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noganav Samba Member
Joined: January 06, 2006 Posts: 1236 Location: San Diego CA
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Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 4:06 pm Post subject: Blazecut Fire Supression System |
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photogdave recently posted pictures in the fires and wrecks thread of his beautiful Tiger Van burned to the ground. In that thread he also posted a video of the Blazecut fire supression system. I had never seen this product before, and thought it was a great idea. So, no time like the present.
Here's the thread with photogdave's original post on this product:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=440675
Blazecut is a tube of pressurized fire suppressant (Kyoto compliant). When the heat gets above 120C, the tube ruptures and puts out the fire.
Link
It cost $200 including shipping from JOGR, and arrived in 2 days.
http://jogrusa.com/products/blazecut-fire-suppression-system
Here's what you get:
There's a nifty little pressure gauge on one end of the tube:
I installed mine directly on the engine cover. Drilled small holes 6 inches from the edge, every second rib and strapped it down with the included zipties.
The swirly pattern maximizes coverage of the engine, avoids interference with the air filter housing in the upper right of the engine bay, and makes checking the gauge easy.
Here's a shot through the license plate door.
This is certainly no replacement for changing and maintaining your fuel lines, or a full blown fire suppression system like some folks have installed: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=521827
But it's a small price to pay for a little peace of mind. Maintenance free, small and unobtrusive and installs easily in just a few minutes. |
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insyncro Banned
Joined: March 07, 2002 Posts: 15086 Location: New York
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Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 4:10 pm Post subject: |
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They had an ad in the classifieds section for about a day |
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noganav Samba Member
Joined: January 06, 2006 Posts: 1236 Location: San Diego CA
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Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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insyncro wrote: |
They had an ad in the classifieds section for about a day |
I didn't see their ad, but for the record I'm just a customer. I have no association with this company whatsoever. I just like the idea.
Edit: Yup, here's a link to their ad:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1482463 |
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insyncro Banned
Joined: March 07, 2002 Posts: 15086 Location: New York
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Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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It was in the Vanagon section and now switched to the General Parts sections.
Cool device.
Upgrade your fuel lines, fuel rails and add this feature so your van wont burn to the ground |
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Ahwahnee Samba Member
Joined: June 05, 2010 Posts: 9770 Location: Mt Lemmon, AZ
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Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:19 pm Post subject: Re: Blazecut Fire Supression System |
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noganav wrote: |
...I installed mine directly on the engine cover. Drilled small holes 6 inches from the edge, every second rib and strapped it down with the included zipties... |
I like the way you installed that. Do you recall what size holes you drilled? I looks like one hole per zip tie and the fastener bit of the zip tie is large enough to hold it in place - right? |
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noganav Samba Member
Joined: January 06, 2006 Posts: 1236 Location: San Diego CA
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Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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Exactly, the fastener holds it in place. I drilled two small 1/16 holes side by side the width of my zip ties and connected them. Just big enough for the strap to come back up through the same hole. I also sealed them up with a dab of silicone. It leaves the fastener heads exposed, but they are in the recesses of the engine cover, and it's under the mattress most of the time anyway. |
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photogdave Samba Member
Joined: April 05, 2004 Posts: 3032 Location: Vancouver Island, B.C.
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Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 6:04 pm Post subject: |
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Nice work Steve. I was going to start a separate post on this product to see what the forum thinks.
Here's an interesting discussion I found on another forum:
http://www.speedsterowners.com/topic/an-interesting-fire-suppression-system?page=1
I feel ready to invest in this too. I had two questions:
Is it possible that conditions could occur to get the engine bay hot enough to prematurely set it off? 248F doesn't seem that out of reach on a hot day.
IF the chemical is accidentally released, could it damage the engine?
PS I didn't learn any more specifics about the Tiger Van's fire. The driver heard a bang, saw smoke and got out of there! It had new fuel lines maybe three years before I sold it. _________________ 89 Syncro GL Westfalia 2.1 WBX/WBXaustSS
My Westy Movies:
photogdave On Vimeo
photogdave On YouTube
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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Ahwahnee Samba Member
Joined: June 05, 2010 Posts: 9770 Location: Mt Lemmon, AZ
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Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 6:41 pm Post subject: |
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Okay - I'm in.
Some fires are no doubt due to neglect but more than a few seem to happen to owners who have done their best to avoid them. |
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vw7266 Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2004 Posts: 3036 Location: the point, ohio
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Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 7:49 pm Post subject: |
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I got mine from member widefive hes a distributor too |
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purplepeopleeater Samba Member
Joined: July 23, 2005 Posts: 3117 Location: E. Washington
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Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 8:33 pm Post subject: |
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Im more worried about electrical fires in my dash now, suby improves alot of fire issues.
Might get one of these installed in each of my aircooled buses tho! |
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BillM Samba Member
Joined: June 18, 2004 Posts: 1381 Location: Stonington,CT
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Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 8:18 am Post subject: |
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I don't like the holes drilled into the engine cover. I also think this is one of the things that could be improved and maybe extend the time one has to extinguish the fire before it breaches the interior. Once that engine cover gets soft it drops down in and the fire takes off. It gets a surge of Oxygen and medium to burn. Its really difficult and dangerous to fight fire now with just a
extinguisher.
An engine lid that was fire resistant or maybe made so it would not drop down
when hot could not only give more time to save van but to also get your kids/family out. I know when my Westy caught fire in the engine compartment
if it wasnt for my son removing the dog and camera gear. He tied the dog to a tree safely away and tossed the gear far away. I would have never gotten the
fire out. The lid was just starting to get soft. I was able to focus on the fire and my son had even put the extra extinguisher at my side just in case.
While I think the suppression system is a great step in the right direction there is more that needs to be done.
1) All power should be fused at the battery.
2) a switch that will shut off all power sources
3) extinguishers need to be placed so than its in your hand while exiting the vehicle and a back up that can also be grabbed.
4) a way to slow the fires ability to pass from the engine compartment to interior.
5) a plan and practice on how to respond. The wife,kids,etc should know what to do.
While every fire and cause is different practice and prevention always help.
There is also the issue that the best intentions can make things worse. If you don't know how to fuse your batteries or install a shut off switch properly
dont do it. A hot post on the back of a switch that could be shorted by a dropped coin is just as dangerous as a leaking fuel line.
All of the above is stuff I have spent some time working on. I am also
very particular about everything I do to my Westy. Even then I had
a failures that no one could have forseen but being prepared turned what
could have been a total loss into a lesson that I had to do better. _________________ Bill M
87 Westy |
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joseph928 Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2011 Posts: 2114 Location: flagstaff az.
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Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 6:30 pm Post subject: automatic fire extinguisher |
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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=521827& I did a post on automatic fire extinguisher. Any system is a good one! Yes I like more fe-36 like 6 LBS. One pound seems a little low. But for the cost and how easy it is to put in, you can't go wrong. And the video seems to show it working well! Do something don't put your head in the sand. Our vans are worth to much to not do something. Yes if you shop well you can find a system like mine used for the same cost. But for $200 this seems like a great choice! And this is from a retired fireman. PS I did have an air cooled burn once, never again! _________________ 1987 syncro westy tin top sun roof , GW2.3, rear locker, decoupler, Gary Lee tire rack & winch mount, lift, south african grill, big brakes , rhein alloy ,15 BFG AT, Fiamma 10 foot awning ,140 watt rear 85 watt front solar , mppt, truckfridge, automatic fire extinguishing system, tencent oil cooler, And a RMW SS exhaust! - 1971 bug convertible 1776 engine- 2010 Subaru turbo - 1993 Toyota 4x4 truck - 1999 Harley 95 CI, big bore, Andrews cams . Also 80-84- vans. Stock 65 sunroof bug. |
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Gruppe B Samba Member
Joined: January 16, 2007 Posts: 1331
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Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 7:18 pm Post subject: |
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BillM wrote: |
I don't like the holes drilled into the engine cover. I also think this is one of the things that could be improved and maybe extend the time one has to extinguish the fire before it breaches the interior. Once that engine cover gets soft it drops down in and the fire takes off. It gets a surge of Oxygen and medium to burn. Its really difficult and dangerous to fight fire now with just a
extinguisher.
An engine lid that was fire resistant or maybe made so it would not drop down
when hot could not only give more time to save van but to also get your kids/family out. |
Aircooled and Diesel Vanagons came with steel engine hatches and are direct replacements for the fiberglass models.
I think that this is a great idea for the price and even if it doesn't fully put out the fire will definitely knock it down to something more manageable with a fire extinguisher.
Maybe installing 2 instead of just one might give some added capacity... |
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matkinson13 Samba Member
Joined: January 13, 2013 Posts: 79
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Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 10:58 pm Post subject: |
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Looking at this thread made me think of these:
http://www.swiftfireprotection.com/Products/Fire_E...vetop.html
We had them (or something similar) when stationed in Germany for over our stoves. They're about the size of a tuna can and magnetically attach to the underside of the stove's range hood; any fire automatically "pops" the can and releases the powder.
I know many engine lids aren't metal, but you could attach steel plates for the magnet to stick on or rig up another attachment method. They're only $55.95 per pair and the agent is (per the website) 93% sodium bicarbonate (=baking soda).
Only problem I can see is that the website says they need to hang 24-32 inches above the stove and I don't think we've got that kind of room.
Anyway, just thought I'd pass that along. May be another fire-fighting option, and would definitely work in a bus engine compartment. _________________ Illegitimi non carborundum.
GONE: 1984 Vanagon GL, 4 sp (natch) - new money pit
GONE: 2003 Honda Odyssey - the missus'
2008 Subaru Impreza - daily driver |
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dhaavers Samba Member
Joined: March 19, 2010 Posts: 7717 Location: NE MN (tinyurl.com/dhaaverslocation)
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Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 5:39 am Post subject: |
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I'd assume the headroom is necessary for adequate dispersal of the soda.
Yeah - I'm not confident this is a good application for our vans.
Maybe if you put a dozen of 'em up under there, but now you're out $300...??? _________________ 86 White Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS> |
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matkinson13 Samba Member
Joined: January 13, 2013 Posts: 79
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Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 8:17 am Post subject: |
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Touche, good sir. How much room DO we have under there?
This one only requires 15-27 inches:
http://www.hallfireprotection.net/html/stovetop_1.html
Looks like the same concept, but designed for lower cabinetry and is $74.50 a pair.
It may not work due to low clearances. But maybe we can figure out a similar concept that will work in our confined space.
Just looking at alternatives to...well...the "interstate campfire". _________________ Illegitimi non carborundum.
GONE: 1984 Vanagon GL, 4 sp (natch) - new money pit
GONE: 2003 Honda Odyssey - the missus'
2008 Subaru Impreza - daily driver |
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syncromike Samba Member
Joined: November 14, 2011 Posts: 660 Location: Boise, ID
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Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 8:36 am Post subject: |
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Does anyone know if it has it ever been tested at highway speeds? I'd think with the airflow at 55 mph it'd be a lot harder for that little tube to displace all the oxygen. It seems pretty ingenious otherwise. _________________ _____________________
'91 Syncro w/ Country Homes PopTop |
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Ahwahnee Samba Member
Joined: June 05, 2010 Posts: 9770 Location: Mt Lemmon, AZ
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Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 9:09 am Post subject: |
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syncromike wrote: |
Does anyone know if it has it ever been tested at highway speeds?... |
I now have the Blazecut in place. Hopefully I will not be the one to 'test' it under any circumstances.
We can certainly debate if it will be effective protection and what other, possibly better systems could be crafted. But whilst debating I at least have it in there and, I think, most would agree it is better than nothing - which is what I would have if Blazecut hadn't been available. |
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syncromike Samba Member
Joined: November 14, 2011 Posts: 660 Location: Boise, ID
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Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 11:24 am Post subject: |
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Ahwahnee wrote: |
syncromike wrote: |
Does anyone know if it has it ever been tested at highway speeds?... |
I now have the Blazecut in place. Hopefully I will not be the one to 'test' it under any circumstances.
We can certainly debate if it will be effective protection and what other, possibly better systems could be crafted. But whilst debating I at least have it in there and, I think, most would agree it is better than nothing - which is what I would have if Blazecut hadn't been available. |
true,adding to my wish list... _________________ _____________________
'91 Syncro w/ Country Homes PopTop |
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euromog Samba Member
Joined: September 19, 2008 Posts: 267
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Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2013 8:42 am Post subject: |
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It would be a good idea to mount a second system inside the dash. Most of the interior fires start there. Of course installing circuit breakers at the battery would help it not catching fire in the first place as mentioned before. |
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