Laser Fire

[George Brown]

They make halon extinguishers for small airplanes, disposable, rated for 12 years. On the order of $150.

[David Fairfield]

It may feel a bit silly while you are doing it, but it is a good idea to have an occasional fire drill where you drop what you are doing to grab your gear and go through all the motions. That way you can rely on muscle memory. Like Joe says, its easy to slip into a panic when you see your machinery, shop and home potentially going up in flames. My extinguisher is mounted on the wall near the laser where I have easy access without leaning over anything and its high enough up not to be obscured by clutter that piles up deep. Don't laugh

Dave

[David Rust]

Personally, I would suggest against this line of thinking. You may have a partial (slight) vacuum in the chamber, but you're also pulling in fresh air from the shop and racing it across the burning material. Fires burn almost as easily at the top of a mountain as they do at the bottom, so the slight difference in pressure isn't the saving grace you're hoping it would be. That fast-moving air is likely to flare the fire up rather than keep it suppressed. YMMV...

Dan is right, the exhaust systems increases air flow with "very little" to "no" vacuum. I would be very surprised if you could even measure the differential pressure... It's all about evacuating the smoke... You need airflow, not a vacuum. If you have a vacuum that means your inflow of air is restricted... Bad thing...

go with an easily accessible fire extinguisher, and more important Don't Leave The Machine!!

[Joe Hillmann]

The new belt arrived today. It took about a half an hour to get the new belt and bearings in and everything adjusted and put back together. As of right now the laser appears to be up and running without any problem but I haven't tried running the rotory in it yet so I can't say for sure if everything works like it should.

At this point the machine is probably cleaner then it has ever been since I got it, so I guess that may be one of the upsides of having my equipment light on fire. I haven't replaced the plexiglass in the lid yet but once I get that replaced there should be no other damage from the fire.

[Sean Bullock]

Several years ago I experienced a small fire while cutting plastic sheeting. I was only about a foot or two away when the fire erupted so was on top of it within seconds. I immediately went into panic mode. I had an extinguisher within arms reach, but my first reaction was to open the lid and beat the hell out of it with my hand. I advise against that action for future reference. While I did manage to get the fire out I also ended up with molten plastic on my hand. Very serious burns and eventual very large blister on my palm. Very painful. No damage to the laser, though.

This happened at about 2 am and was a critical rush job that had to be finished the following day. I continued working through the night, minus one hand. And there was a lot of physical work to be done after the cutting process.

My advice (and as mentioned by someone earlier) is to run through a drill on occasion. Know where your extinguisher is at all times. Know how to use it. Practice.

[Mark Smith61]

Thanks for that tip. I was looking for something just like this. I don't want to have to fire off the regular extinguisher unless I have too. I'll get some of these cans to keep handy in case of small fires.

[Stan Lightner]

I spent 4 years in the Navy & was extensively trained in fire fighting, which BTW has come in handy on multiple occasions. Before everyone runs out and buys a halon fire extinguisher I highly recommend reading the info at this site: http://www.ehow.com/list_6739671_hal...r-dangers.html

While CO2 will damage nearby electronics in contrast to halon one is less likely to injure yourself, or worse, when extinguishing a fire. Its much easier to replace equipment than it is a human.

[Glen Monaghan]

I've seen small flareups now and again, but almost always just a small jet of flame where the laser was currently cutting. The one time I had sustained flames was with acrylic, in an area where many small cutouts were made. Apparently too much dwell time in a small area and too much exposed surface area from all the small holes, and it started burning.

Although I have a CO2 fire extinguisher next to the machine, I also have a small mister bottle filled with ordinary water and dialed to a heavy mist/light spray density, and that's what I reached for first. I hit reset to get the head out of the way, opened the lid, and a couple of squirts from the mister quenched the flames immediately. The area that had been burning was only a couple of square inches and there are no exposed electrical circuits inside the bed area, so the little mister bottle is an effective and economical intermediate solution suitable for small fires like this in wood or acrylic. The small amount of water from a couple of squirts didn't even require any mop-up afterwards. If the flames are filling the inside of your machine, I think it's safe to suggest you skip the mister and go straight to the large fire extinguisher!

[AL Ursich]

I agree.... Have a PLAN.... and at the minimum go through the motions of getting the Extinguisher to the Laser and ready to operate.... I bought two 15 pound CO2 Bottles for my shop and a few of the can extinguishers like shown in the picture. Having a plan in your mind will make it easier to stay calm and make the correct decision....

About 2 years ago I was driving my 96 Explorer and the Throttle Stuck at 3K RPM'S and my attempt to kick it down by stomping on it made it worst... it was above 4K... And applying the brakes just made the truck down shift... The Throttle Plate had stuck closed... making the High RPM.... I blew through a stop sign and into a parking lot and got it stopped.... It could have been much worst if I panniced... The Ground was soft and any attempt to go off road would have resulted in a roll over....

There is a sticker on the intake where the rubber stops telling you to NEVER clean the intake..... Well after 15 years... Clean it.... A search found this to be a common problem...... So my years in the Navy too and all the Fire Fighting Training helped me stay cool and in control.... Most likely saved my life...

AL

[Chuck Stone]

I spent 4 years in the Navy & was extensively trained in fire fighting, which BTW has come in handy on multiple occasions. Before everyone runs out and buys a halon fire extinguisher I highly recommend reading the info at this site: http://www.ehow.com/list_6739671_hal...r-dangers.html

FYI.. every hazard they mention about halon extinguishers also applies to CO2 extinguishers.