Fogmaker is a machine saver
A FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM, KNOWN AS FOGMAKER, IS being targeted at forestry equipment in New Zealand to keep them safe in the event of a fire.
The Swedish-made system differs from others in using mainly water mist, rather than chemical suppressant to douse a machinery fire.
The company says that water mist under high pressure is a “much superior extinguishing technique” in engine compartments.
It goes on to say that the high pressure, in combination with special nozzles, creates micro-drops with an average size of 50 micron – 8,000 of these droplets are equal to a drop of water with a diameter of 1mm.
Effectively, 1 litre of water forms 1,700 litres of water vapour when it evaporates. In the evaporation process, the water mist cools the burnt gases and hot components to rapidly extinguish the fire and reduce the risk of reignition because of the increased amount of vapour in the air.
The Fogmaker system includes a low concentration of environmentally friendly Aqueous Film Forming Foam to coat the fuel and prevent contact with oxygen to further suppress combustion.
The company says the evaporation process reduces engine compartment temperatures from 870°C to 136°C in just 10 seconds.
An alarm on the dash panel will alert the operator if a fire is detected in the engine compartment.
The Fogmaker system is widely fitted in across numerous industries and in Europe it has also been specified as standard OEM fitment on some makes of forestry machines. Now it is being targeted at the forestry industry here as a retro-fitment for machines that don’t already come with it.
Firestorm Fire Protection Pty Ltd has an extensive distribution and partner network here, based in Tauranga, and says forestry is one of its key targets in New Zealand.
“There is huge potential for Fogmaker to be adopted by forestry in New Zealand,” says Firestorm NZ’s Joshua Boswell, which displayed the system at the recent HarvestTECH 2019 conference in Rotorua.
He says the Fogmaker system takes up very little room on a logging machine, consisting largely of two 6.5-litre tanks, pipework, nozzles and sensor.