Cleaning Fusible Links Exhaust Cleaning

NFPA 11.6.7 says " Cleaning chemicals shall not be applied on fusible links or other detection devices of the automatic extinguishing system"

It does not say you can't or shouldn't clean them!

I have a couple (10+) issues with all this:

First -- What tests have been done that prove the negative effect of a 5 minute application of caustic on a link that is supposed to be changed every 6 months? In its life span a link might be cleaned twice (in 99% of cases).

Two -- What is the difficulty in reaching up and hand cleaning these links? They are under approximately 40 pounds tension from the cable, so they are not fine crystal and they are only in service 6 months.

There is a lot more to all this but that is enough for this thread.
 
Yep I was wrong it is in the code.... But anyway I still wash them... .. I have yet to see a perfectly cleaned bracket and link assembly.. unless it was new.. they are usually covered in grease more so than the plenum or the hood itself.. We cleaned th VA last night and this discussion came up again about the links and we still just washed them .. But since we also do the fire systems I guess if we ever saw a link that looked to be deteriorating within less than 6 months we would probably change it out..
 
Phil Ackland said:
NFPA 11.6.7 says " Cleaning chemicals shall not be applied on fusible links or other detection devices of the automatic extinguishing system"

It does not say you can't or shouldn't clean them!

I have a couple (10+) issues with all this:

First -- What tests have been done that prove the negative effect of a 5 minute application of caustic on a link that is supposed to be changed every 6 months? In its life span a link might be cleaned twice (in 99% of cases).

Two -- What is the difficulty in reaching up and hand cleaning these links? They are under approximately 40 pounds tension from the cable, so they are not fine crystal and they are only in service 6 months.

There is a lot more to all this but that is enough for this thread.
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As others have said I’ve never seen anything that would make me think that the chemicals harm the links, but I’m neither a chemist nor a metallurgist so that doesn’t mean anything objectively.

The codes says don’t put chemicals on them; the local service guy has concerns about the stability of certain (mostly older) systems and I agree with him. Some of these things are so stout it looks like you could tow a car with them, others are so flimsy it makes you nervous to look at them.

My real-world situation is this: While I try to avoid getting chemical on the links, it happens- overspray, drips down, whatever. I don’t directly blast the links but I do lean pretty heavily on the brackets, pipes and so on. As JohnB says they get pretty nasty and they tend to require more direct attention. In addition it’s pretty common for me to hit the link from a distance as I’m moving the wand from one area to another. I find that in doing all this the links tend to come mostly clean from low-pressure overspray- say 95 to 98% clean.

At that point the risk/reward ratio is off far enough that isn’t worth possibly setting off the system to hand clean that last 2-5%. No they aren’t made of crystal but it isn’t the link itself I worry about, it’s the connection.

I don’t think any customer would be very impressed if I had to tell him I accidentally set off his system trying to get some last little bit of grunge off of the system trigger.
 
A fusible interlining having enhanced bond strength with resistance to dry cleaning and comprising a support web and a heat activatable adhesive carried by said support web, said adhesive comprising polyethylene having a melt index of at least
 
Jennessa said:
A fusible interlining having enhanced bond strength with resistance to dry cleaning and comprising a support web and a heat activatable adhesive carried by said support web, said adhesive comprising polyethylene having a melt index of at least
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So simple a cave man can do it.
 
I started in 1997 and i have not had even 1 link pop.I clean the link areas and blow out the pipe everytime i clean one of my accounts.Now i have run accross some pipes that was just clogged and i could not blow out.I just advise my fire guy of this and he'll make the sale.But as for cleaning i havnt had a problem cleaning the links or the pipes(normally).My opinion they should be cleaned so the fire system can work properly when needed.Now maybe the reason why i have not had an issue with setting the fire system off is low pressure.I dont think i would try with a high pressure unit,then again like matt mentioned those lines and links are tough and the tension on the lines you can hang off of and if it were to go off the system was not inspected and serviced right.I have a few companies i look for that i would use extra caution cleaning those areas due to the company not changing links every 6 monthsn or even checking the system like they should.To find out if your fire guy is doing there job scratch an x on the link and see if they are changing like they are supposed to.
Marko:victory:
 
Phil Ackland said:
NFPA 11.6.7 says " Cleaning chemicals shall not be applied on fusible links or other detection devices of the automatic extinguishing system"

It does not say you can't or shouldn't clean them!

I have a couple (10+) issues with all this:

First -- What tests have been done that prove the negative effect of a 5 minute application of caustic on a link that is supposed to be changed every 6 months? In its life span a link might be cleaned twice (in 99% of cases).

Two -- What is the difficulty in reaching up and hand cleaning these links? They are under approximately 40 pounds tension from the cable, so they are not fine crystal and they are only in service 6 months.

There is a lot more to all this but that is enough for this thread.
Click to expand...


Any word from our Expert?
 
Ron Musgraves said:
Any word from our Expert?
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Ron i am the expert for one. And if hood cleaning companies just obeyed those rules you all are talking about then the systems would never be cleaned properly. Like you are not suppose to get on equiptment to clean the hood, now how would you clean one properly if you cant see the blind areas? And you are not suppose to clean the fire systems links brackets and tubes, now you would have a a fire system that would not fire and who would get the blame? God forbid we would have to climb on the hood to access the duct!! lol.The profesionals are the hood cleaners not the book writers!!!!!!! MERRY CRISTMAS ALL.
Marko
 
cleanhoods said:
Ron i am the expert for one. And if hood cleaning companies just obeyed those rules you all are talking about then the systems would never be cleaned properly. Like you are not suppose to get on equiptment to clean the hood, now how would you clean one properly if you cant see the blind areas? And you are not suppose to clean the fire systems links brackets and tubes, now you would have a a fire system that would not fire and who would get the blame? God forbid we would have to climb on the hood to access the duct!! lol.The profesionals are the hood cleaners not the book writers!!!!!!! MERRY CRISTMAS ALL.
Marko
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What group or organization recognizes you as authority? Just curious
 
Ron Musgraves said:
What group or organization recognizes you as authority? Just curious
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Ron the group that recognizes me is my customers and the authority the recognizes me as an expert is God. The reason i say that cause God is the driver for me to be honest with my customers and give them the best job humanly possible. I am on the field i didnt learn to be what i am from you or anyone here.It was me and me only.:secret: What in order to have the AUTHORITY AND BE RECOGNIZED i have to slide up someones area where the sun dont shine like you?:butcher:I am the authority for hood system detailing for my area.And if you want to appoint an expert appoint someone that is real not a code maker and reader.:nanner:I know HOOD SYSTEM DETAILING.i dont know these codes to well but i know my systems are right and the only way to explain right is just clean it.I AM THE AUTHORITY FOR HOOD SYSTEM DETAILING.But i guess phil is the authority for codes.:welcome:
Marko:nanner:
 
cleanhoods said:
Ron the group that recognizes me is my customers and the authority the recognizes me as an expert is God. The reason i say that cause God is the driver for me to be honest with my customers and give them the best job humanly possible. I am on the field i didnt learn to be what i am from you or anyone here.It was me and me only.:secret: What in order to have the AUTHORITY AND BE RECOGNIZED i have to slide up someones area where the sun dont shine like you?:butcher:I am the authority for hood system detailing for my area.And if you want to appoint an expert appoint someone that is real not a code maker and reader.:nanner:I know HOOD SYSTEM DETAILING.i dont know these codes to well but i know my systems are right and the only way to explain right is just clean it.I AM THE AUTHORITY FOR HOOD SYSTEM DETAILING.But i guess phil is the authority for codes.:welcome:
Marko:nanner:
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Funny a Few minutes ago I just answered this exact question on another BBS.

Here It IS

Your and expert to your customers, your not and industry expert and leader recognized by peers.

Your exactly correct, you win a prize. Good Job

Try to handle your words a bit different because surprize those customers are watching.
 
cleanhoods said:
What in order to have the AUTHORITY AND BE RECOGNIZED i have to slide up someones area where the sun dont shine like you?:butcher:
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Your making noise like you just pulled your head out of something.
 
Ron Musgraves said:
Funny a Few minutes ago I just answered this exact question on another BBS.

Here It IS

Your and expert to your customers, your not and industry expert and leader recognized by peers.

Your exactly correct, you win a prize. Good Job

Try to handle your words a bit different because surprize those customers are watching.
Click to expand...
One like i said i am the expert and two i am the industry expert and i am an expert to my peers.And guess what Ron my customers know me and know i am good people and serious about making sure there system is right 100 percent. :triniti:And to the new customers all they have to do is use me once or call for refrences and they will see the type of person i am and if they dont then they dont that is Gods will.:wave2: You Ron are not an expert but a follower of experts.:deadhorse:
Marko:kiss:
 
cleanhoods said:
One like i said i am the expert and two i am the industry expert and i am an expert to my peers.And guess what Ron my customers know me and know i am good people and serious about making sure there system is right 100 percent. :triniti:And to the new customers all they have to do is use me once or call for refrences and they will see the type of person i am and if they dont then they dont that is Gods will.:wave2: You Ron are not an expert but a follower of experts.:deadhorse:
Marko:kiss:
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Yeah I guess your right again. I follow people and I'm never on the for front. I guess one day I will crawl out from under the rock and get into the trenches.

God Bless
 
Lou hoods&more said:
Your making noise like you just pulled your head out of something.
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No i didnt pull my head out of anything Lou it just makes me wonder why an "expert" cant answer a simple question.You have to clean the entire system period,do you? I know i do and i make sure of it as well.
Marko:nhl_checking:
 
I guess that would make me just pretty good since I have only done this for 20 years right LOL..... Don't ya just Luv it.... I love cleaning Hoods and yep i clean the links as well .. and if they are really bad I disarm the fire system just to be sure it wont fire when I hit them with 3000 psi .. but since I am a recognized and certified fire system person I can disarm the fire system (( It's in the code ))
 
Ron Musgraves said:
Yeah I guess your right again. I follow people and I'm never on the for front. I guess one day I will crawl out from under the rock and get into the trenches.

God Bless
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ron i know i am right for a fact on this.:kiss:And from my reads that is how i read you you worry about the others and forget how you got where your at :deadhorse: it is you that gets you where you are at.:yes:when you clean a side walk do you skip the cracks :rotflmao1::rotflmao:no you clean the entire walk.:yeah:Yes there are codes but those codes are done buy pencil pushers,sometimes you have to go beyond:unsure: to do the job correctly.I dont lie i only tell the truth and that is all that counts in my book.:tongue: And like i have said God is the only one i impress and the rest is just gravy:triniti:
Markio:kma:
 
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