Eagles International Forum

This will probably take two or more posts to get all of my thoughts documented.

The system that has recently been mentioned on another bus related site is: https://www.amazon.com/BlazeCut-Automat ... B019ZZMXAA

A picture of the system is shown below.
The system uses a special heat sensitive tubing that melts at the site of the fire and dispenses fire suppression material.

Systems of this type have been in existence for decades. Indeed, I found a 1974 patent for a fire detection system that used thermal plastic tubing that would melt and dispense a fire suppression material: https://patents.google.com/patent/US3827502A/en

Probably the leading manufacturer of these systems is: https://www.firetrace.com/fire-suppression-systems/. They have been marketing automotive suppression systems for decades.

Lots more technical minutia to follow.

Jim

A bit of background. I developed and marketed a fire detection and suppression system for buses and motorhomes. We started our business in 2004 and closed the business in 2012. Prior to creating our business, I did a ton of research on various existing fire suppression systems and worked with folks who had developed fire suppression systems for military aircraft. One of the systems that I strongly considered was a system very similar to the BlazeCut system. However, there were a few factors that concerned me. Instead I went to a full electronic system that monitored temperature generator and engine compartment temperatures and gave early warnings of potential problems. The electronic system also had several other benefits including being able to shut the generator off automatically and notify the owner if the system detected a fire. Further, I chose to use a non-gaseous system.

Now back to the BlazeCut or Firetrace type systems. The BlazeCut system uses DuPont FE-36 gaseous fire suppression material. Without question, it is an excellent product that does not have any residual clean-up issues. It is the modern version of Halon. I believe it would be an excellent fire suppression system -- for the initial fire. However, as soon as oxygen re-enters the compartment a re-flash would be a likely potential problem. That was the main factor that guided my choice of a "surfactant" type fluid - in my case Cold Fire. That material reduced the temperature of the compartment below the ignition temperature of most any fuel/material.

More to come.

Jim

The main reason I am concerned about these types of system is not that they won't work, but that they work too well.

If an engine compartment fire starts, the system will extinguish the fire before it gets out of hand. Problem is, you could be driving down the highway and never know that the system has done its job. There is a fair likelihood that whatever caused the fire in the first place is still present and the fire will re-ignite.

Both the BlazeCut and Firetrace systems have an option for a pressure switch that can trigger an alarm. I believe that these switches need to be installed on the original system. I would not order one without that option.

The other issue that concerns me is that the tubing specification states that the melting temperature is 248 degrees F. That would dictate that placement of the tube is very important. You would want to keep the tubing away from the exhaust and turbo areas of the engine.

Jim