On 26 Jan, 11:16, "Uncle Marvo"
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Post by Uncle MarvoAlways worth keeping those old illegal Halon jobs, too, IMHO!
The good old Halon jobs, filled with CFC's mind you I suppose CO2 is
just as bad. So are fires, full of unfriendly gases. The environment
doesn't stand a chance against Health & Safety Legislation.
Of course Uncle M you are quite correct in saying they are illegal as
the BSS confirms here and tells us how to get rid of them.
http://www.boatsafetyscheme.com/downloads/Defra-
Halononleisureboatsleafletoct05.pdf
But our friends across the pond quite naturally take a different view,
well they would wouldn't they. No ban here, they actively re-cycle
the stuff arguing that there is no safe way to dispose of the gas
effectively. Better to re-cycle and let it off in small quantities
when the need arises. What's more they fill aircraft fire systems with
it saying that there is nothing quite like it for putting out fires.
Read all about the virtues of Halon here. http://www.h3r.com/halon/
faq.htm Please note the page says its legal, for those that skip
read it means America.
I suppose it begs the question how effectively did we and Europe
dispose of the gases we have recalled and banned ??
Putting a fire out with any type of extinguisher is not only dependant
on what you squirt on the fire but more importantly how the person
doing the squirting uses the thing. For anyone who has not used a fire
extinguisher, coping with the situation where there is a need to use
one let alone figure out how to discharge the thing effectively, can
be daunting. Which is why I advocate going to any of those public do's
the Fire Brigade have in the summer months at fairs and the like.
Better still buy a cheap Lidl one and discharge it. See how you get on
with it.
Getting back to the BSS and extinguishers. When I had a boat I
complied with the BSS, in fact I complied before they brought their
rules out. Personally however, I would make every effort to make sure
that in a fire situation the last thing I would pick up to try and
extinguish any fire would be a powder extinguisher. My reasons are as
follows.
1. They are messy, I mean horrendously messy. OK they might do the job
but there is the clear up afterwards if you have been fortunate
enough. Some might argue after the exclusion clauses in the insurance
it might have been better to let it burn.
2. Dry powder extinguishers can be prone to compacting over a period.
Anyone who is familiar with Materials Handling will tell you one
method of filling a container with say a powder like product is to use
vibration. This settles the product rapidly for production packing
purposes. Naturally anti caking agents may be used, something like
Magnesium Stearate is popular in food stuffs to make it flow. But the
addition of that creates a mixture and yes you've guessed it over a
period of time vibration will also separate a mixture.
However we cheerfully hang dry powder extinguishers on the bulkheads
of our narrowboats and then turn on our totally vibration free engines
(I think not) and trundle along safe in the knowledge that alls well.
But is it ?? I don't know and I'm not suggesting for a minute that any
extinguisher sold will behave like that but it might. Remember time
wasted fiddling about with a faulty extinguisher may cost you dearly.
My answer is along the lines of Uncle Marvo, only I used to have CO2
extinguishers onboard. A couple of those and you'd blow the fire out.
When I sold the boat they (extinguishers) went with me not the boat.
Cheers, Peter
Taking a Practical Approach to H & S, not just going on a course to
read & talk about it.
What's more I have the missing fingers to prove it ;-))