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It is true that an oxygen limiting system like Halon or CO2 needs a sealed area to be effective. An engine room would be closed enough to slow or stop the fire giving an occupant time to use a portable extinguisher and water to cool things down. A dry chemical system is better in this sittuation because of the way it works and the way it hangs in the air when released. Either way they would have had some firefighting to do. Another reason why I always urge people to practice with an extinguisher on land before they need it in an emergency.
Tom
-------------- Original message --------------
> This is a timely topic for me, since I have a friend whose boat just burned to
> the water line. I do not have any answers but I do have additional questions
> for the list on this topic.
>
> The boat was a commercial Uniflite with twin diesels that were turbo-charged
> and after-cooled. He had been running for about 6 hours off Mexico fishing.
> Unknown to him, a turbo bearing seized and
> when the turbo ultimately failed, it sprayed hot oil all over the engine room
> including the bottom sole of the cabin. The heat ignited the oil and the boat
> burned in less than 10 minutes.
>
> He did not have a automatic fire extinguisher system. When he realized he had
> a problem and grabbed a hand extinguisher, the fire was too hot to get near
> and their only alternative was to jump in the
> dingy. Fortunately, there were a number of other fishing boats near by who
> saw the smoke and came to their assistance.
>
> I do not have a good answer for this thread but would also like to know the
> effectiveness of such systems on an oil fire. Also, since the effectiveness
> of these systems is based on the removal of
> oxygen in the environment, just having an automatic extinguisher would seem
> inadequate if you can't seal off the environment from outside oxygen. I'm
> guessing an adequate system would have automatic
> shut down of the engines, closing of vents, shutdown of blowers and the like.
>
> I look forward to any additional comments, since an oil fire on a diesel
> powered boat could very easily happen, or an overheated exhaust hose due to a
> cooling system failure.
>
> Cameron King
> 37' Hershine
> Donna Lee - San Pedro, CA
>
>
>
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