Fire & Gas Maintenance Alert
Scope & Purpose:
To document and communicate Fire & Gas Maintenance activities which have or could enhance reliability of Fire and Gas safety systems. Fire and Gas inspections typically consist of a thorough inspection of all fire and gas detection system initiating devices as well as other ancillary equipment.
Smoke & Heat Detector Inspection:
Each quarter all smoke and heat detectors are function tested by applying simulated smoke or heat to the detector. Detectors are cleaned (dusted) as necessary and replaced as needed. The proper responses are observed in the control room and the test is complete.
The goal of this report is to document the need for periodic testing that includes a more in depth inspection.
History:
During quartely Fire & Gas Inspections, the F & G technicians noticed that higher profile detectors, such as Edwards (Siemens, SIGA, other high profile detectors) were damaged more than other detectors. The damage is usally caused by overheating and subsequent melting of detector housings. We have determined that this is due to heat guns being used to test heat detectors. Heat guns apply and unknown/unmeasured amount of heat to the detector and are not the correct tool to test detectors. We found that the reason facility inspection personal were not using a heat detector tester made specifically for the purpose of testing smoke and heat detector inspection was due to the fact that the tester did not fit properly on the high profile detectors and the lack of a good seal between detector and tester made trip of detectors difficult and more time consuming.
Solution:
A new seal was manufactured to provide a better seal between detector and tester(see photos below) This seal directly replaces the existing seal on the SOLO 461 heat detector tester and the SOLO 330 smoke detector tester. The seal only takes a few seconds to remove and replace when finished.
Left: SOLO™ 461 with normal rubber adaptor Right: High profile detector adaptor
Left: SOLO™ 461 with normal rubber adaptor Right: High profile detector adaptor
Left: SOLO™ 461 with normal rubber adaptor Right: High profile detector adaptor
High profile detector adaptor removed from test head
Value Added / Lessons Learned:
Smoke and heat detector tester with a poor seal between detector and tester takes a greater amount of canned smoke or heat to trip the detector which can result in damage to detector.
Use of an adaptor can lesson the risk of damage and make job of inspection easier.