BlazeCut Fire suppression

> Hi Debbie,
>
> Perhaps you saw my pictures on FB, I have that 3 meter BlazeCut USA Fire extinguish System already since last year ...
> Luckily not needed .....
>
> By Daniel.

Hi Daniel. No haven't seen it. Can you point me to it? I wouldn't mind some pointers on how & where you installed it. Thanks.
Deb
--
Deb McWade
Logan Lake, BC, CAN
"Li'l Sister"
'77 Kingsley, 403, EBL EFI;
TZE167V101404
It's Bigger on the Inside!
 
Hope the photos I did send you, helpen,

Bye, Daniel
--
Daniel Jacobs, NL-USA 1977 GMC Eleganza II, 455 newer Tranny+3.55 FD. FiTech and FCC, new Hoses, Selector Valve and Electric Pump, insulated Tanks,
APC, McDash, Dash AC to Enviro Safe. Schräder V+extern Fills, Ceramic Film TPMS FlexSteel Seats
 
Hey Daniel. Yes they helped. I hadn't considered setting it up that way. Interesting, and very simple.
--
Deb McWade
Logan Lake, BC, CAN
"Li'l Sister"
'77 Kingsley, 403, EBL EFI;
TZE167V101404
It's Bigger on the Inside!
 
Are you going to share the photos with the rest of us?

--
Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana
 
Just checked with Daniel to see if he would mind me posting them. I doubt he would mind, but, as a courtesy. Not my stuff, so I wanted to check.
Haven't got to my install yet. Tools are all in the middle of the coach and I really don't want to start crawling over everything. Still lots of
time. Almost done the water heater and filtration re-jig - needed to pick up a couple of additional fittings. Rather get the back half of the coach
sorted before I start working on the front half.
--
Deb McWade
Logan Lake, BC, CAN
"Li'l Sister"
'77 Kingsley, 403, EBL EFI;
TZE167V101404
It's Bigger on the Inside!
 
That is fine. I just wanted to see what his idea was.
--
Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana
 
No problem, Deb
You can Post them ...

Bye, Daniel
--
Daniel Jacobs, NL-USA 1977 GMC Eleganza II, 455 newer Tranny+3.55 FD. FiTech and FCC, new Hoses, Selector Valve and Electric Pump, insulated Tanks,
APC, McDash, Dash AC to Enviro Safe. Schräder V+extern Fills, Ceramic Film TPMS FlexSteel Seats
 
Here is Daniel's installation. Very simple, appears well away from anything hot. Zip-tied in place. I am wondering if it is a wide enough
circumference to catch the lower parts of the engine compartment.

I am thinking of just running mine around the perimeter of the engine cover opening - that's really all 3 metres will cover. 9'+ sounds like a lot of
tubing, but our engine hatch isn't much smaller than that - maybe 8' in circumference? (not in the coach and haven't measured it). I'll know better
when I take a really close look through and around the hole. I am off to Princess Auto this week to pick up the proper clamps.

However I install it, I will update photos when it's done. Still very happy to accept input, suggestions.

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/data/7216/medium/IPad_2017_2388.jpg

--
Deb McWade
Logan Lake, BC, CAN
"Li'l Sister"
'77 Kingsley, 403, EBL EFI;
TZE167V101404
It's Bigger on the Inside!
 
Thought I would follow-up on the BlazeCut saga. I was in contact with BlazeCut USA about the open engine bay, big fan, lots of air movement and the
efficacy of this system, whether they had done any testing under similar circumstances, and here is the reply I got:

"Yes we use the system on semi open compartments. Those GMC's use a large V-8 tornado drivetrain if I am not mistaken. For your application i would
have chosen the TV400FA, 12'. I personally use one in my 72 GMC truck with a 350V'8 and more free space than your engine bay. We have a video we are
producing now of a Dodge Caravan. its not quite as large as yours, however in the video fuel and fire drop out of the engine bay and are burning on
the ground below the car. The BlazeCut floods the area and even put that fire out.

You are correct in that the efficacy will be reduced by the open area of the engine bay. This is why I would use the larger unit to compensate."

I have asked to see if there is a way to swap out the 9' system for a 12' system. The Canadian distributer only carries the 6' & 9' systems. With
luck, I can get the larger system and go from there. That would also give me more length to be able to run a bit down the back wall.
More to come...

--
Deb McWade
Logan Lake, BC, CAN
"Li'l Sister"
'77 Kingsley, 403, EBL EFI;
TZE167V101404
It's Bigger on the Inside!
 
Hello Deb,

I got the TV400FA ... so the biggest, for automotive use, I ordered directly over their website.
Thanks for asking them. I personally think that the "hood" also deflects the extinguishing agents.

Bye, Daniel
--
Daniel Jacobs, NL-USA 1977 GMC Eleganza II, 455 newer Tranny+3.55 FD. FiTech and FCC, new Hoses, Selector Valve and Electric Pump, insulated Tanks,
APC, McDash, Dash AC to Enviro Safe. Schräder V+extern Fills, Ceramic Film TPMS FlexSteel Seats
 
> Thought I would follow-up on the BlazeCut saga. I was in contact with BlazeCut USA about the open engine bay, big fan, lots of air movement and
> the efficacy of this system, whether they had done any testing under similar circumstances, and here is the reply I got:
>
> "Yes we use the system on semi open compartments. Those GMC's use a large V-8 tornado drivetrain if I am not mistaken. For your application i
> would have chosen the TV400FA, 12'. I personally use one in my 72 GMC truck with a 350V'8 and more free space than your engine bay. We have a
> video we are producing now of a Dodge Caravan. its not quite as large as yours, however in the video fuel and fire drop out of the engine bay and
> are burning on the ground below the car. The BlazeCut floods the area and even put that fire out.
>
> You are correct in that the efficacy will be reduced by the open area of the engine bay. This is why I would use the larger unit to compensate."
>
> I have asked to see if there is a way to swap out the 9' system for a 12' system. The Canadian distributer only carries the 6' & 9' systems.
> With luck, I can get the larger system and go from there. That would also give me more length to be able to run a bit down the back wall.
> More to come...

Reading your message, a thought came to mind, the engne radiator fan.
There are two scenarios to an engine fire, one where the engine is running,
and one where the engine is stopped, for whatever reason.

Both scenarios can require a different attack to the fire source.

WITH A DEAD ENGINE, OR NO FAN RUNNING, unless you have an electric fan,
a suppressant would need to be able to coat/cover/suppress a fire almost directly.
I do get concerned about the hot engine metal causing a flash back when the
suppressant runs out.

With an electric fan or the engine is running, the whole picture seems to change.
With all that wind being artifically created, the nozzels almost need to be at a
position where the wind will ASSIST the suppressant at hitting its target. BUt nozzels
aimed at a specific area/target for non-wind conditions may be blown off target and
miss the fire.
AND IF THE GMC is moving down the road when the system fires, it may not be effective
at all when all that wind is blowing around from everywhere.

My thought was twofold. Since the fire extinguishment supply is limited, it may be a
first strike against any fire, and an added water mist be installed along with it.
Nozzels can be mounted for both non fan attack and to work with the fan blown winds
with the benefit of cooling the engines hot metals. I am wondering how effective
this system can be, just thinking...
--
GatsbysCruise. \
74GMC260 Former Glacier Model style. \
Waukegan, Illinois \ Keep those MiniDiscs Spinning \ MY GREYHOUND IS FASTER THAN YOUR HONOR ROLL STUDENT \ WindowsXP-Win7-Win8.1-UBUNTU STUDIO -
UBUNTU VOYAGER - Berzin Auto Center
 
Oh I know! All of those things run through my head. I have seen the tests on cars with major industrial fans running to simulate wind from fan &/or
driving, and it does knock it right down, but still, these are in fairly enclosed compartments compared to ours. The speed that this compound is
ejected will compensate - to a degree! - for the fan etc, and it does work primarily through intense cooling as well as O2 displacement, so hopefully,
no flare-up after the fact.

I don't know exactly how effective this would be for our application either. So far, I haven't been able to find anything resembling the Fire Fight
System up here, and these products apparently can't be shipped outside of the contiguous US. Unless Jim K can ship these to Canada...

So I have what I have. If it gives me time to get out then I will be satisfied for now. God willin' I will never have to test that theory.
--
Deb McWade
Logan Lake, BC, CAN
"Li'l Sister"
'77 Kingsley, 403, EBL EFI;
TZE167V101404
It's Bigger on the Inside!
 
I don't remember seeing any comments about the use of BlazeCut in the
refrigerator compartment. What say ye, oh fire fighting cognoscenti? That
worries me more than anything else on the GMC, yet I've done nothing except
fill that compartment with stuff like jacks, 120 vac compressor, and wheel
chocks.

Ken H.
 
THE REFRIGERATOR COMPARTMENT

Ken, I have had thoughts about mine as well.
Its interesting. I have a 3 way Norcold in there so I have Propane gas.
The access door is at least 9 inches above the floor or the refrigerator
compartment floor. Because Propane has that tendancy to "puddle", and
collect at low places, I have a bowl down there. Don't have a pilot
light, so I have the makings of a bomb.... do you see what I am
thinking?
If I should have a propane leak, it will puddle in that "bowl" that is
about 2 1/2 foot by 3 foot and 9 inches tall. should it fill with
propane gas and that electronic ignitor spark up to light the frige
burner, I can only hope that the propane gas is thick enough that there
is no air to allow the propane to light off and EXPLODE.

I don't think the Access is OEM, it looks like it was added by a PO.

I have considered installing a pvc pipe that goes to the floor of that cabinet,
goes up to the access door and put a little fan there to suck the air and
any gas that might be collecting out the vent to atmosphere.
In this case, a fire system is too late, the damage would already be
too great to worry about it.

thoughts?

slc
--
GatsbysCruise. \
74GMC260 Former Glacier Model style. \
Waukegan, Illinois \ Keep those MiniDiscs Spinning \ MY GREYHOUND IS FASTER THAN YOUR HONOR ROLL STUDENT \ WindowsXP-Win7-Win8.1-UBUNTU STUDIO -
UBUNTU VOYAGER - Berzin Auto Center
 
My refer access door is also several inches above the bottom of that
compartment. But, before I ever turned the refer on, I bored several 1"
holes at the bottom of the compartment wall (where the outer skin of the
coach makes a double wall with the interior wall) and covered them with
screen wire. Since that entire area is fiberglassed, water intrusion is
not a big concern, 'tho' it's never happened. If it did, it still
shouldn't be a significant problem: I built a 3/4" high fiberglassed
"dam" between the outer wall and the back of the refer. So, I'm not at all
concerned about a propane puddle. But the pressurized gas around an open
flame does bother me. I'd like to put some sort of an automatic
protection system in there.

Ken H.

On Tue, Apr 30, 2019 at 7:24 PM slc via Gmclist
wrote:

> THE REFRIGERATOR COMPARTMENT
>
> Ken, I have had thoughts about mine as well.
> Its interesting. I have a 3 way Norcold in there so I have Propane gas.
> The access door is at least 9 inches above the floor or the refrigerator
> compartment floor. Because Propane has that tendancy to "puddle", and
> collect at low places, I have a bowl down there. Don't have a pilot
> light, so I have the makings of a bomb.... do you see what I am
> thinking?
> If I should have a propane leak, it will puddle in that "bowl" that is
> about 2 1/2 foot by 3 foot and 9 inches tall. should it fill with
> propane gas and that electronic ignitor spark up to light the frige
> burner, I can only hope that the propane gas is thick enough that there
> is no air to allow the propane to light off and EXPLODE.
>
> I don't think the Access is OEM, it looks like it was added by a PO.
>
> I have considered installing a pvc pipe that goes to the floor of that
> cabinet,
> goes up to the access door and put a little fan there to suck the air and
> any gas that might be collecting out the vent to atmosphere.
> In this case, a fire system is too late, the damage would already be
> too great to worry about it.
>
> thoughts?
>
> slc
> --
> GatsbysCruise. \
> 74GMC260 Former Glacier Model style. \
> Waukegan, Illinois \ Keep those MiniDiscs Spinning \ MY GREYHOUND IS
> FASTER THAN YOUR HONOR ROLL STUDENT \ WindowsXP-Win7-Win8.1-UBUNTU STUDIO -
> UBUNTU VOYAGER - Berzin Auto Center
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
 
Ken, are you talking about inside the outside wall below the belt line??? Doesn't that open to the space inside above the wheel well???
--
GatsbysCruise. \
74GMC260 Former Glacier Model style. \
Waukegan, Illinois \ Keep those MiniDiscs Spinning \ MY GREYHOUND IS FASTER THAN YOUR HONOR ROLL STUDENT \ WindowsXP-Win7-Win8.1-UBUNTU STUDIO -
UBUNTU VOYAGER - Berzin Auto Center
 
Due diligence on maintenance. Soap test EVERY propane connection on at
least an annual basis. These coaches vibrate as they are used, stuff like
threaded connections and pipes, electrical connectors, both 120 volt and 12
volt. Power down your systems, and tighten every screw and wire connectors
you can find. Check all your battery cables, etc. Just know these rigs are
40 + years old, and made in an era when high maintenance was the name of
the game. Today's cars are more like appliances than they are like our GMC
coaches. We kinda get lulled to sleep when it comes to maintaining these
old vehicles. If we neglect safety related stuff, bad stuff happens when we
do. Just a reminder. I am just as guilty as anyone when it comes to
complacency. Be safe out there, and have fun with these old beasts.
Jim Hupy
Salem, Or

On Tue, Apr 30, 2019, 6:43 PM slc via Gmclist
wrote:

> Ken, are you talking about inside the outside wall below the belt line???
> Doesn't that open to the space inside above the wheel well???
> --
> GatsbysCruise. \
> 74GMC260 Former Glacier Model style. \
> Waukegan, Illinois \ Keep those MiniDiscs Spinning \ MY GREYHOUND IS
> FASTER THAN YOUR HONOR ROLL STUDENT \ WindowsXP-Win7-Win8.1-UBUNTU STUDIO -
> UBUNTU VOYAGER - Berzin Auto Center
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
 
Let's be clear: I rebuilt the entire interior of the 23' X-Birchaven in
'98 -- only the cabinet doors are original, at HER insistence. As I
remember it now, below the beltline, above the driver's side wheel well,
there was a space between the interior and exterior walls. During the
years between my being 61 years old and 82, the actual facts may have
disappeared into the abyss: I may have built that interior fiberglass wall
myself, for now unknown reasons; or, maybe someone can tell us that it was
OEM. Either way, that void's provided a nice, weatherproof, exit route for
any noxious fumes behind the refrigerator. :-)

Sorry I can't be more definitive.

While I'm reminiscing, let me suggest something to look for: I know of
only one 23' GMC with an OEM electrical door at the far rear of the
driver's side -- mine. I've been looking for all these years and never
seen one. If you have, please speak up. The reason I'm so curious is that
my DOOR is OEM -- the location is not, at least not completely. Here's
why: With the interior gutted, I found at the far rear of the coach what
appeared to be the frame for a door, similar to the electrical compartment
door on 26' coaches. A tape measure showed it to be of the same
dimensions, so I bought a door and hinge from Zeb Frady. Using a carefully
fabricated plywood guide, I used a router with a carbide bit to cut through
the aluminum siding where I found the frame on the inside. As it worked
out, I cut in exactly the right location. When the aluminum fell out of
the hole, I was astounded, not at my luck but at what I found: In the
center of the lower horizontal of the frame was welded a little aluminum
block -- the striker for the door latch, exactly where it needed to be.
After I pop-riveted the hinge of the door in place, everything fit and
operated exactly as the GMC designers intended -- but apparently no one
else ever bothered to implement!

I have seen a very few other Birchavens with the electrical compartment
door, but always further forward, similar in location to on a 26' -- NEVER
at the rear. So, if I've missed one, please tell me.

Ken H.

On Tue, Apr 30, 2019 at 9:43 PM slc via Gmclist
wrote:

> Ken, are you talking about inside the outside wall below the belt line???
> Doesn't that open to the space inside above the wheel well???
> --
> GatsbysCruise. \
> 74GMC260 Former Glacier Model style. \
> Waukegan, Illinois \ Keep those MiniDiscs Spinning \ MY GREYHOUND IS
> FASTER THAN YOUR HONOR ROLL STUDENT \ WindowsXP-Win7-Win8.1-UBUNTU STUDIO -
> UBUNTU VOYAGER - Berzin Auto Center
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
 
Thank you for the clarification.

I'll have to go look. My frig is next to the entrance door on the passenger side above the wheel well.
I have done some work in the lower cabinet, and as I recall there is an internal wall, like the wood
plastic stickum paper over hard board on that back wall, but it is attached to the frame somehow.

I'll get a good look at it in the light. Right now, and its been a while since I have been in that area
and in the wheel well outside, i don't recall seeing any way for the air to get out. I can be wrong so
I'll spend some time and check it out.

Thanks for the info, sounds like a good idea
slc
--
GatsbysCruise. \
74GMC260 Former Glacier Model style. \
Waukegan, Illinois \ Keep those MiniDiscs Spinning \ MY GREYHOUND IS FASTER THAN YOUR HONOR ROLL STUDENT \ WindowsXP-Win7-Win8.1-UBUNTU STUDIO -
UBUNTU VOYAGER - Berzin Auto Center
 
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