Air Intake Shut Off

[Mark Anderson]

Anybody got any advice on how best to provide a way of shutting off the air intakes on the engine box, so as to comply with MCA coding regulations regarding fire fighting.

The intakes are on each side of the engine box lid and are S/S vents approx. 1.5m long x 80mm high.

[Nick Hearne]

Gaffa Tape!

[Pete7]

Mark, made up a pair of marine ply blanks for mine, which the surveyor did check to ensure they fitted. Sure you could do something similar creating a shallow box that fits over the vent and held in place with a couple of catches or bolts. It doesn't have to look pretty cos the customers aren't going to see it and if they do then cosmetics are going to be the least of your concerns.

Pete

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by Mark Anderson

Anybody got any advice on how best to provide a way of shutting off the air intakes on the engine box, so as to comply with MCA coding regulations regarding fire fighting.

The intakes are on each side of the engine box lid and are S/S vents approx. 1.5m long x 80mm high.

Not seeing exact arrangement hard to say but would it be possible to mount some rails so a strip could be slid in from the end?

[Mark Anderson]

The slide in plates were something I had considered but I would need to run that past a surveyor to see if the speed of finding them and inserting them might be an issue. Mind you he was pretty non-comittal with the last question I asked him.

Something similar would be a S/S plate on a piano hinge with neoprene gaskets.

The only other option I have heard of is fire proofed hypalon flaps with velcro.

None of the solutions I have heard or thought of so far are particularly elegant, but I will keep looking

What would have been really nice would have been if Ribtec had sorted it when the boat was built !

[Searider]

Hi Mark,

A stainless steel flap on a piano hinge would be one of the best solutions - its always there and can't be lost.

The flap does not have to be on the outside of the box - can you fit them on the inside and operate them with cables?

[Jono Garton]

Originally Posted by Mark Anderson

Anybody got any advice on how best to provide a way of shutting off the air intakes on the engine box, so as to comply with MCA coding regulations regarding fire fighting.

Is this needed for engine box's? i may be wrong but i was told only for engine rooms?

[Mark Anderson]

Yellow code of practice for vessels under 12 metres

"14.1.2.3 - An engine space should be arranged that, in the event of a fire, the fire extinguishing medium injected can be retained for sufficient time to extinguish fire"

This is the part of the code that requires some form of vent closure, and it applies to any inboard engine installation.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Jono Garton

Is this needed for engine box's? i may be wrong but i was told only for engine rooms?

Jono, what was the arrangement on the Prosport with the D6 ?

Pete

[DGR]

My Ribcraft is built to a 'commercial spec' - but it doesn't have sealing vents. It does have an auto extinguisher. If the coding quote says

"14.1.2.3 - An engine space should be arranged that, in the event of a fire, the fire extinguishing medium injected can be retained for sufficient time to extinguish fire"

Then surely you can put the fire out by flooding the whole place with as much agent as possible, for as long as possible. Completely sealing the vents would be a real pain in the ****.

It also doesn't specifically say that you need to seal the vents.

Dylan...