Eng Room fire suppressor system

oscar1

I was working in my Eng room today and I notice my fire suppressor tank gauge was in the bottom of the green side of the gauge. I am not familiar with this type of system, So i am wonder if any one know how do we services these system or if I can remove the tank myself to replaces it.  Any ideas about how to get the tank refill and test, it will be appreciate.  Thx

LaRea

It's easy.  Just unplug the two wires at the top, and remove the bottle.  There should be plenty of companies near you that can service it.  

davidbrooks

I googled for a fire inspection company near me. Basically all he did was weigh the bottle. The wait is what determined if it needed to have more chemical put into it. I think I paid $45 for mine. According to the inspector it's something that is supposed to happen every two years.

alex8q4

You are luckier than I, as my 2006 my system utilized Halon as a suppressant..  Halon has been outlawed so I had to replace my system and it was rather expensive.  Yours can be refilled. 

oscar1

I called firebox and they provide me with the phone number of two of my local suppliers. I called one, and they told me not to remove the tank myself because the pressure valve can be discharge by mistake. it sound to me just like another scam to charge bigger fees for a simple job. Anyway I waiting for the quote to do the job. I am very believer of safety first. 

alex8q4

Perhaps the person who told you not to remove the tank was not fully familiar with the system.  These systems are designed to be installed in a rather harsh environment with plenty of traffic.  I believe that you would have to deliberately mess with it, or be very rough with it to get it to set off. 

I would encourage you to handle it with care, but to not remove it seems a bit much to me. 

LaRea

I removed mine, sanded off the rust, and repainted it. 

If it's like mine, the wires turn on the indicator light and disable the blowers, but they can't discharge the bottle.  The only way to accidentally discharge the bottle is by damaging the trigger (so don't drop the bottle).  

After you remove the bottle, it would be a good time to test the system.  If my memory is correct -- short the two wires together.  The indicator light at the helm should come on, and the blowers should stop working.  Can anybody confirm that?

oscar1

My two local fire suppressor authorize dealer to services my firebox, has a services cost of $750 dollar plus any refill has a different prices. Scam. 

TonyG13

oscar1 said:

My two local fire suppressor authorize dealer to services my firebox, has a services cost of $750 dollar plus any refill has a different prices. Scam. 

Wow! I think Great Lakes Skipper has a new old stock system for $720!

https://www.greatlakesskipper.com/fireboy-boat-fire-extinguisher-ma20250227-bl8-auto-man-250-cubic-ft

I'm also looking around by me. Fireboy gave me a few contacts for my area but I haven't called them yet. I'll post when I do.

aero3113

Do the bottles have an expiration date? Something you should consider as well. If they do, I’m sure mine is expired.

oscar1

I just called firebox to get a quote for a new tank, because to refill the old tank, the local services company charge $80 per pounds (my tank is 21.3 lbs) plus labor of he services, so do the math, Anyway fireboy told me to call a local distributor to get a better prices for a new tank from them. Cylinder tank doesn't have expiration day. when I get the quote, I will inform back. 

oscar1

A new tank model MA20500227-BL from defender has a cost of $1366 dollar with 8 to 10 days delivery from Fireboy. 

Aqua_Aura

Not sure if those tanks are different but a normal fire extinguisher is only good for 12 years per the coast guard and will have a year of manufacturing stamped on the bottle. 

oscar1

Does anyone has a FIREBOY-XINTEX Manual Release Cable Kits for their fire suppressor system in your boat. It look like a quick way to get the fire suppressor on prior to way for the heat to build up in the engine room. I still waiting for my new tank to arrive from fireboy, but I am planing in adding this new safety feature to system.

oscar1

I just remove the old fire suppressor and install new heat, smoke, co2,  fume and gasoline sensor in the engine room. 

oscar1

New fireboy fire suppressor tank arrive today. 

alex8q4

I had a fume detector in my last boat and I miss it.  Especially after I learned how well it worked the first time I changed the fuel filters. They are rather sensitive so it really gave me piece of mind, especially after watching too many boat exploding videos on YouTube. 

rasbury

And we just rely on my good sniffer...

oscar1

I just add a manual fire suppressor release, and I am also going to add the following fire suppressor to the location of my new A/C, plus the location of my solar battery charger