I read in some older posts about using CO2 fire extinguishers. I have looked on line but all of the ones that I have seen are soooo expensive. Have any of you found a source for any at a reasonable cost?
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Oh good question. I had let this one slip by me for a while.
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I bought this one. $150 is a lot but not as much as a new Glowforge or a new house.
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Heh. I just bought the same one, yesterday. I had a different one in my Amazon wishlist and it was suddenly out of stock and discontinued. So I thought I’d better secure one while I can.
Oh, and does anyone recommend a particular pair of CO2 laser-safe glasses that are reasonably priced?
That’s actually a very good question. Some glasses are better than others, depending on the wavelength of the laser. I would presume that the viewport on the Glowforge is selected for the proper wavelength, making glasses unnecessary, but maybe @dan can provide an answer regarding what eye safety features are built in and what is not.
They are expensive, and they are worth it.
In the past I have bought them used from fire extinguisher refill companies.
That makes them a bit cheaper, but not a lot.
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Have several fire extinguishers throughout the home but the one for my electrical bench and planned Glowforge area is a Halatron extinguisher. Similar price to CO2 and also leaves no residue. The reason I went with Halotron is because it packs far less of a thermal shock than CO2. The tube is right next to any flaming material and didn’t want to damage it with a shot of sub zero CO2 for a fire too big to snuff by hand. I also keep a dry chemical extinguisher handy as a last resort.
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i got a pair here:
http://www.lazershieldz.com/#!collection/c1p9k
Amazon also has them. (Be sure you get the correct wavelength for Co2 lasers.)
We’re not supposed to need them unless we have the Pro model, but I got a pair anyway. (Better safe than sorry.)
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Very similar to halon they use in data centers, some of which are being replaced now with halotron bc of ozone issues with halon
I thought Halon/Halotron extinguishers needed an enclosed space to work best, because of the oxygen starvation. Using it in an open area is mostly a losing battle. Not sure this would be as effective for the Glowforge, although it would certainly be less messy for cleanup afterwards…
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Unfortunately, I can’t buy that one from Canada, and when I looked it up on Amazon.ca, its $275 + over $50 for shipping! sigh.
If you are standing right in front of the Glowforge (as you should be) then hopefully the unit itself provides the enclosed space…
The reason they like to have the spaces enclosed is so they can leave the area saturated longer to allow things to cool and prevent reignition. Also Halon gas in incredibly expensive to refill. They used to joke about employees becoming indentured servants for a few years if they accidentally tripped the halon system.
At high temperatures, halons decompose to release halogen atoms that combine readily with active hydrogen atoms, quenching flame propagation reactions even when adequate fuel, oxygen, and heat remain. The chemical reaction in a flame proceeds as a free radical chain reaction; by sequestering the radicals which propagate the reaction, halons are able to halt the fire at much lower concentrations than are required by fire suppressants using the more traditional methods of cooling, oxygen deprivation, or fuel dilution.
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Okay, but everything I’ve read states that Halon-type extinguishers are best at Class B/C fires. Not as good in Class A, which is really the type of material you should only be burning in a CO2 laser cutter. Class B is flammable fluids, and Class C is electrical. Class A is ordinary organic materials.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve no interest in making my Glowforge into a foamy piece of junk… I’m just worried of not adequately smothering any fire and it reigniting.
Not necessarily because of extinquishing efficacy, but because halon will get you high and disoriented. Its also expensive and bad for the environment.
It will put out a fire pretty efficiently though.
lol… well, depending on the individual, higher than normal I suppose.
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I did a lot of fire extinguisher research and decided halotron was the way to go as well and was going to suggest the same thing.
This video is very impressive…
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Anybody heard anything about this kind? (Doesn’t spit stuff out - it sucks up all the oxygen, smothering the fire.)
It’s a one-time use thing though.
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I’ve never seen those before, but I’d be worried about the subsequent cleanup afterwards.
@Hirudin That video was impressive. Maybe I’ll just stick to having a moist heavy rag and see about a teeny tiny Halotron with 30sec discharge.
Supposedly no cleanup…it’s only putting out a gas that consumes all the oxygen, killing the fire.