Cleaning Fusible Links Exhaust Cleaning

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Phil Ackland

KEC Expert
Just finished chatting with an expert from the suppression side of things. He was talking me that fusible links should never be cleaned. They should be replaced.

Also -- that no chemical is supposed to be put on the link (NFPA 96 11.6.7)

Seriously, what are you guys doing to deal with this issue?

Are you telling the customer that you can't clean the links?
How do you protect them from chemicals?
Do you hand wipe them?
 
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Been cleaning them for years with caustic... No problems in 19 years.. I do change them out every 6 months as required by all most all manuf. If your not a fire equipment company and just clean hoods I would just be careful around them... Probably someone down the line set off a system by spraying a link .. ( those PYRO chem link brackets are a little scary) I like the ansul brackets better... .. I do know over time it will deteriorate the lead firing mech of the link but not if they are changed out regular.. Also I guess in a way you got to do what the manufacturer says..
 
I do my best to avoid the links themselves but it doesn't always work out that way. If I do get some chem on one I sort of 'overspray' it off- no direct pressure.

We never intentially physically touch the links or the wires. My customers are all pretty good about the six-month service so the links themselves are not bad, but cleaning the mounts and such can be interesting given the above. In ten years I haven't had an issue, just a few interesting butt-pucker moments.

At one time I talked to the local supression service guy and he gave me a heads-up on the systems about which he thought I should be extra careful.

I did have one customer in a neighboring town say that his suppression system service guy told him that grease was getting down in the pipes and it would 'possibly' seize the wire and prevent the system from actuating. He wanted to make a special trip out and clean them. I took a good look at it and sort of wondered aloud to myself if the guy was trying to create work for himself. Since then I've looked closely at those pipe openings on each subsequent job and I'm not sold. I suppose it could happen (I don't know what kind of tension is on the wires), but I'm pretty picky and careful. Anybody else ever run into this? Anybody actually bother to try to sluice out the pipes?
 
Robert Fisher said:
suppression system service guy told him that He wanted to make a special trip out and clean them. I took a good look at it and sort of wondered aloud to myself if the guy was trying to create work for himself. Since then I've looked closely at those pipe openings on each subsequent job and I'm not sold. I suppose it could happen
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Any link line conduit that runs perpendicular to the airflow will have grease build up in it because the venturii effect "sucks" the grease right in. Over time, and I have seen it in less than 6 months, the conduit can become impacted and the cable will not move (ie. the system will not fire if a link melts and an occluded pipe is between the link and the automan.)
 
Hey we clean fire systems... We have actually taken and closed off the pipe union coming from the system and put some flush in the line and shot the pressure washer thru the lines .. then we took an air compressor and dried them out.. then we shot high pressure thru the conduit (Link Line ) .. and pretty much Cleaned the whole system.. Then we took a pyro-chem test tank and did a balloon test fire .. and all worked good.. We did this at the new owners request at a restaurant .. $850.00... A cheap price for peace of mind..
 
Grant said:
Any link line conduit that runs perpendicular to the airflow will have grease build up in it because the venturii effect "sucks" the grease right in. Over time, and I have seen it in less than 6 months, the conduit can become impacted and the cable will not move (ie. the system will not fire if a link melts and an occluded pipe is between the link and the automan.)
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So can I infer that even if the ends are ‘clean’ the wires could be immobilized deep in the pipe?

That leaves me with a number of questions:

Whose problem is it from a practical and liability standpoint?

For those of us that aren't trained and qualified to work with (disable) the suppression system, how would we go about dealing with it (aside from bringing in the suppression technician)?

Is this something that the suppression service people check for and remedy regularly?

How many of you 'regular' (non-suppression system service) cleaners address this?

I wonder why this isn't addressed in the code if it can defeat the system when everything else has been done properly. (Or do you suppose that 'bare metal' can be construed to include the inside of the pipes?) I could see some lawyer blaming one of us for the failure of the suppression system to fire due to ‘improper cleaning’.

The local guy I deal with and with whom I have had several general discussions on these systems has never mentioned this issue; I’ll have to ask him about it specifically.
 
NFPA 17 addresses the service and maintenance of the automatic suppression systems. NFPA 17 states a lot about manufacturers specs and requirements, and the common solution to the problem lies with the suppression 6 month service and the requirement to ensure that the link line (and the gas valve line, & manual pull line) can travel freely within the conduit. There is nothing written in 96 or 17 that puts this requirement on the exhaust system service, this is an issue for the auto suppression guys.
I would highly recommend that if you see a link line that looks packed with grease that you bring it to the attention of the restaurant management and if you have a relationship with the fire system company that you give them a call too!
 
I would feel like a complete loser if I left their links looking like crap. Frankly, I don't know how you could not clean them if you are using a pressure washer and/or water hose. I think saying not to clean them is just giving CrackHeaded lazy cleaners another excuse NOT to do their job.
 
That’s good to know, Grant; thanks for the information. I’ve been looking closely at these as I said and I’m thinking that the local service company has been keeping up with this, which is no surprise given my experience with them. I’m still going to talk with them about it though.

However, what you’ve said here makes me wonder even more about a service guy that would suddenly announce, after seven years of maintaining a system, that he needs to made a special trip out to clear pipes that have no appreciable buildup in the ends. I think I’ll pass on what you’ve told me to the customer and ask him what became of the situation.
 
mbryan said:
We just blast them, in 30 years we have had maybe 3 go off during cleaning. I have seen my ansul guy hang off the cables after an installation. From what he says, if they go off while you are cleaning them, they weren't installed right.
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And what happens when you set one off? At first guess I'd think that you have to clean up the mess and pay for re-setting the system, and I wouldn't be surprised if the customer hit you up for the lost income if they weren't able to operate normally, eh? What happens to any food (I'm thinking bread, potatoes, etc) that is in the space when the system goes off? Who pays for that?

You may be correct about the system not being installed right but I doubt that arguement would carry much weight if we set one off. I would just sound like we were trying to shift the blame for our f**k-up to somebody else.

In looking at the systems that the local guy warned me about, I remember one in which the link wasn't really 'fastened' in any solid way but was just held between two hooks. The service guy thought that a direct blast on those links would probably blow them right off the hooks, and I agree with him.

I don't know about anybody else but I can't afford to be on the hook for all those expenses, so I remain pretty focused and paranoid when working near the links.
 
Just ask!
 
Robert Fisher said:
And what happens when you set one off? At first guess I'd think that you have to clean up the mess and pay for re-setting the system, and I wouldn't be surprised if the customer hit you up for the lost income if they weren't able to operate normally, eh? What happens to any food (I'm thinking bread, potatoes, etc) that is in the space when the system goes off? Who pays for that?

You may be correct about the system not being installed right but I doubt that arguement would carry much weight if we set one off. I would just sound like we were trying to shift the blame for our f**k-up to somebody else.

In looking at the systems that the local guy warned me about, I remember one in which the link wasn't really 'fastened' in any solid way but was just held between two hooks. The service guy thought that a direct blast on those links would probably blow them right off the hooks, and I agree with him.

I don't know about anybody else but I can't afford to be on the hook for all those expenses, so I remain pretty focused and paranoid when working near the links.
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Like I said, it's only happened a few times, and we have always taken full responsibility for it. In fact in all of the times it has happened, unless the guy happened to be there for the cleaning, they never even knew what happened until we told them.

Most fire suppression companies have 24 hour emergency numbers, and we are in tight with a few of them out here so anything we need is just a phone call away.

Everyone that does hoods should have at least one ansul guy that he can count on in a pinch.
 
HotShot_Anthony said:
I would feel like a complete loser if I left their links looking like crap. Frankly, I don't know how you could not clean them if you are using a pressure washer and/or water hose. I think saying not to clean them is just giving CrackHeaded lazy cleaners another excuse NOT to do their job.
Click to expand...

As for myself, I’m just following the code (no chemicals) and avoiding direct pressure.

I’ve found that between regular replacement and the overspray from carefully cleaning the surrounding mounts and pipes the links just don’t get that bad.

I’d feel a lot worse if I jammed up my customer’s business by setting off his system than I would about some crud on a small piece of metal that I’m not supposed to touch in the first place.

I hope you’re not implying I’m a crack-headed lazy cleaner; I certainly don’t think I would’ve stayed in business in a small town like this for ten years and gained the trust of my customers that way. Beer-bellied and tired maybe, but not crack-headed and lazy.
 
I had a customer tell me that his suppression company told them to tell me (wtf???) to stop using whatever I was using because it was eating through the cable!!! After having a good laugh (because my foam is packin baby) I told him, the customer, to tell the suppression guy to call me and I wanted him to show me where it was doing this. He hasn't called yet.
 
I dont think it is a code not to clean the links.. I think its a manufacture thing right.. Anyways I decided after reading this to put a 500 degree ML Links in an extremely thick caustic solution and leave it outside for 1 week totaly submerged.. Its been 4 days . after seven days I am going to put 17 to 20 lbs of tension on it and see what happens..
 
Put the tension on it , then start with the caustic. I think it will last a long time.
 
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