Refillable Fire Suppression Systems

[Elmo Rodge]

Chris, I picked up my bottles at Speedweek and they had a July tag. No help there.  Wayno

[Bob Drury]

  Hey John Boy, whutzup with all this drivel about Zagatos and Abarths?  You turnin into a Commie or sumpin?
                                                                                      Just ol' One Run with a need to know..................

[wheelrdealer]

Wheeler.....guess I'm confused. If I discharge my system (and I have by mistake in my garage) and I refill it properly and pressurize it, take to a fire suppression service contractor to have it checked ( pressure checked and weighed) and that tech places a inspected/date tag on it I'm not legal??    I think you are incorrect in your thinking......I cannot be the inspector of the bottle but the tech can.....

Jimmy,

I would agree the bottle inspection part i.e. manufacturer date is 6 years or newer can be done. But how could or why would the fire suppression tech sign off on the contents of the refill if they did not fill or witness the refill. If a fire suppression tech would take someone's word that the system was filled correctly without knowing for sure tells me all I need to know.

BR

[wheelrdealer]

Wheeler.....guess I'm confused. If I discharge my system (and I have by mistake in my garage) and I refill it properly and pressurize it, take to a fire suppression service contractor to have it checked ( pressure checked and weighed) and that tech places a inspected/date tag on it I'm not legal??    I think you are incorrect in your thinking......I cannot be the inspector of the bottle but the tech can.....

I think the distinction is that it would no longer be considered SFI certified, but the indication from Roy is that it would still be acceptable for SCTA-BNI

I'm a bit surprised I haven't seen the cynical argument that the SFI spec is intended to underwrite a steady income for their cert department.  The focus - above all of our linguistic gymnastics - is putting a safe fire suppression system in our cars.  We're all on the same page with that one.

MM

To answer your date question, yes is possible to squeeze three years provided the speedweek dates are consistent. The second statement, if your system supplier drop ships from the fire system manufacturer they are date stamped the day the are shipped. If, like some of the big retails, ship out of stock the date code could be before the actual ship date.



I'd be really leery of a DIY fill of any variety.

My bottles have about 2 and 4 years left on them.  It's my intention to use them at Speedweek and pension them off, as I won't be running in 2015 - and Bill, I know who I'm going to order my new bottles from.

Bill, here's a question for you.  I was talking to Kiwi Steve last week, and he said that unlike some of the smaller vintage racing sanctioning bodies, SCTA-BNI looks at both the month and the year of the certification.  That's fine, but it occurs to me that if you can get a bottle for Speedweek dated in August, that you could theoretically run 3 events on it.

Of course, when you order a bottle, they mark it and tag it the day it goes out the door.  One of mine is a March date, the other - May.

Is it possible to place an order so that the bottles fall into the August stamping without running the risk of them not showing up in time for Speedweek?

Do you stock the bottles and do the tagging, and if so, would it be possible to pick them up at Speedweek - provided you're attending?

Here's hoping they never have to be put to use.  

[4-barrel Mike]

The tags on my 1999, 2000, & 2001 Fire Bottles say they were "serviced" in Mar 2008 by a company in Morehead NC.

Last year, I pulled one "by mistake".  Thick, semi-liquid crap dribbled out for more than an hour.  It would have put out a match only if I had stuck the match into that crap.

Peace of mind, at least, says to not let Joe Blow just weigh the bottles and say they're good to go.

Mike

[wheelrdealer]

Bill, first, thank you for the deal on the new fire system!

Now, to address your ‘concerns’- plain and simple, I think you’re overthinking it.

The rules do not state anything about SFI certs. They say ‘A current inspection/filling certification (no more than 24 months old) for each agent bottle shall be visible, blah blah blah”

There are many local fire prevention companies licensed and qualified to fill and inspect bottles-no, they won’t be SFI, but from what I read, they do not have to be.

I think you are correct. The rule is vague as to what a inspection/filling certification actually means. But the implication of certified is that there is some standard and some accountability as to the contents of the system. SFI 17.1 seems to be the most relevant standard to LSR not to say there are not additional standards.

Back to the original topic, if a system is re-filled by the individual and not the manf./agent it is certainly not SFi 17.1 certified and I would argue that it does not meet the "inspection/filling certified" standard per pg 40 Sec. 3Q.

[wheelrdealer]

Thanks for all of the feedback. All food for thought.

We hope everyone is safe and never has to pull their little red handles!

BR

[Speed Limit 1000]

  Hey John Boy, whutzup with all this drivel about Zagatos and Abarths?  You turnin into a Commie or sumpin?
                                                                                      Just ol' One Run with a need to know..................

My friend Pete was using our 1959 Abarth Zagato in vintage road racing. For years we have wanted to get the I/GT record back. Pete's life was keeping him from doing that. How he is retired and almost stable so we can again race the car . We held the record before and will try soon to get it back.  

[Speed Limit 1000]

Thanks for all of the feedback. All food for thought.

We hope everyone is safe and never has to pull their little red handles!

BR

I agree people need to be as safe as possible, but we don't need every SFI ect... person in the world up butt.
JMHO YMMV

[jimmy six]

Speed.....that's Milwaukees quote

[Dr Goggles]

The tags on my 1999, 2000, & 2001 Fire Bottles say they were "serviced" in Mar 2008 by a company in Morehead NC.

Last year, I pulled one "by mistake".  Thick, semi-liquid crap dribbled out for more than an hour.  It would have put out a match only if I had stuck the match into that crap.

Peace of mind, at least, says to not let Joe Blow just weigh the bottles and say they're good to go.

Mike

 We've sucked that saveloy. Our original system had Al bottles.....Aluminium oxide is not water soluble, but when you have a detergent available(AFFF) then it is eroded , quicker than you'd think. It makes a thick gooey jelly that as you said Mike would only put a match out if you jammed it in it. Not only that, there were Al dip tubes in the cylinders, they were clagged, and some were perforated. Just as well we were only going slow back then.

Just weighing the cylinders isn't enough, they need to be depressurized, emptied, the contents and the pressure vessel inspected then refilled and repressurized.

Bob, I had him down as a Commie rat

[Buickguy3]

  I just got a "new" Firefox bottle last week on Friday. The bottle is tagged with a mfg. date of 11/2012. Inspection date of 4/2014. Instant depreciation.
     Doug 

[wheelrdealer]

  I just got a "new" Firefox bottle last week on Friday. The bottle is tagged with a mfg. date of 11/2012. Inspection date of 4/2014. Instant depreciation.
     Doug 

I am sorry to hear that. Bottles are only certifiable for 6 years. It's the SFI 17.1 rule. But SFI sells those cert labels to the manufacturers and has the power to create their own demand.

Last year I replaced Simpson seat belts that were out of date. Belts that were used 15 times and appeared brand new. Later I learned there are companies that will re-cert and re-tag your existing belts for a reasonable fee.... Live and learn.

BR

[Speed Limit 1000]

Who does the belts?

[Milwaukee Midget]

Last year I replaced Simpson seat belts that were out of date. Belts that were used 15 times and appeared brand new. Later I learned there are companies that will re-cert and re-tag your existing belts for a reasonable fee.... Live and learn.

BR

Re-cert is a viable option for suits as well, although SCTA doesn't require it.  Nevertheless, I sent a used suit off for re-cert, and they stitched up a loose leg band for no additional charge.  I think it was a good value along with the additional peace of mind.