Howdy, and a question about fire suppression system

[Jgcfritz]

Happy to say I finally joined your ranks after lurking for a couple years.

Just got my first project: a2006 E350 cutaway with a 5.4 V8. It's small and high mileage, but it was cheap and I'm gonna practice on it before I decide if I wanna go big.

As I'm clearing out the interior, I was wondering if anyone had any experience removing the fire suppression system in their bus to gain some storage space. I'm pretty confident in my demo thus far, but I'm a little skittish about unleashing the power of a massive tank if I do it wrong. It's a pretty common design as far as I can tell, with the tank right near the entry door (see pix). Any ideas?

Thanks ahead of time!

[shaymcquaid]

Man! I'd leave it!!!

[Oscar1]

Hello and welcome.
Yep I agree, doesn't look like you're going to gain much space for taking out what someone obviously thought was a very useful safety device.
Cool feature and likely was an expensive option.
Cheers

[Oscar1]

P.S. If you do decide to take it out you can always recycle it by sending it my way

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Oscar1

P.S. If you do decide to take it out you can always recycle it by sending it my way

^^^ Forget this guy - I'll come get it!

[Jgcfritz]

That's funny, I thought of it as a good idea for safety in a bus full of kiddies, but overkill for a schlub like me. Maybe I'll leave it, but I'm not even sure if it works or how to test it... Or if I even should.

Thanks for your thoughts!

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Jgcfritz

That's funny, I thought of it as a good idea for safety in a bus full of kiddies, but overkill for a schlub like me. Maybe I'll leave it, but I'm not even sure if it works or how to test it... Or if I even should.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Even a schlub is going to be pretty depressed when his bus burns to the ground after putting years of work into it. But hey, you could put an umbrella stand there instead!

[BeNimble]

Race cars have them accidently go off all the time, make huge mess.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by BeNimble

Race cars have them accidently go off all the time, make huge mess.

Spent 18 years racing NASCAR, never seen a system discharge accidentally. They are filled with a gas, they make no mess or leave a residue.

[Oscar1]

This is a boat engine compartment fire port.
It allows you to confirm fire without lifting the engine cover and introducing more oxygen and then the slit allows you to poke an extinguisher through the port. Might be real handy in our builds to put them in the electrical closets.
Cheers

[shaymcquaid]

Originally Posted by Oscar1

Attachment 59949
This is a boat engine compartment fire port.
It allows you to confirm fire without lifting the engine cover and introducing more oxygen and then the slit allows you to poke an extinguisher through the port. Might be real handy in our builds to put them in the electrical closets.
Cheers

Thank you. AWESOME!

[Bus'n it]

Thanks Oscar, that’s a great idea!

[HamSkoolie]

I'd probably pull it out unless it ONLY goes into the engine compartment (or you can modify it to only disperse in the engine compartment) and uses NON CORROSIVE gaseous or dry chemical media.
Gaseous or dry chemical systems dispersing into a passenger compartment can KILL through a number of mechanisms.

Corrosive media disbursing into your engine compartment will likely result in a totaled vehicle. Yes it might stop the fire but corrosion will rapidly destroy things.

You should also check the servicing costs and interval. Pressurized vessels require testing or replacement which can be prohibitively expensive.
It would be nice to have an effective and reliable built in fire suppression system but be sure you know all the variables before deciding to pull it, leave it, or modify it.