Fire alert

[gplume]

Guys-

I've got a good one for you to watch out for. Had a little fire aboard the Shearwater this weekend, but fortunately caught it just before serious damage happend. Here's the story....Went to start up all engine systems for the first time this spring. Turned all my 12 volt breakers on. Heard my washdown start up under what seemd like partial speed. Hmmm??? that shouldn't be running...went to check it...switch was off. So I went and killed the breaker, and went about my business. All of a sudden a guy walking down the dock comes running up...you got black smoke coming out of your bilge. Threw shit out of the way in a big hurry, and opened the hatch. The sound inulation was ablaze and I mean full fledged on fire...flames and all, right around my primary fuel filter. Quick douse, and caught it just in time before I warped any of the glass around the engine hatches. Looked like melted solder everywhere when I started to clean up.......What gives here? To make a long story short in terms of the diagnostic journey, that OEM Bertram sound proofing is lead lined as in a sheet of lead right in the middle between 2 pieces of foam. Aparently some how over the winter from working on stuff I shifted the insultion accross the switch for the wash down pump. When I turned on the power, presto....I've got a high resistance short that heats up and catched the insulation on fire, which burns quite readily (starting to see why the Station Night Club Fire was siuch a disaster.), Did niot draw eniugh current to melt the wires or kick a 15 amp breaker......but enoough for a fire. I beleive I only had the breaker on for maybe 3-4 minutes tops.

Anyway, just wanted to get the word out,,,watch that OEM insulation....its gota conductive media right in the middle waiting to cause a big problem.

All the best
Giff

[Harry Babb]

Holy Crap Giff, hope you were wearing your Brown Pants.....sure glad you and your marina neighbor caught it in plenty of time.

What a way to start the season! ! ! !

Thanks for the warning

H

[Ironman]

Good save Giff... & thanks for the heads up too.
Wayne

[Charlie J]

good catch giff, glad it didnt go further. thanks for the info, iam surprised it didnt trip the breaker, see you in greenport

[Bob H.]

Dont burn her up yet we have some fishing to do in that ride...good save..buy your neighbor a bottle of Bertram juice for saving her life..BH

[scenarioL113]

Great to hear it ended well. You got very lucky, another minute or 2 and you could have had your own version of the Station Nite Club fire, minus the fatalities of course (god rest there souls, they never had a chance).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZx4i1Tw ... re=related


Thats how fast sound insulation goes up! Watch the timeline and the next time your local politicians want to close a firehouse play this for them and ask if it will impact response times!

[Joef]

did some work on an engine 2 years ago...had the big 6" hose clamps hanging loose around the exhaust hose when i hooked up the batteries and turned the main engine battery switch to "ON", The clamp was laying accross the positve and negative studs on the starter...Some of the engine harness wires caught on fire within 30 seconds...freaked me out for 2 days afterwards. I suppose one solution to this hazzard is to make sure all electrical connections are covered with insulated heatshrink tubing or rubber / plastic caps. ...but yeah...had i turned the switch on and walked away to cleanup tools or whatever, i'd have cooked my boat to "extremely well done".

Scary crap

Joe

[Mike Moran]

Giff good that you go to church ......

[gplume]

Guys thanks for the feedback.....yup been going over this one in my mind a few times. Heat shrink over the connector posts on the switch would have avoided the potential short. I have a couple other places where I mounted single pole swithchs in odd spots like to swithch from external to internal regulation on my alternator and I heat shrunk them. Nothing I thave that is panel mounted near my instruments is heat shrunk.

Anyway going forward,,,,if a switch is in an odd spot...heat shrink and possibly coating with some sort of potting material will be the rule.

Harry - haerd a certain army wheres that color for similar reasons......