Has anyone investigated the latest in fire extinguishers?

Well if you have, then you know that the latest technology in this area is
not cheap, but almost a necessity for the upgrade department.

Dry chemical on board my put out the fire, but that is the end of the good
news as the mess it creates is so tragic it may ruin your day in the long
run. Amplify on this as you may, but it can ruin a running diesel engine and
create so much mess you may come to wish the fire had taken its toll.

There are two things to consider... maybe three in the long run.

One. Change to non residue fire extinguishers... this brings us to Halotron.
These are pricey little units and you have to go to 10# or greater to be
rated for ABC, as the smaller units are classified for BC fires only. These
units are available at West Marine, take a look at there web site or
catalog.

Then one must decide location. I am coming up with a plan to mount one of
these units in the companion passage way along with the ACR EPIRB and a rig
for red flash light in a recessed cabinet in the aft state room bulkhead so
they will not interfere with the traffic flow in the companionway hatch and
ladder. Another and most likely the 10# unit will be placed in the gas
locker in the cockpit and one in the bow compartment located in the hanging
locker.

Dry chemical will be scuttled onboard this vessel.

Last is the fire suppression system for the engine compartment. I have
selected the FM200 model with manual/automatic release for 75 cubic feet.
There are others that can be used as well; however this is my current
choice. This has to be incorporated with an automatic diesel shut down since
the engine would inhale and exhaust the entire fire extinguishing agent in a
matter of seconds if it did not shut down.

Food for thought folks. Equipment is available at West Marine.

Have a great Holiday Season,

Dave Lewis
S/V Bella
Ensenada, BC, Mexico




-----------------------------------------------------------
Baba Panda and Tashiba Owners Mailing List --
For more info, please check out the FAQ...
http://www.ballreich.net/hypermail/baba-l/faq.html

Received on Sat Dec 10 09:36:03 2005