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Old 01-23-2018, 11:05 PM   #1
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Fire suppression?

I will definitely be installing some type of fire suppression in my skoolie...I want to cover the wheels and the engine especially

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Old 01-24-2018, 07:06 AM   #2
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Also be sure even with a suppression system that you keep multiple methods of escape from your bus.. in the vent of an accident or a fire if you are camped out somewhere, you want multiple ways to exit the rig.

-Christopher
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Old 01-24-2018, 08:21 AM   #3
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Also be sure even with a suppression system that you keep multiple methods of escape from your bus.. in the vent of an accident or a fire if you are camped out somewhere, you want multiple ways to exit the rig.

-Christopher
Yep

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Old 01-24-2018, 10:23 AM   #4
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Look at old/ scrapped shuttle busses. They all MUST have them if used by local and state govt here. I am sure you could come across the parts on a wrecked/ blown one cheap.
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Old 01-24-2018, 10:48 AM   #5
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Look at old/ scrapped shuttle busses. They all MUST have them if used by local and state govt here. I am sure you could come across the parts on a wrecked/ blown one cheap.
Doug
Really great idea...I think only a handheld is required here(TX)...where are you?

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Old 01-24-2018, 11:52 AM   #6
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VA requires any "for hire" or govt agency to have fire suppression on vehicles that carry more than 8 ppl. I started noticing those fire extinguishers with the plumbing to engine compartment a few years back. Was told by town shuttle service it was a new law.
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Old 01-24-2018, 11:56 AM   #7
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VA requires any "for hire" or govt agency to have fire suppression on vehicles that carry more than 8 ppl. I started noticing those fire extinguishers with the plumbing to engine compartment a few years back. Was told by town shuttle service it was a new law.
Doug
Damn good law...I think

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Old 01-24-2018, 05:18 PM   #8
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Damn good law...I think

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Where are you located?
I have two 20lb cylinders charged and ready to go out of a big grease hood replacement I just did I could send your way.
I did t save the trigger mechanism but it would be a custom fit/build anyway?
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Old 01-24-2018, 07:49 PM   #9
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Where are you located?
I have two 20lb cylinders charged and ready to go out of a big grease hood replacement I just did I could send your way.
I did t save the trigger mechanism but it would be a custom fit/build anyway?
Houston...I appreciate the thought

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Old 01-25-2018, 02:42 PM   #10
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Having had 3 fires in the doghouse of my families old Chevy Van back in the day (2 electrical, 1 leaky carb). And having my parents RV burn to the ground on the side of the freeway, I am a bit more nervous about fires than most.

From my parent RV experience, the time from them realizing they were on fire driving down the road (because the engine started to run funny), and pulling off to the side of the freeway. They had very little time to exit the RV before it was fully engulfed. A highway worker crossing an overpass had spotted them trailing smoke going down the freeway and had called the fire department and got on the freeway to chase after them. So the fire department had a heads up a couple of minutes before most scenarios would have. The fire department basically showed up in time to spray the back wall of the RV to try save the tow vehicle.

So lessons learned from their bad experience... Keep a spare set of keys for the tow car and the hitch assembly hidden on the tow car. While taking your wallet out of your back pocket while driving is good for you back/posture, but you need to keep it on your person somewhere otherwise in addition to having only the clothes on your back, you also don't have any id or credit cards. Use a little portable firesafe to store anything important in your RV that you might need after a fire. The fire Department will happily give it a wack with an axe to open it when they dig it out of what is left of the RV afterwards. For those with regular homes, your RV contents will probably be covered by your homeowners insurance. But it is very helpful to have pictures, description, or even estimates of value of the items in your RV, especially jewelry. Using your cell phone to just take a quick video of you walking around your RV before taking off on a trip can be useful when dealing with the insurance company.

So having a dedicated fire suppression system that directly vents into your problem area in your rig is probably smart idea. You may get burned, or just make the fire worse if you attempt to open the dog house to use a hand held extinguisher.

From the experience with the Van fires, can you easily turn off all the power quickly (for electrical fires). For a small engine compartment fire, can you put it out without destroying your engine? For the small fires, I now carry small Halon handheld fire extinguisher in my classic cars for this reason. As a note, they aren't legal to purchase anymore except to the aviation community. But you can put out a small fuel or electrical fire without residue or damage to most things if you catch it in time.
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Old 01-25-2018, 02:56 PM   #11
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Having had 3 fires in the doghouse of my families old Chevy Van back in the day (2 electrical, 1 leaky carb). And having my parents RV burn to the ground on the side of the freeway, I am a bit more nervous about fires than most.

From my parent RV experience, the time from them realizing they were on fire driving down the road (because the engine started to run funny), and pulling off to the side of the freeway. They had very little time to exit the RV before it was fully engulfed. A highway worker crossing an overpass had spotted them trailing smoke going down the freeway and had called the fire department and got on the freeway to chase after them. So the fire department had a heads up a couple of minutes before most scenarios would have. The fire department basically showed up in time to spray the back wall of the RV to try save the tow vehicle.

So lessons learned from their bad experience... Keep a spare set of keys for the tow car and the hitch assembly hidden on the tow car. While taking your wallet out of your back pocket while driving is good for you back/posture, but you need to keep it on your person somewhere otherwise in addition to having only the clothes on your back, you also don't have any id or credit cards. Use a little portable firesafe to store anything important in your RV that you might need after a fire. The fire Department will happily give it a wack with an axe to open it when they dig it out of what is left of the RV afterwards. For those with regular homes, your RV contents will probably be covered by your homeowners insurance. But it is very helpful to have pictures, description, or even estimates of value of the items in your RV, especially jewelry. Using your cell phone to just take a quick video of you walking around your RV before taking off on a trip can be useful when dealing with the insurance company.

So having a dedicated fire suppression system that directly vents into your problem area in your rig is probably smart idea. You may get burned, or just make the fire worse if you attempt to open the dog house to use a hand held extinguisher.

From the experience with the Van fires, can you easily turn off all the power quickly (for electrical fires). For a small engine compartment fire, can you put it out without destroying your engine? For the small fires, I now carry small Halon handheld fire extinguisher in my classic cars for this reason. As a note, they aren't legal to purchase anymore except to the aviation community. But you can put out a small fuel or electrical fire without residue or damage to most things if you catch it in time.
I've only seen halogen used in mainframe rooms...when that alarm you better exit the room...my understanding if the fire is caught quick enough you only lose wiring...I learned about sensors in college...and they can warn you before you reach flash point

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Old 01-25-2018, 04:17 PM   #12
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I ran into Halon fire suppression systems in the military. At least at the time, they were used in the newer tracked vehicles and tied to sensors that had to have two specific inputs (light and heat?) before they would be set off automatically. They also had manual pull handles as well. The intent was to eliminate false alarms, but to still react if the vehicle was hit and to extinguish the fire before the ammo or fuel caught on fire. They had some high speed video of how effective it was in a test, and it was super impressive demo footage. The military claimed you could stay in the vehicle if you were in a hostile environment after the extinguishers went off, but nobody believed that.

The Halon bottles were frightening to install, because you had to pull a pin to enable the system and the manual pull system always had tension in it, so pulling the pin was always frightening since you really had to be close to the discharge nozzles to do it, and the pressure was enormous. Even if it didn't blast the flesh right off of you, it would be so cold on discharge you might get a nasty freeze burn if it went off on you.

I believe now you can only use recycled Halon (1211 & 1301) (in this country) because its an environmental hazard to the ozone if I remember right. So you may still be able to buy it in bulk for data centers, but the only place I was able to find it when I bought it (more than a decade ago) was in the aviation industry. Apparently there is a halon substitute you can buy now more commonly, but i am not sure if it is as effective as the original Halon 1211. Basically Halon has no residue, its non-conductive, and doesn't cause a thermal shock and disrupts the combustion process.

Where i had to shoot a dry chemical extinguisher down a carb once long ago, which is a good way to destroy and engine.
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Old 01-25-2018, 05:51 PM   #13
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Houston...I appreciate the thought

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I was born and raised in east Texas and have family coming to visit in June for my oldest son's graduation and can send them back with them.
Especially send my entire family (except me) career public service(the whole enchilada)
They are both halon bottles that are designed to be activated from a small CO2 cartridge like in a pellet rifle.
Halon is still used daily in commercial kitchen exhaust hoods and these two were freshly inspected about a week before I demoed the hood.
The actuators were hooked to pull handle buy cable
But automated switches,sensors are readily available.
If June is not to late then I can get them to east Texas for free.
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Old 01-25-2018, 08:49 PM   #14
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I was born and raised in east Texas and have family coming to visit in June for my oldest son's graduation and can send them back with them.
Especially send my entire family (except me) career public service(the whole enchilada)
They are both halon bottles that are designed to be activated from a small CO2 cartridge like in a pellet rifle.
Halon is still used daily in commercial kitchen exhaust hoods and these two were freshly inspected about a week before I demoed the hood.
The actuators were hooked to pull handle buy cable
But automated switches,sensors are readily available.
If June is not to late then I can get them to east Texas for free.
I don't have transportation...and Houston could possibly be a long way out of the way...it's a great offer but I better wait...I don't have a bus yet

congrats btw...graduation is a big milestone...

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Old 01-25-2018, 09:23 PM   #15
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Yeah and a lot of bus money for college ?
My oldest this year and my youngest next year? Between them driving and college stuff my bus only gets what I can salvage.
Not a regret and it served its purpose for the last 10 years?
We originally built a family bus/camper and now that my kids are grown and almost gone momma wants to repurpose the two boys bed areas.
I wasn't thinking long term when I built them so I built them as permanent fixtures kinda.
I built them so I know every bolt,nut,screw and wire but DAMN I wish I would have thought ahead and made that area more flexible.
Everybody have fun.
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Old 01-25-2018, 09:32 PM   #16
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I don't have transportation...and Houston could possibly be a long way out of the way...it's a great offer but I better wait...I don't have a bus yet

congrats btw...graduation is a big milestone...

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If there is a means there is a way? Between mine and my wife's family? They are stretched all across TEJAS from little east Texas,Dallas,Houston,san antone,chorpus,robstown,Laredo.brownsville,and even grandparents living the rest of there life on a couple hundred acres of hunting land in the middle of nowhere MONTELL.
Texan born and raised.i can get anything I have there to help you if needed except for me at the moment.
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Old 01-25-2018, 10:06 PM   #17
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If there is a means there is a way? Between mine and my wife's family? They are stretched all across TEJAS from little east Texas,Dallas,Houston,san antone,chorpus,robstown,Laredo.brownsville,and even grandparents living the rest of there life on a couple hundred acres of hunting land in the middle of nowhere MONTELL.
Texan born and raised.i can get anything I have there to help you if needed except for me at the moment.
Thx...let me work on this a bit...

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