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Topic: Refrigerator compartment fire extinguisher questions (Read 772 times) previous topic - next topic

Refrigerator compartment fire extinguisher questions

On our "to do" list for over a year now  :-[ has been a fridge compartment fire extinguisher.  The posts about the salvage coach that had a fridge fire reminded me of this (as did Dave Stevens failed cooling unit).  We've also seen first-hand and too close for comfort what a fridge fire can do.

What units are folks installing?  I looked at Mack the Fire Guy's website but he doesn't show one at the moment.  A Google search pulled up Fire Fight's offerings Fire Fight - Our Products which are also resold by the RV Cooling Unit place.  Search on the board here pulled up a post from Dave Katsuki recommending a remote-head version for flexible placement options.

We are considering going residential in the future, but right now there isn't a convenient replacement.  Ours is a Dometic NDR-1492 (fridge is roughly 24"Dx36"Wx59"H) so any replacement, even RV, requires cabinetry modification at minimum.

Thanks!

Michelle
Learn every day, but especially from the experiences of others. It's cheaper!  - John C. Bogle

2000 U320 36' non-slide / WildEBeest Rescue
2003 U320

Re: Refrigerator compartment fire extinguisher questions

Reply #1 –
Quote from: Steve & Michelle –
We are considering going residential in the future, but right now there isn't a convenient replacement.  Ours is a Dometic NDR-1492 (fridge is roughly 24"Dx36"Wx59"H) so any replacement, even RV, requires cabinetry modification at minimum.
We chose to replace the cooling unit on our Dometic NDR1062. The cost for the replacement unit was $660, including shipping. I bought the replacement from RV Cooling Unit Warehouse. I replaced the unit by myself in two days of part time work. It would go faster with two people who held more clues, skills, and strength. Installation of a fire suppression system would be a task similar in magnitude to replacing the cooling unit.

I did not make any modifications to refrigerator, cabinetry, or refrigerator compartment, nor did I add a fire extinguisher. To the best of my knowledge, the refrigerator was original equipment, so is about 15 years old. It has functioned well, so we chose to make as few changes as possible while repairing the system.

The cooling system ruptured in the area of the boiler. There was yellow residue around the burner components. The system lost its charge of the period of several hours. It was working well one day. The next day we smelled ammonia during the morning. I thought the source was external since the smell was weak and dissipated quickly. I left the refrigerator running on propane. About three hours later, we smelled ammonia again. The freezer was not as cold as it should have been. On inspection of the back of the refrigerator, I saw the telltale yellow material around the burner. I turned off the refrigerator and bought a Coleman 12VDC cooler chest that served us for the rest of the trip.

Our unit was running on propane at the time of the failure. There was no fire or damage other than the break in the pipes of the original cooling unit.

There is some interesting information about forensic inspection of fires in RVs is here: http://www.aegiforensics.com/library/pdfs/Invest-Absorpt-Refrig-Fires-Part1.pdf
J D Stevens
1997 U295 CAI 36' Build #5085
2002 Subaru Outback
Motorcade 16869
Bellville, TX

Re: Refrigerator compartment fire extinguisher questions

Reply #2 –
We bought a small Halon unit from Mac (Mac The Fire Guy) and it is installed at the base of the fridge (accessible from the outside door) with its spray head and fuse link as close to the burner area as I could get it.  We had the Dometic recall done, and it added some more sheetmetal around the burner, as well as two thermal fuses and a revised control board.  With the additional sheetmetal, I'm not sure that a flare up inside the burner tube/chimney would trigger the Halon unit, but if there were fire outside at the bottom, it would trigger.  I do think the remote spray head unit is the way to go for the larger fridges (ours is the small 6 cu ft two door unit.) 

Since there is an easy residential fridge replacement for our Dometic (the Whirlpool that Barry and Cindy and several others have installed), we are planning to install that unit rather than do the Amish cooling unit replacement.  Main deciding factor for is that it has more space in the fridge and freezer.
Dave and Nancy
1999/2013 U270 36' Xtreme
Motorcade # 16774
2013 Subaru Outback
KD0NIM

Re: Refrigerator compartment fire extinguisher questions

Reply #3 –
Quote
There is some interesting information about forensic inspection of fires in RVs is here: http://www.aegiforensics.com/library/pdfs/Invest-Absorpt-Refrig-Fires-Part1.pdf
I Read with interest the article on RV Fridge fires.  I have read many of these and authored a few also and the information in this one should prove informative to any RV'r.
What I would really like to see is some hard data that would include the number of fires per year, the number of RV;s produced in the same year, the Age of the fridge involved, and the make of the involved fridge.
What comes to my mind is that even though all fridge fires are disastrous, how many fires are there relative to the number of RV's on the road ? In twenty or so years of RV'ing it is only in the past couple years that I have been aware that there are so many publicized fires.  I also realize that with modern communications that even the smallest incident can become national news in a heartbeat. The best source of the ratio of fires to RV's of course would come from the insurers but I doubt that they would release their product liability loss data.  Just my wandering mind at work.
Gary B

Re: Refrigerator compartment fire extinguisher questions

Reply #4 –
My guess is that the newer absorption units are not as robust as older units.  Over the decades, the old adages of "taking cost out of the system" and "energy efficiency" have led to thinner walls/fins in anything refrigeration.
Peter & Beth Martin
No Forrest? What have you done?
MC# 15890 until Dec 2016; FMCA #F329677
Cincinnati, OH

Re: Refrigerator compartment fire extinguisher questions

Reply #5 –
Anyone interested in a fire suppression unit might check RV, Safety Systems (RV Safety Systems). The owner is Jim Shepard, the fellow who sold me my VMSPC. If he services his Fire Suppression Systems as well as he has serviced me with my Silverleaf, I think he will be a good source. 
The selected media item is not currently available.Kent Speers
Locust Grove, OK
1993 U300 SSE 40' (Restored at FOT 2009) Build 4323
720 watts Solar
6V92TA DDEC Silver Engine
2014 Subaru Outback

Re: Refrigerator compartment fire extinguisher questions

Reply #6 –
Quote from: Peter & Beth –
My guess is that the newer absorption units are not as robust as older units.  Over the decades, the old adages of "taking cost out of the system" and "energy efficiency" have led to thinner walls/fins in anything refrigeration.

And that's a good reason to replace OEM cooling units with the Amish cooling units.  When I helped a friend replace the OEM unit  in his Norcold 1200, we were impressed at how much heavier the new Amish unit was than the OEM one.  Different design and many more cooling/condensing coils.  (He says it works much better than the old one too.)
Dave and Nancy
1999/2013 U270 36' Xtreme
Motorcade # 16774
2013 Subaru Outback
KD0NIM

Re: Refrigerator compartment fire extinguisher questions

Reply #7 –
Rather than worrying about installing fire extinguishers, time would be better spent removing the combustible products close to the source of ignition. There is not enough ammonia in the fridge to cause much of a fire or any damage if the enclosure is constructed of non-flammable materials. Lint, rodent nests and the laun wood cabinet construction are the culprits here. I just used hand tools with a cordless drill to install Hardy Backerboard inside the enclosure and make it fireproof. Only things needed are a box cutter to scribe the backerboard (you scribe it, bend it, it breaks and clean up the edges), a pencil, tape measure, silicone sealant and a cordless drill with drywall screws. I totally did the compartment including the ceiling in a day for $20 or so. PM for photos of the easy installation or search for my old post and link to the installation album. A good fire extinguisher is handy to have onboard but save it for engine or generator fires.

Just before we bought our U300, the fridge failed and released ammonia into the coach running the owners outside but no fire.

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)