Do I need to refill my fire bottle?

[openwheeler37]

Do I / should I refill the bottle?

[ghickman]

Assuming this bottle is still under the 5 year recert. time.

These gauges are cheap and not terribly accurate. Unless you think it has been leaking I wouldn't worry about it.

Sometimes fire bottles are buried down under the seat or where they don't get seen often. Look at the gauge occasionally to see if it appears to have gone down, pretty simple.

[butch deer]

Looks normal to me. Check it next time it hits 90 degrees in Wisconsin. Id bet it all in the green.

[formulasuper]

On the line is usually considered good in most sports.

[kea]

The rules deal with the weight of the bottle and it's contents. Nothing about some gauge that only reads pressure, which can vary with temperature.

[formulasuper]

The rules deal with the weight of the bottle and it's contents. Nothing about some gauge that only reads pressure, which can vary with temperature.

Of course for your annual tech it seems they go by the gauge. However Keith is correct, technically & for your own safety those cheap little gauges should be verified by weight.

[Steve Demeter]

Pressure is important if it is a Halon system. After the Halon is put in the bottle it is pressurized with nitrogen. Weight and pressure are both important.

What temperature was it when the pic was taken.

If it was cold I would not be too concerned, if it weighs correctly, but if it was 70 F or above I might look into getting it refilled.

[kea]

Steve,
How many systems have you serviced ?

The gauges are of poor quality
When filled with #150 Nitrogen (the step after we charge it with Halon) they rarely point 1/2 way into the green, and most often, right on the edge of red.
Getting them serviced will open a valve, that due to it's age, may not re-sealed.
If it makes weight, leave it alone.

[Firesmith]

It looks like a SPA AFFF bottle. If it is, it needs to be serviced every two years to be sure it will foam when you need it to foam. I just set mine off before sending it off to Pegasus to have it checked and refilled and it barely trickled out solution and no foam at all. The attached document is from the Pegasus site on sending in a bottle for service and recertification.

Oh, and by the way, my gauge was reading exactly like yours is in the photo. Look at the label on the side of the tank. If is beyond its service date, I recommend that you get it serviced (which is $70-80). Cheap insurance.

As to system of choice, I would prefer an FE-36 gas system but could not fit the tank into my car! The SPA AFFF system was the only one that I could find that had a 12 inch maximum tank length.

[kea]

That's one of the reasons why I don't like AFFF systems !

[Steve Demeter]

Keith,
Have not serviced any of them.

But I have owned quite a few and most of the time I observe the needle well into the green when it is reasonably warm.

Hence my comment that if it is cold in the picture, I would consider that it is just fine and if it was 70F, I MIGHT look into having it serviced.

[ghickman]

That's one of the reasons why I don't like AFFF systems !

I'm with Keith on this, the AFFF systems are poor at best in my opinion.

[Modo]

my bottle read well into green, during fuel cell check, I weighed it, definately empty, no Halon in there, checked by opening, naw, zipperoo, gotta spend sum buckaroos, ended with fire safe (safecraft - correction) and 3 nozzles instead of two, engine, me, n cell, bottle can be shipped with DOT spec, has Halon, the good stuff but other fills are available i believe ...... Halon is still out there what's left and has been recovered, believe manufacture not allowed anymore but recovery can be used????

[Modo]

Safecraft above not Fire Safe, went out and looked at pin and tag thru the dash pull handle, sorry ............

[ghickman]

Safecraft above not Fire Safe, went out and looked at pin and tag thru the dash pull handle, sorry ............

Been using the Safecraft bottles for about 5 years now, good quality product from a well run company. The FE36 works very well.

[openwheeler37]

Thanks everyone. How do I know what is supposed to weigh? I checked the label on the bottle but it's pretty faded and hard to read. I looked at SPA's website and couldn't find any info. It is an AFF system. The picture of the gauge was at about 45 degree temp.

[Modo]

weighs at least 5+ pounds .... bottle/head and 5 lbs fill ..... or look at the minimum allowed lbs in the GCR..... most formula cars use 5 lbs I believe, add lightweight bottle

[Firesmith]

Here is a photo of my just serviced and refilled 2.25 liter SPA slimline bottle.

If you have a bottle that you can't read the tag and you are wondering if it needs to be serviced, I would suggest that you quit thinking about it and get it done.

I have a fire system for me, not for the sanction I race with, and if it doesn't work when I need it, shame on me!

[Steve Demeter]

What is the full weight supposed to be??

The tag shows the tare weight, which in normal trade is the weight of the empty container.

[Firesmith]

My tank pictured above weighs almost exactly 8 pounds. Since the SPA system used a rupture disk discharge method, I don't think the weight would be altered even with a pressure loss since the liquid in the bottle wouldn't leak out even if the nitrogen did.

By the way, I take my tank out of the car in the winter since the extinguishing agent is mostly water and might be subject to freezing in my unheated storage location.

[openwheeler37]

My tank pictured above weighs almost exactly 8 pounds. Since the SPA system used a rupture disk discharge method, I don't think the weight would be altered even with a pressure loss since the liquid in the bottle wouldn't leak out even if the nitrogen did.

By the way, I take my tank out of the car in the winter since the extinguishing agent is mostly water and might be subject to freezing in my unheated storage location.

Just weighted the tank and it came in at 7.8lbs so I think I'm good. I am also going store it in doors as my garage is not heated. Thanks Firesmith.