Just Curious????

B

Big Dog

Member
I have a friend with a mom/pop store that has a small grill area. The hood is 6 ft wide with a square duct (about 16-18" wide) running about 6 ft onto the roof with a fan mounted on top.

He asked me to take a look on cleaning it. I have NEVER done an exhaust system before but I am interested in doing this job. I have taken a good look at this and I don't see incurring any problems. I am sure I can clean it.

I have one question though and that is regarding the fire suppression system.

What do you do with these things. Can they be disarmed for the cleaning process. Will the heat and pressure of the water set it off or am I being paranoid?

Other than that I see no problem with the cleaning. There is plenty of access to the system. It's not near as dirty as some the engines I've degreased during fleet washing.

Thanks for the help.....
 
Big Dog,
If you are not licensed to service fire systems then you don't touch them.
Fusible links are usually 450 degrees (99%) or 500 degrees (4%). It is extremely rare for a system to go off due to the heat from steam cleaning, it is NOT UNCOMMON to trip the system due to pressure. ie. dont steam clean the link line!
 
We service/install fire systems in hoods, paint booths and vehicles. Suppression systems are fairly simple. So simple that in 20 years I've only set off two of them while servicing them. Of course both were 150 miles from home, so I got to make another trip to do the recharge, at no cost to the customer. A few things to watch for
1. Don't hit the conduit or detectors (the metal U-shaped bracket) or wire cable with the wand.
2. If the detector in not fastened to the sheet metal securly, be extra carefull about hittin it w/water under pressure.
3. Look at the conduit, see # 2 above.
4. If the detector link (the thing the wire cable attatches to) has a glass bulb, be extra carefull w/the wand.
5. Don't run water through the conduit to clean it out.
6. Make note of the name of the service company who last serviced the system, call them and ask if they know of any possible problems with the system. Don't let them know of your inexperience cleaning hoods. If you do a good job, & like the work, call them back. Maybe they can send more businees your way.

General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc
Douglas Hicks
 
Thanks

Hey guys...

Thanks for the help. I feel really good about the job. I don't forsee any problems with it. I was just concerned about the fire system.

So I guess I will go ahead with the cleaning and I will report back.

Thank You
 
Big Dog,

Make sure you never tie off or disarm the fire supression system. It is just too easy to accidentally leave the system inactive and you will be liable if there is later a fire and the system does not discharge. Just use low pressure on the fuseable links and avoid appling chemical to them.

P.S. If you really conscider going after the Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Market I high recomend that you get proffessional training. This type of cleaning carries a lot of risk.
 
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