Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2004 20:45:12 +1200
Reply-To: Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject: Re: Vanagon burned to the ground ( long reply)
In-Reply-To: <000301c478bb$ffe45cb0$49d2ea42@ttower17def>
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>1) carry a good fire extinguisher.
>I would like to know where I can buy a HALON fire extinguisher CHEAP.
It'll have to be used... er.... better to say secondhand.
>2) Check your fuel lines. get up close and personal. Seems a good way would
>be to turn on the ignition but don't start and go to every section and push
>it around a bit to see if you can get a leak or break in the line.
Get rid of the plastic "firewall" inline connector... there is no
good reason for this to exist; replace it with a 1-piece line. You
could even consider using copper or steel line.
>3) Get an early METAL deck lid for the back engine cover.
Do it. Don't mess around with jury-rigging something that almost
certainly won't work. Steel stock lids must be available in wrecking
yards. I believe all aircooleds and diesels had them. Plastic lids
(polyester resin is a plastic) will burn through very quickly, And
indeed, add their own combustion to the conflagration.
>4) what about installing a high temp alarm or smoke alarm in the engine
>compartment?
a smoke alarm will go off as soon as dust gets into it... ie as soon
as the wheels start turning. A thermal alarm on the other hand sounds
like a really GOOD idea!
>6) I would really like an "early alert system" of some kind, because I
>believe if there is a fuel leak it will dump LOTS of fuel all over the
>engine and back of the vehicle in NO TIME. once its all over one spark and
>the whole underside is a blaze. if it takes you a minute to figure out your
>bus is on fire. that's a minute that is HUGE.
>Is it possible to detect the drop in fuel pressure or large consumption of
>fuel somehow and ALARM it?
>Is there such a thing as a "raw gas / fuel detector" ?
How about an inline (duh) fuel-shutoff valve connected to the thermal
sensor? If the sensor detects excessive heat it will sound an alarm
(audio &/or visual) and shut the fuel flow off at the tank. It should
also isolate the fuelpump... and it could also be set-up to activate
abuilt-in extinguisher system.
>The deck lid is made of fiberglass polyester resin and I imagine does not
>last very long in an engine fire. It is also responsible for the ENTIRE van
>going up instead of what may be a salvageable vehicle. I think a simple
>piece of 3/8 hardy backer concrete tile board alone on the top of the rear
>deck would offer some protection. perhaps a sheet of 22 gauge sheet metal
>under it as
>well.
>
>There are some new materials in wood stoves today that are very light and
>will not burn. Its a product called "vermiculite" "ver-mic-u-lite" it looks
>somewhat like particle board but will absolutely not burn under the highest
>heat. It is very light. It is currently being used in wood stoves to create
>a "super hot fire" by insulating the fire box area and allows the stove to
>burn much cleaner.
There is nothing new about vermiculite; it has been used as a
plant-pottin medium for decades at least. It is merely decomposing
mica (mica is an aluminosilicate mineral in the form of large
crystals which cleave into thin sheets). Mica might be of some use;
it used to be used for windows in combustion heaters. vermiculite is
soft squidgy stuff and useless for anything more than planting plants
in. If someone is marketing a boardlike product as "vermiculite",
they are guilty of stupidly causing confusion.
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin
New Zealand
Fossil preparator
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut
