Automatic Fire Suppression System
 

Hi guys,

Since there's been a few discussions recently on fire suppression/fire extinguishers and stuff... what would you guys think of an automatic fire suppression system? how much would you think it'll cost? $300-400?

I am curious as to building one rather than purchasing. For example, with dry system, the supressant container could be placed in the spare tire area after tossing the spare. There is plenty of room there for a fire bottle, the sub-woofer amp, a small 12-v air compressor and some tools; plus extra ammo for teh Glock and the shotguns. Then, using a length of flexible pressure tube, the retardant could be sent from the container to the engine compartment under pressure. Once at teh engine compartment the tube would branch into four or six distinct spray patterns. As a one-shot, rechargeable system, common parts cold be used. Actuators can be a manual pull handle and a flame sensor. The flame sensor will be the expensive part.

Cheers,

Dave

Have you ever wondered why when typing the word "THE" it comes out as "TEH"? It's because of the ergometrics of the keyboard. The touchtypist uses the left hand to make the "t" and the "e" and the right hand to make the "h". Right Hand dominant people's right hands work faster than their left hands. Unless you are a pianist or an ambidex.

Cheers,

Dave

Dave, if it was because the right hand was too fast, wouldn't it come out as "HTE"? It seems like it's more of a problem of the right hand being too SLOW to get the 'H' in there between the 'T' and the 'E'.

Ola,

Victor
___________________________
Study Correctly - Get things Right

It is because of the following chain of events:

1. Left Index types the "T"
2. Brain tells the Left Stink Finger to type the "E" after the Right Index types the "H"
3. Right Index types the "H" without receiving the Brain's signal to "wait for lefty stink finger"
4. Left Stink Finger types "E"

Right finger moves faster and without prompting because of Righty Hard Wiring in brain. Reverse process for Lefties.

Voila .... TEH vice THE

Perhaps I should start and OT thread on my Blog about this and the new left hand typing skills of right handed internet pron addicts?

Cheers,

Dave who is typing this with his Craftsman Impact wrench.

Erm, guys.... let's stick to the topic shall we? I'm serious about the automatic fire suppression system. What do you guys think? What if it's a system where you won't even need to push any trigger or hurry to pull out the tank, and the fire is put off... automatically?

If i had to i could pull the trigger pretty quick!

Automatic sounds cool and all but i think its over kill for the car. A simple pull and twist type lever that would fire a remote bottle would work well. a nossle or two in the engine bay that would use halon. You could keep the hood closed and at least start to suppress the fire thus buying more time.

Automatic lends itself to mis firing, false alarms and the use of electronics to detect the fire.

How would you detect the fire? electric loop, photo cell etc etc. It could get complicated and $$$$ very quickly.
Even on airplanes the fire ext. systems arent automatic.

just my $9.28 worth

Yep, I shift my own gears, I guess I can put out my own fires.........

TEH...............

I'd say you still need a handheld halon or halotron unit. What if it's your fuse panel that's burning? What if your fuel pump springs a leak, drips under the rear of the car and it ignites somehow? What if it's your buddy's car that's burning?

Yeah, I would think that manual would be fine... as long as it does'nt have to be activated by typing in the word 'THE' correctly...

I guess for experienced (track) drivers like you and me are probably trained enough to "pull that trigger!" in the event of detection of fire. But have you considered these?

1) By the time you are able to detect a fire, the fire probably had burnt for some time and it would be quite a big fire already.

2) For rear-engine Porsches, fire detection is even more difficult and usually at later stage, especially when you are driving.

3) Your wife/girlfriend or anybody could be driving your car. In the event of a fire, are they trained enough? Are they able to react fast enough under such stressful situations to "pull that trigger"?

4) If children (or any curious persons for that matter) are in your car, they could possibly meddle with the trigger and set off the extinguisher (if they weren't told not to). This false alarm would set you back some $$ to get the tank refilled.

5) Manual fire suppression systems (not talking about hand-held extinguishers!) have nozzles directed at specific spots, usually 2-3? What if the fire breaks out in other spots? Are they effective enough to reach to the source of the fire and put it out in time?

Just to share with you guys, we had a Porsche owner who watched his 911 go into flames:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori.../68154/1/.html

I know of an automatic fire suppression system that didn't use any electronics to "automatically" detect fire. In fact, the setup is quite simple, compared to manual systems. :cool:

I don't see myself ever dating a woman that's that damn helpless, let alone letting her drive my car without me right there.

If we wanted everything about our mode of transport to be engineered for the lowest common denominator, so that the stupidest person on the planet couldn't possibly have any problem, we'd be back to the horse and sledge... and STILL people would find their way to catastrophe. Just put a damn halon or halotron extinguisher within reach and quit worrying so much... enjoy the drive! :D

Hmm... I don't totally agree with what you've said. What if the car was parked over a patch of dry grass/spilled oil (or whatever) and a fire just breaks out? You can't possibly pull the trigger or pull out the hand-held to put out the fire, can you? Unless you're in the car... I guess an automatic fire suppression system could take care of more scenarios than manual ones. Better yet, it detects and puts out the fire for you.

To be honest, I didn't really know how to activate a hand-held extinguisher until I saw how my neighbor used it to put out a fire.

That sort of helps make my point. See, I know that there is a catalytic converter under there that can get REAL hot... so there's no way I'm going to park on top of dried grass, leaves, oil, etc...

But I see what you're saying. Suppose somebody's gardener blows a bunch of leaves under my car... the somebody comes along and flicks a butt into the leaves. Sure an automatic supression system might help in that case. But you've given no details on the system. does it draw electricity? Shark owners tend to avoid things that draw electricity when the car is not in use. Would it detect a fire under the rear bumper and put it out?