the car to the spray wash a few hours after, sprayed all the stuff off, which took a long while, and not a mark remains. The fire damaged a bunch of crap, but I wouldn't worry about the foam.
What I would worry about is using plastic coated ally lines that the SPA kits come with. They are easy to use, but when cutting and fitting a small piece of plastic can easily jam a nozzle, as it did with me. And, the lines won't take a huge amount of heat - my engine bay line was heated and cracked.
So, now I plumb these things with ally tube that is thick and has flares for positive and trash free connections on each end. Flare it just like a brake line, works very well.
I've plumbed six of these things now in the Spec Miatas we build and the other cars we own, and have used a couple of systems. One I don't like is the CO2 fired ones because since it is not pressurized at rest you cannot hook a gauge to it, or mount a gauge on it, to show you it is presurized - there is no pressure until the C02 cartridge goes off when you pull it. To pass tech it is difficult because tech can't check anything on it at all really.
Bottom line, you can plan all you like, use all the AN fittings and coated hose you like, but if YOU do something forgetful or stupid, as I did, then you can cause a fire and all the planning in the world isn't worth squat.
So, get a fire system, maybe two, install it well and call it a day. Personally, I'd skip the heat sensors, the pressure sensors, etc. and rely on a good mechnical pull cable - doubled fastened at the bottle and SECEURELY mounted so when you pull it the mounting bracked doesn't pop off - and call it a day.
Ron
[ QUOTE ]
Ron Earp - did you have any problems if you were in contact with the foam in your incident.
[/ QUOTE ]
You fellows have bench raced this one to death. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I have the SPA bombs in my cars and I like how they work. Mechnical activation, with two nozzles per bomb. Simple, easy, and you want simple when on fire. Trust me.
The foam isn't really a foam like some folks are thinking. It sprays out and in the end resembles more a yellow fine powder than anything else. I breathed some in, naturally, but didn't choke, die, or expire. Irritated my thoat and nose, but it was not too bad. It did put the fire out, which is what you want.
I was warned by everyone in the entire padock who stopped by afterwards, which was most of them, "I heard that stuff will eat off the paint", "corrode metal", "ruin stuff" etc. It did none of the above. I took the car to the spray wash a few hours after, sprayed all the stuff off, which took a long while, and not a mark remains. The fire damaged a bunch of crap, but I wouldn't worry about the foam.
What I would worry about is using plastic coated ally lines that the SPA kits come with. They are easy to use, but when cutting and fitting a small piece of plastic can easily jam a nozzle, as it did with me. And, the lines won't take a huge amount of heat - my engine bay line was heated and cracked.
So, now I plumb these things with ally tube that is thick and has flares for positive and trash free connections on each end. Flare it just like a brake line, works very well.
I've plumbed six of these things now in the Spec Miatas we build and the other cars we own, and have used a couple of systems. One I don't like is the CO2 fired ones because since it is not pressurized at rest you cannot hook a gauge to it, or mount a gauge on it, to show you it is presurized - there is no pressure until the C02 cartridge goes off when you pull it. To pass tech it is difficult because tech can't check anything on it at all really.
Bottom line, you can plan all you like, use all the AN fittings and coated hose you like, but if YOU do something forgetful or stupid, as I did, then you can cause a fire and all the planning in the world isn't worth squat.
So, get a fire system, maybe two, install it well and call it a day. Personally, I'd skip the heat sensors, the pressure sensors, etc. and rely on a good mechnical pull cable - doubled fastened at the bottle and SECEURELY mounted so when you pull it the mounting bracked doesn't pop off - and call it a day.
Ron
