Engine room Co2 fire suppression certification dilemma

[Streff]

Good morning all,As I continue getting various issues addressed on the Hatteras ED, I have been calling around to get all fire extinguishers including the big CO2 bottles in the ER certified. I cannot find anyone that wants or can do the Co2 bottles certification. I am still waiting on a call back from one outfit. These big units were last certified in 2022 (2 owners back). Previous owner has a good size (around 12-15#) hand held fire extinguishers in each ER as he also could not get anyone to certify them without removing them off the boat. He opted not to certify them. PO had a vessel safety check done twice with no issues as things stands.So my question is: How successful are you folks are in finding an outfit that certifies these big CO2 bottles? Also, it seems interesting that a Safety check was successful without the CO2 units being certified. I would appreciate your comments and ideasStreff

 

[firbanks]

There are a couple of topics - first certifying the system and second, less frequently, hydrostatically tested and inspected. The hydrostatic test and inspection might be every 10 years or so and the engine room CO2cylinder(s) are typically removed from the vessel and brought to a shop environment to test. In both cases, you should be able to find an outfit to do this for you locally. I've used Fire Ranger in Fort Lauderdale (homeport) and they were bought out by Summit Fire Protection who seem to have locations up and down the coast. If not, call a couple of surveyors, big marinas or repair yards in the area and ask them for a referral to a fire safety outfit. Here's the link to Summit if they can point you in the right direction...

https://summitcompanies.com/contact-us/

 

[Pascal]

Fire Ranger was great until they were bought by Summit. The techs are still good but prices went up and billing scheduling sucks…

You can pass a USCG safety inspection without a certified fixed system as long as you have enough handhelds. Your insurer may have somethjng to say about this though. Note that rules have changed a couple of years ago and even with a fixed system you may need additional handhelds in the ER. I forgot the size at which this apply. 60 or 70’ I think.

As to the CO system, I gave up on it a few years back. I replaced the system with 3 fireboys, one per ER plus gen room.

 

[adendis]

You can also try to find an independent inspector who can certify as long as you are not due for hydrostatic testing.

Check with local fire department for inspectors familiar with marine. They are also usually not out to try to contract a sale or product refurbishment as I found locally with many of the companies selling equipment.

 

[Streff]

Thank you all for your input. You have educated me on many angles to understand the ramifications. I am reaching to the previous outfit and see if & when they hydrostatically tested the units in 2022. I spoke with Summit regarding options for a different Firebuoy-like system for 2ERs and generator area. They seem to suggest that it’s going to be pretty pricey. It seems that they can certify the current system for $800. In the meantime, I will read the fine print of the insurance policy to see what is required.Thank you againStreff

 

[Pascal]

Yeah it s not cheap. Each firebox 500 cuft was $1100 with the manual discharge kits. Them each shutdown module was about $500 so $1500 if I wanted to keep each system separate so that a trigger in one space wouldn’t shut down the whole boat. I ended up making my own with three relays and 3 override switches

 

[firbanks]

Typically, they stamp the latest hydrostatic test date onto the bottle. Not a label affixed to the side but legit stamped into the metal of the actual cylinder at the top.

 

[Briankinley2004]

If you are in Florida try All Florida Fire. They removed the bottle in my 55 to hydro it and the bottom was rusted out. They were able to find me a used bottle and got a hydro on it

 

[Streff]

Thank you all for your comments. Summit can do the certification for the CO2 system, however I am not sure when the cylinder was hydrostatically checked. I see an engraving that looks like 04: 13 on the back of the canister up by the neck. I am not sure how the hydrostatic check date is typically documented on the canister.Streff