Re: On board fires

[shawl@torchlake.com (Jonathan Shawl)]

Hi Vance,
OK, I agree, no water extinguishers, I wasn't trying to say there would be no
shock hazard, I just meant It may not add to the short circuit problem. Just
thought I would bring it up for discussion. I'm still wondering what gas is used
in the dry chemical type extinguishers? I know it's NOT oxygen. What is the safe
% limit for CO2 in a sub?
Could you tell us what specifically what kind of problem caused the smoke and or
fire in the sub or subs you where in, you mentioned earlier? Bad design, faulty
parts, crimp on connectors, bad workmanship, human error, water shorting out
something, unforeseen problems??????
Jon

VBra676539@aol.com wrote:

> jon and all,
>         Ref # 12--dry extinguishers are driven by inert gases--natch.  Fires
> and psubhumans both thrive in the same oxygen rich atmospheres.  Rule number
> one:  No oxygen, no fire (or at least no flames).  For the psubhumans, the
> rules are the same.  No oxygen, no life.
>         Electrical fires don't need oxygen to make smoke, but the actual
> combustion of insulation or paint or something requires combustibles. Avoid
> them when you can, protect them all the time, and don't show up to the
> gunfight with a knife.  So, fight fires in some sort of respiratory
> equipment--either a full-face respirator with good filters (not recommended
> but better than nothing) or some kind of supplied air system (BIBBS, pony
> bottle, or something).
>         PLEASE don't use halon in a closed environment!  It displaces oxygen
> even better than CO2 does in the bloodstream.  See Rule Number One.  And
> PLEASE don't consider water (no matter how pure) for an electrical fire.  A
> bad jolt from a DC system can shock your heart to a stop.  Again, see Rule
> Number One.
>         I've read and been taught about high and low voltage safety
> comparisons, but I have also had the crap knocked out of me once or twice by
> those erstwhile low-voltage systems and I damned sure don't want to be
> sitting at a thousand feet with my two feet in a puddle while my battery bank
> turns itself into a DC welder--even a low-voltage DC welder.  Once the fire
> is out, you'll have plenty to do just trying to get powered back up or do an
> emergency surface procedure or whatever without worrying about that.
> Regards,
> Vance