<br /><br />Edit: call some of the boatyards that work on commercial boats and/or yachts...any boat with diesel engines. They deal will recertifying halon systems all the time and should give you the name of the business they use. That's how I found the place local to me. <br /><br />Edit: Whatever the perceived problem is with halon (the ban started in the EU?), I think taking the existing halon out of service may be worse than allowing it to go away thru natural attrition. There are places in the US that recycle (buy/sell) halon. I dont know the extent of the EUs ban but I got the impression it may be a no-no to use at all.<br /><br />This web page has a lot of good info on halon. http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/waac/wn/wn15/wn15-2/wn15-208.html <br /><br />HARC News also reported that the board of directors of HARC have approved the formation of the Halon Recycling Corporation (HRC). A recent study by a review panel for HRC points out that the recycling of existing Halon 1301 will probably be managed through local fire equipment companies and recommends the formation of a not-for-profit corporation for larger-scale operations, including refurbishment of more severely contaminated Halon 1301 and 1211 than may be practical at the fire equipment distributor level. For more information on donating or selling halon to essential uses, obtaining halon for essential uses, or becoming a member of HRC, please call 800/258-1283.<br /><br />The decision to develop a code of practice for the best use of recycled and banked halon has been applauded by both the US Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Canada, and voluntary guidelines are being written by the Fire Suppression Systems Association (FSSA), National Association of Fire Equipment Distributors (NAFED), Fire Equipment Manufacturers Association (FEMA), and the Fire Equipment Manufacturers Institute of Canada (FEMI).18rabbit,<br /><br />I was reading a Coast Guard page the other day and they said it wasn't approved anymore because you can't breathe it. I looked but couldn't find it again. Also, it doesn't dissipate rapidly which makes the not being able to breathe it even worse. However, in an open boat like mine, there is nothing I would rather use. I have one, and now that I have been reminded I will try to get my hands on more...the one I have is a smaller kitchen model and I would like to leave it in the kitchen.
BTW, lets not bid against each other too much or we won't be able to afford the darn things. Besides which, the darn things are heavy and would not ship very cheap anyway...if you could legally ship them at all. But I would seriously buy some if I could.<br /><br />Just another $0.02 worth,<br />Joe
<br /><br />I remember the halon systems used in raised floor computer rooms had something like a 30-sec vacate alarm before detonating. Problem with the darns things in an engine room is the bang they make when discharging. Im told it scares the crap out of you and the natural response is to inhale deeply to facilitate an appropriate tribal scream of fear. My engine room is small enough that from the center it is only 3 steps in either direction to vacate. I think I can make it on one good scream. There is a warning in the halon system instructions not to mount the bottle below a hatch because the sudden increase in the pressure of a confined engine room can blow the hatch off. That suggests to me the possibility of blown eardrums, which will result in vertigo and probable overall dysfunction, not something you want at sea during an emergency situation.<br /><br />Aldo dont believe it. I read on an English wed site that halon is known to damage the ozone layer. Not true! Halon is classified as a cfc
the propellant that was used in spray cans. Cfcs take about 35-years to migrate thru the atmosphere to the ozone layer. They are just now starting to get there in mass. No one knows the effects of cfcs on the ozone
only a theory, likely junk science. I personally know someone that worked in Antarctica. Told me the story about one day NASA suddenly and unexpectedly piled in with planeloads of equipment. The natural hole in the ozone that is always over Antarctica had suddenly closed. Testing of the ozone showed the highest levels of cfc to date, at that time
and the ozone hole closed due to an increase in the ozone. So much for cfcs damaging effect on the ozone. The natural ozone hole has since returned. We dont understand the ozone but it appears to have the ability to naturally heal itself.<br /><br />Fwiw, cfcs have never been tested for their effect on the ozone, they cant be. Neither has the chemistry that has replaced cfcs as a propellant. Could be better, could be worse, most likely it all has no effect.
