Halon System
- Thread starter MarkMuck
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2009
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- 30972
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- 2,127
What is he looking at? Mine is 97 and the gauge reads full. I shake it up every few months or so to keep the contents loose. If you ever need a refill, be aware that the contents are no longer manufactured and in some states even illegal. You may have to get a new one if it actually needed to be serviced.
Halon auto deploy extinguishers are available for as low as $175. They can be easily replaced. I'm not sure what he would be looking at.
Halon is discharged as a liquid that instantly turns into a gas. Unlike powder type extinguishers, there is no need to "shake it up".
Halon is discharged as a liquid that instantly turns into a gas. Unlike powder type extinguishers, there is no need to "shake it up".
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2000
- RO Number
- 775
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- 1,222
I doubt it really has Halon in it - manufacture of Halon stopped in the early 1990's, most suppression systems use FM200. My guess is the "service" is checking the operation of the system to ensure it would in fact deploy during a real fire. I would make sure the guy knows what he is doing - I am in IT,and I have seen FM200 systems accidentally deployed by "professionals" more than once in data centers during their inspections.
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2007
- RO Number
- 27413
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- 1,164
I had our boat's tank checked two seasons ago (didn't use boat last season). I removed the tank and brought it to a local fire extinguisher company. They checked the weight, valve, and wiring connection. All OK. Cost was $35 with me doing the removal and installation. The tank on our previous boat had Halon, I think. That is no longer available. A new system was about $1K. I bought a few extra hand extinguishers. Hy
Because Halon is a CFC, the production of Halon ceased on January 1, 1994, under the Clean Air Act. There is no cost-effective means of safely and effectively disposing of the Halon that has already been produced, therefore recycling and reusing the existing supply intelligently and responsibly to protect lives and property is the best solution.
The EPA recognizes that that Halon remains the most effective "clean" extinguishing agent available, despite its ozone depleting potential, and there are no federal or state regulations prohibiting the buying, selling or use of Halon extinguishers. All Halon available now is recycled so it is an environmentally responsible choice.
The EPA recognizes that that Halon remains the most effective "clean" extinguishing agent available, despite its ozone depleting potential, and there are no federal or state regulations prohibiting the buying, selling or use of Halon extinguishers. All Halon available now is recycled so it is an environmentally responsible choice.
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2007
- RO Number
- 27413
- Messages
- 1,164
I believe the system I had on our Chaparral was a FireFox, which could only be serviced by the company. No one around here could connect their tanks to the system used on the boat's tank. Firefox was no longer supporting that system and sent me a brochure on the new, replacement systems. Interestingly, none of the replacement systems offered a simple replacement tank. All required replacing the wiring, indicator, bracket and tank. I couldn't just buy a tank of the gas with the heat switch and valve even though everything else would have interchanged. Fate intervened and we sold the boat that season because we got our Cruisers. Hy
Capt. Bill1
Active member
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- Jan 1, 2000
- RO Number
- 2017
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Normally they will weight the bottle. The reading on the gauge can be incorrect.
If done correctly you are paying for the guy to come out, check the electrical part of the system, if there is one, remove and weight the bottle and reinstall. Do that price seems fair if that's what he did.
If done correctly you are paying for the guy to come out, check the electrical part of the system, if there is one, remove and weight the bottle and reinstall. Do that price seems fair if that's what he did.
Mark, we had ours (an original 2002 install) inspected/certified in 2012. The tech came to the boat and then weighed the cylinder to determine the gsuge is correct, etc. He tested the alarm display on the bridge, too. During the course of all that, he discovered the manual activation system was non-op from cable deterioration... so he also sourced and replaced that for/with me (somewhat over and above a normal inspection).
I forget the fee, but he also inspected all our other portable extinguishers at the same time, and I don't remember thinking that was all unreasonable.
Just this last week I've had an interesting issue with the discharge alarm on the bridge. Luckily no fire, no halon discharge, just an electrical fault. You can read about all (details, pics, etc.) that on the owners club forum.
-Chris