fire system for M/C

[hawkwind]

G'day
 I have been prompted by the dicussion re motorcycle leathers /rule change  to let you know that I have engineered a possible solution to " a fire aboard a M/C during a run "  for those that don't know untill reciently I ran a fire protection company and have been in this industry  for the past 24 years , my solution for my bikes was an extinguishing agent called "Pyrogen" it was invented by the Russians and was used aboard their space craft and other critical applications , the extinguishing agent is contained within small cylinders called "mags " and it has 3 methods of activation , being  1.application of a low DC voltage  12-24 VDC to the mags terminals , 2. a thermal wick which automatically activates when the temp reaches a certian level ( dependant on the rating of the wick ) 3. when the cylinder reaches 500 deg F  , the mags are small enough to locate in and around the motor area , they work best if the bike is faired , and will extinguish any type of fire that would be encountered , with a little thought I have managed to place  one or two on both my bikes , if anyone is interested in further info or has any questions  email me on lsr350@hotmail.com
 Gary

[dad land]

tes sir.i'm very interested in this subject/product!send me some data ff line please and thank you!  dad land

[DahMurf]

I'm not personally interested just curious. I'm wondering what effects the extinguishing agent would have on the bikes traction if it makes it's way down to the tires. Are you using just a small amount to avoid getting too much on the tires & making it slippery? Avoiding a fire is good, causing a spill instead is bad. Just wondering what you came up with for this. Some day I may be involved with a fuel bike & this may be an option I would consider.
 Thanks for your thoughts!
 Deb

[landracing]

Deb,
 
 Dave MAtson uses one on his vincent, he had an oil fire 2 years ago, and he used the system and it worked flawless, put the fire out with no problems getting on the wheel.
 
 Also Joe Timney has a fire system for sale he is working on for us for our bikes.
 
 As for getting on the tires, it would depend on placement of nozzels, how much agent is released and what type of agent. Foam would seem practicle purpose.
 
 JOnathan

[hawkwind]

Murf / dad land a little about Pyrogen, it is a solid substance housed in an aluminium  container ,the sizes I use( bike size / engine compartment for streamliners )  are mag 1 to mag 3 with physical dimentions of aprox 3 inch diameter by 2 inchs long for the mag 1 3 inches for the mag 2 and 4 inches for the mag 3, a mag 1 will cover aprox .5 cubic meters ,mag 2 = 1 cubic meter and mag 3 = 2 cubic meters   at one end is a set of electrical conectors ,at the other the container has many perforations which the extinguishing agent comes from ,at the center is the thermal wick if used , how it operates is when enough heat is applied or an electrical current is applied the solid mass is activated and expelled at high velocity through the perforations , it exits as a very fine powder aprox .5 of a micron with the consistancy of fog , this powder reacts chemically with the free radicals of the fire  and stops combustion  period , very rapidly , it is effective on all classes of fire  except for some D class powdered metals , where flourine gas is present , it is non toxic , but is not suitable for enclosed spaces where it cannot escape and a person would not be able to escape ,mainly as it stops vision and can disorientate due to a "white out " and if breathed in over a long period at high concentrations can cause lung odema , it would not cause loss of traction  period , due to its makeup , I would recomend strongly that when the fire system is activated it also deactivates the fuel supply and electrical system . check out http://www.pyrogen.com/home.htm
 Gary

[DahMurf]

Excellent information! Thanks for the response! Do you have your own website where we can keep up to date on usage & effectiveness of deployment by other users? This sounds like a great product and I'm sure Dad "fireball" Land will put it to the test! hehehe
 This is definetly something I'd be interested in when we start playing with fuels.
 Thanks!
 Debbie

[Hank]

Is this the same as the "grenade"?I was curious about the delay before actuation,and if that could be bypassed.Current total flood codes for agents other than high pressure inerting gases call for 90% discharge by the 10 second mark.I want to be able to manually actuate a system and have instant start of discharge.A small system was engineered for Ed's motorcycle by yours truly that uses V-shaped discharge nozzles on opposing sides of both motors,discharging from the front to rear.Appx. 5 lbs of agent is 90% discharged in less than 10 secs.I have NO desire to start another business.This sounds pretty good if the actuation can be done and a aux. relay provided for power shutdown as mentioned.It could be run off a latching pressure switch.

[landracing]

Personally I just invested in a fire system that will be on my bike for speedweek.
 
 I was thinking about the electrical trigger method, but if fire starts and shorts out wiring then the method is no good, great sounding in theory, but we all know how fast fire consumes "stuff".
 
 I went with a push activation system that is will be actuated without my hands leaving the handlebars. It is a single nozzel up front in the fairing pointed towards the head and turbo area. If fire should happen while going down course then the air speed coming into the front of fairing at bottom should in theory carry some of the suppresion agent back. Still working on the part in a few weeks when fairing is back on the vehicle, and using a high speed leaf blower to simulate air speed while misting some water from the location of the nozzel.
 
 As the shutdown of whole electrical system on my bike I can shut down either of two ways, one by lanyard if I should leave the bike and two is a seperate switch that I can actuate without my hands leaving the handlebars.
 
 Firefox is the system I will be using.
 2 1/2 pound system.
 
 Jonathan
 
  <small>[ June 30, 2004, 09:19 PM: Message edited by: JonAmo ]</small>

[hawkwind]

Hank  yes 90%  discharge time is less than 10 seconds , delay time before activation via direct application of voltage  prolly around 10 miliseconds  basically instant , and Jon I use fire rated cable for the fire system , either "flamestop " or in critical areas MIMS , both will resist high temps for far longer than needed to stop a cycle from speed I also use strategically  placed intumencient paints and corkings
 Hawkwind

[Hank]

Sounds good.Protect-o-wire or equiv. has been used on Veh. fire suppression for quite a while.I have been a Dist. for Ansuls Veh. systems for a while,but there is pretty limited sales here for that.