Halon 1211 extinguisher

[rgmwa]

Anybody know where to buy one of these fire extinguishers?

 

rgmwa

 

 

[facthunter]

Are they still permitted? Nev

 

 

[rgmwa]

I believe so, Nev. They use re-cycled Halon, but I don't know where to get them in Aus.

 

http://www.casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:OLDASSET::svPath=/airworth/awb/26/,svFileName=002.pdf

 

http://amerex-fire.com/products/class-bc/halon-1211-extinguishers/

 

rgmwa

 

 

[kgwilson]

Interesting. Halon is an ozone depleting substance and it has been illegal to own or use halon based fire protection systems in Australia since 1995. It has also been illegal for fire protection technicians to service halon systems since that date. See

 

http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/ozone/halon/halon-disposal

 

It does work well though as it stops the chain reaction of the 3 elements of fire (heat, fuel & oxygen) by chemically reacting with them to stop them combining as fire.

 

 

[Dafydd Llewellyn]

Halon is permitted in aircraft, I think you will find, but how you can get hold of it I do not know; this is something I would suggest you ask CASA. Dry powder extinguishant is sudden death for a metal aircraft; I've seen a Metro written off because a mechanic used a dry powder extinguisher inside it to put out a minor fire in maintenance (a soda syphon would have done the job).

 

 

[jetjr]

There is a bulletin somewhere on its use in aircraft, its the only place aallowed today.

 

Needs to be supplied AND installed by accredited av tech, not sure who that might be but sounds expensive

 

US parts guys advertise it but cant send it to you.

 

 

[rgmwa]

Amerex apparently have a distributor in Qld. I'll email them and see what I can find out.

 

rgmwa

 

 

[01rmb]

I got a H3R Halon Fire Extinguisher A344T from SkyShop Australia for $225. I only had to provide the aircraft rego and the name of a friendly lame 2. He didn't need to install it.

 

It sits behind my seat in handy reach. Not cheap but there is nothing like halon if I need to stop smoke!

 

 

[rgmwa]

Thanks rmb, although I checked their website and there are no extinguishers listed currently. Downunderpilotshop advertises them, but they are only available from their NZ store. Aircraft Spruce also have them, although I find their shipping charges are very expensive. Anyway, I should be able to pick one up somewhere. As you say, they are not cheap but are probably the best option for aircraft use.

 

rgmwa

 

 

[Mriya]

BCF can be purchased through Aviall. They require an aircraft rego in order to sell it. LAME is required to have appropriate accreditation to 'handle' or install extinguisher. The ozone regs are such that you are in criminal breach if you maintain a system containing ozone depleting substances without the appropriate training and competency assessments done.

 

Please don't hear me saying I am supportive of all this red tape. I recently got one for a C172, so am familiar with the procedure.

 

 

[Gnarly Gnu]

I think they are readily available in the US, it would need to come in as part of an aircraft though.

 

 

[Mriya]

Should also add, CASA released a bulletin on the subject of fire extinguisher maintenance last week. It sets out how the legislation currently sits.

 

http://www.casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:STANDARD::pc=PC_90524

 

 

[fb9jann]

As rgmwa says, SkyShop no longer sell them but Rod suggested contacting London Fire and Safe at Bowen Hills, Brisbane. I Looked up their website http://www.londonfireandsafe.com.au/ and they sell Halotron extinguishers, Halotron being a replacement extinguishing agent for Halon 1211. However, according to Wiki, it takes a larger volume of Halotron to get the same fire suppression ratings as Halon 1211. How much more I don't know.

 

 

[Dafydd Llewellyn]

1.1 Kg hand-held $325 + GST

 

 

[rgmwa]

1.1 Kg hand-held $325 + GST

Where from?

rgmwa

 

 

[Dafydd Llewellyn]

Where from?rgmwa

See thread #13

 

 

[jetjr]

1 kg appears equivalent to 500g halon.........very small??

 

 

[Dafydd Llewellyn]

Well, if you go digging on CASA's website, there does not seem to be a hard rule as to size - but a recommendation that the extinguisher should be rated 5E (in the Australian rating system) or 5C (in the American rating system). That means, as far as I can work out, that it's capable of dealing with a fire of 5 square feet area, and suitable for an electrical fire. The Halotron extinguisher for that rating is 2.25 Kg, again so far as I can discover.

 

That size extinguisher would seem to me to be about what one would want as a hand-held in something like a Fokker F 27, to deal with a fire in the electrical rack; but there's no way one could use it in a motorglider cockpit - there's simply not room to manoeuvre one that big, let alone room to stow it where it can be reached in flight. One that size may well extinguish the crew as well as the fire, I suspect.

 

I'm still trying for some guidance on this, but I think it comes down to what sort of fire is likely in your aircraft? That's an interesting question, in a composite aircraft; and I recall the fire chief at Camden having to be physically restrained from dumping 3000 gallons of foam on a K13 glider, which landed in a hurry after one of the crew dropped a cigarette butt onto the fuselage fabric covering (they beat it out with their giggle hats); but in a metal aircraft that does not have flammable cabin lining, and with an electrical system that complies with AC 43 Chapter 11, realistically you're looking at either a burning Ipad or a frying radio or some such piece of electrical gear. Once the power to that is off, it should not take a lot of extinguishant to calm it down.

 

My answer to a burning Ipad, by the way, is to mount it in a stainless steel tray with a lid that acts as a hood to keep the sun off it, and vent the hood to the outside, so it sucks cabin air out past the ipad to cool it - and to get rid of the smoke it it gets excited.

 

 

[jetjr]

Yes, putting out the fire then passing out would be a problem

 

Small composites in Raa have fairly localised electronics likely to eve give problems

 

As you say in such a small space might not take much and as always weight is best kept to a minimum

 

I did hve a heater hose come off and try to set fire to floor of Jabiru, amazed at damage (not really very serious) but charred and black, still didnt ignite.