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Old 03-27-2013, 06:54 AM   #15
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All great discussion by the above posters and thank you for the pictures.

I contacted our fire suppression company that we use here at my place of employment (New York JETS Training Facility) and spoke with their design engineer. If a system was truly designed for that area (refrigerator, generator, engine) that we talk about here the system would cost in the thousands of dollars. So since that is not a viable option and we have a limited number of products available we really only can choose the ones we see fit.

Personally I think I am going with the vertical (straight head) version and mount it on a bracket to elevate it slightly. I would like to favor the position toward the burner but I will have to see what obstructions I might run into.

Another idea I have thought of is running a piece of PEX from the freshwater supply into the refrigerator compartment, installing a sprinkler head on it. Granted this would only work when freshwater is available (tank full, pump on or connected to pressurized water supply). Again just a thought.
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Old 03-27-2013, 12:45 PM   #16
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Now you have water damage to contend with. That's why everyone is using Halon.
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Old 03-27-2013, 08:59 PM   #17
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I guess but it would be better then damage from fire.

Would most of the water stay outside since that is where the sprinkler head would be ?
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Old 03-27-2013, 09:36 PM   #18
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No. The sprinkler is internal to the coach and could do significant damage. That's the reason that AFFF and powder extinguishers aren't used there either
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Old 03-28-2013, 01:34 AM   #19
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Now that I'm off the iPhone and can type...
The fridge sits essentially in a bare wood cabinet, and there is no weatherproofing whatsoever, even in the rear of said cabinet. IF the pump was on, and IF there was a sprinkler activation, and IF you weren't around the RV, then you could potentially dump 90+ gal of water into the cabinets, floor, etc. (obviously considerably more if on FHU), and ply-veneer cabinetry simply won't put up with being soaked like that. So there goes at least the local cabinets, rug, vinyl floor, probably the base floor ply, and whatever else was water damaged, including the lower bays

Likewise, powder extinguishers contain a corrosive and I've hear from past threads that it can cause as much or more damage as the fire it put out. That's why Halon
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Old 03-28-2013, 08:35 AM   #20
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There was a report of a fridge fire that had the halon installed. Did not put out the fire. I have never read of anyone that had the extinguisher and a fire was actually suppressed. I am going to install the Amish unit with no extinguisher. We have been rv'ing for over 40 years. Until around 2000 I had never heard of a fridge fire. Lots of engine fires or water heaters. The fires began when the fridge mfrs. cheapened the product. Very thin tubing. Probably sourced from China. Some of those old Dometics from the late 60's are still running! You cannot protect yourself from every hazard. I will have zero trouble sleeping once the Amish unit is installed.
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Old 03-28-2013, 09:10 AM   #21
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To set the record straight on the Halon SS-30 Fire Extinguishers, they come from a company located in Orlando Florida called Fire Fight Products, NOT from China or Mexico.

Fire Fight Supplemental Halon Fire Suppression Systems

Click on Links along with the other Hot Buttons to read about their AFFF and Halon systems.

Mac The Fire Guy buys his from the same company. The reason I know is that I purchased all of mine through Mac who is VERY knowledgeable about fires.

Fire Fight Products fills their own tanks. The original owner, Ralph Kennerknecht, was killed one day while filling tanks. A tragic loss.

Oh, BTW, I was able to relocate my SS-30 Halon to another compartment AFTER removing the NotSoCold fire trap. My Samsung RF197 is purring along great and wished that I had done it years ago.

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Old 03-28-2013, 10:31 AM   #22
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Dr4film: I am sure the SS30 product is of high quality. My comment on China was in reference to the tubing used by Norcold. Apparently the fridge fires do not always start in the same place. So full coverage with an extinguisher could be a problem. I pondered doing the recalls, changing to a house fridge or the Amish changeover or just putting in afire suppresant system. Very difficult decision. Because of my usage in Mexico with bad power I decided to go the Amish routine. Those who choose to do nothing really are "playing with fire" As consumers we should not be faced with these decisions. Norcold should recall ALL of those fridges and install a good cooling unit. Amazing that in the land of litigation they are doing nothing. I also wonder how many fridges are being used with no recalls donbe. Our unit is an 05 and the previous owner was an intelligent guy but somehow he never heard of the recalls. He had the MH in some very expensive dealerships and not once did the service dept. inform him that he needed to have the fridge modified. At NO cost!
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Old 03-28-2013, 10:48 AM   #23
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I am not downplaying the problem with refrigerators especially since I am most likely going to install a a automatic extinguisher. But here are some amazing numbers of all the millions of recreational vehicles sold and how many fires there are.

Here are some numbers from the RVIA of shipments from manufactures to dealers. Just from 2000 there have been millions of RV manufactured. Do you know how many refrigerator fires are reported a year? 20? 30? 50?

And maybe some of them were caused from preventative maintenance neglect or not properly serviced?

Link here
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Old 03-28-2013, 11:45 AM   #24
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All it takes is yours...

That's true about the ONE that we saw where the Halon didn't go off.
I saw Mac in Quartzsite and we had a long talk about that. He said that particular unit failed in a completely different place and manner than all others to date, and he is still waiting for the final report on what really happened
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Old 03-29-2013, 08:21 AM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moisheh View Post
Dr4film: I am sure the SS30 product is of high quality. My comment on China was in reference to the tubing used by Norcold.
Sorry, I should have referenced the post I was responding to. It wasn't yours about the Chinese built cooling units from Norcold. It was about where the SS-30 Halon Fire Extinguishers were made.

It was posted by Docschro98 earlier.

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Old 03-29-2013, 11:21 AM   #26
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If the fires start at the top maybe the SS30 mounted in the bottom where convenient and using the flex hose version where you could place the outlet exactly where it would be needed.
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Old 03-30-2013, 02:39 AM   #27
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If the fires start at the top maybe the SS30 mounted in the bottom where convenient and using the flex hose version where you could place the outlet exactly where it would be needed.
They don't. They typically start about 6" up from the burner assy. As mentioned above, there is one documentated case of an upper fire (that caused me to double-up on my Halon. Also as mentioned above, I talked to Mac the Fire Guy in Quartzsite who had been watching this one, and he said this was the failure if this type.
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Old 03-30-2013, 04:49 AM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bug512 View Post
I am not downplaying the problem with refrigerators especially since I am most likely going to install a a automatic extinguisher. But here are some amazing numbers of all the millions of recreational vehicles sold and how many fires there are.

Here are some numbers from the RVIA of shipments from manufactures to dealers. Just from 2000 there have been millions of RV manufactured. Do you know how many refrigerator fires are reported a year? 20? 30? 50?

And maybe some of them were caused from preventative maintenance neglect or not properly serviced?

Link here
Your chances of dying in a RV fire are very slim. Your chance of dying on the highway are much greater. Over 40 thousand people die on our roads and highways every year. To increase your chances of survival you would be better off wearing a crash helmet and a 4 point safety harness in all vehicles. Then even doing anything about your RV fridge. Our rig is a 2013 and it doesn't even have air bags for any seat! Omg where is Ralf Nader when we need him! We are dry camping as I type, with the furnace on and the Norcold running on gas and I am more concerned about KU loosing a basket ball game last night then I am about all the Norcold fridges in the free world. Mobil homes burn up all the time and very few of them have a ammonia type fridge. Faulty wiring is a leading cause of fires in all types of homes and RVs. Fuel leaks are also a leading cause of fires in all vehicles. We will love our Norcold till the day we die, or until the Norcold kills us!
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