Service fire suppression system

[Boston-boater]

I have a 2000 310da with 5.7 v-drives and was wondering if anyone has had their automatic engine compartment fire suppression system serviced? I bought the boat a few years ago and other then the green light on the dash, have no idea what condition it is in. Thanks.

 

[northshore]

I have the exact same suppression setup and same question although mine is rolling up on 27 years old.

 

[The Bill Collector]

I pulled mine out 8+ years ago and took it the local AAA Fire Extinguisher guy... He took it, shaked it a little, then put it on a scale to weigh it and said it was a great shape? Charged me $25 bucks and I got a new tag to hang on it....

 

[eweise]

How often do they have to be re-certified?

 

[bankyf]

How often do they have to be re-certified?

According to this document, annually. https://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg5214/...tinguisher Inspection and Maintenance FAQ.pdf

EDIT - Further research indicates that these fixed systems were probably not required by the Coast Guard for any of our boats, and therefore may not require this annual service, or any service to be in compliance.

Here is where the issue arises.... From my understanding, the automatic extinguishers of our vintage are mainly halon 1301 and were designed to be refillable. With halon 1301 being banned, our extinguishers are no longer serviceable and must be replaced if they require service. This comes at a fairly significant expense. The other issue is that the modern day version of halon requires a much larger extinguisher for the same coverage and may not fit very well in the area originally intended for it. This has been in the back of my mind for a while now, as my surveyor said I needed to have it serviced. The gauge is in the green, but this is a can of worms that I am really not looking forward to opening. If anyone knows otherwise, please correct me.

 

[bankyf]

I pulled mine out 8+ years ago and took it the local AAA Fire Extinguisher guy... He took it, shaked it a little, then put it on a scale to weigh it and said it was a great shape? Charged me $25 bucks and I got a new tag to hang on it....

I believe I will follow your lead over the winter.

 

[The Bill Collector]

I have the boat inspected every by the Auxiliary Coast Guard to get the sticker for window so hopefully I don't get boarded for their safety inspections.... Anyway the C.G. said even though halon is out of compliance for not having an up to date tag hanging off of it, I have 4 other handheld that he cleared as operational and I passed my inspection.

 

[velooce]

We have ours weighed yearly and the tag stamped. Our boat is old and the Insurance company requires a new survey every 5 years and this is also always on there list.

 

[Billfletcher]

Halon was phased out for commercial use around 2000 if my memory is correct. It is a very effective extinguishing gas, but it is also an ozone depleter. The military has stockpiles of it, and still use it for their legacy equipment.

Technically, it should be serviced annually, but not many people do it.

if your agent is still full and the system appears to be operational there is a good chance it will work. I am not condoning not testing it, just giving my opinion.

if you decide to replace it, Fireboy makes a good replacement agent. You can buy the cylinder, based on the engine room volume and hang it in there. It has a fusible link that will melt, and deploy the agent, automatically if there is a fire.

For smaller size boats like ours, you are not required by the USCG to have an auto system in your ER, just the required amount top side. Personally, I want one down there. I therefore pulled the oem dry chemical, and put in a clean agent Fireboy, in addition to the clean agent extinguishers I have in the galley and cockpit. A fiberglass boat will burn down to the waterline fairly rapidly, so I like to have all of the fire power necessary to give me a fighting chance.

 

[1956olds]

Although my older system is current and working i dont think the prices for the updated extinguishers is out of line for the safety factor and would consider it cheap insurance on a gas powered boat.

 

[bankyf]

Although my older system is current and working i dont think the prices for the updated extinguishers is out of line for the safety factor and would consider it cheap insurance on a gas powered boat.

I am not sure an "older system is current and working" is possible. Any system older than 12 years old would require a hydro test to truly be current. Most systems older than 12 years would be halon. The halon cannot be recharged after a hydro is performed. You might be due some of that cheap insurance.

 

[1956olds]

Understood,i have had them wheighted and stamped.I also have deisel engines and 4 extinguishers.

 

[velooce]

I am not sure an "older system is current and working" is possible. Any system older than 12 years old would require a hydro test to truly be current. Most systems older than 12 years would be halon. The halon cannot be recharged after a hydro is performed. You might be due some of that cheap insurance.

What properties of the halon gas become ineffective after 12 years? If weight is still maintained.

 

[1956olds]

None that i know of,I actually trained to be a rep for thier home fire systems for about 1 week before it was banned as being unfriendly to the ozone.Amazing how fast it will suffocate a liquid accelerant fire.

 

[Bob & Sue]

I have the boat inspected every by the Auxiliary Coast Guard to get the sticker for window so hopefully I don't get boarded for their safety inspections.... Anyway the C.G. said even though halon is out of compliance for not having an up to date tag hanging off of it, I have 4 other handheld that he cleared as operational and I passed my inspection.

We do the same this year the USCG is having a couple boats built at our marina, they used our boat as a training boat for inspection they didn't even mention the outdated halon system just looked at the gauge & green light to see it was operational, this was done by 3 different crews at different times. They did mention to get some outdated flares out of our ditch bag & put them somewhere else if I wanted them onboard.

 

[bankyf]

What properties of the halon gas become ineffective after 12 years? If weight is still maintained.

The halon is fine. The cylinder it is stored in is supposed to have a hydrostatic test every 12 years to determine if it is still a suitable pressure vessel and inspected for any signs of corrosion. The halon must be removed from the cylinder to perform this test, at which point there will be no way to refill the cylinder. Basically, there is absolutely no way to service this system and every year the cylinder becomes a growing liability. The benefits that the outdated system should provide in a fire will likely far outweigh the relatively low risk of a cylinder exploding. Anyone who weighs and tags a cylinder that is out of hydro is not the type of company you should deal with. My only point was that there was no such thing as a "current" older system.

 

[peterkvs]

In my opinion hydrostatic ally testing a cylinder is stupid. What is wearing it out? Tanks that go up and down in pressure get stress over time and the metal is work hardened. The halon tank is at the same pressure all the time. Nothing is wearing it out. Now if it is corroded that's another story.

Pete