Kidde Fire Extinguishers with Plastic Nozzle and Fire Threats

Hi Respected Sailors
Have not seen a post on the Kidde Fire Extinguisher recall on EYO. All the plastic head extinguishers are recalled. We had (2) but fortunately we have one metal head that is holding the fort. The Kidde website has all the details and instructions for replacement.
Kidde requested a serial number on their webform. Mine are soo old that they did not have a SN#. We will have to see what happens. If they won't replace... I'll take care of it.
Best Regards Pat 1981 E28+ Chips Universal 5411

Thanks for the heads up! :0 Will check up on one house, two boats and five cars, all of which have extinguishers.

Thanx Pat. I'll have to check in the spring, but I think I may have one.

108 claims out of 40 million units over 44 years. Scary. I can't believe we all survived, but if they want to give me a new one I guess I'll take it.

Kidde Fire Extinguishers with Plastic Nozzle

I have posted the URL address for the Kiddie recall below for those who are interested. I need to check mine out next time I am down at the boat. One of the two deadliest things which can happen on board are water coming in uncontrollably and fire. Be safe all.



https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/k...-due-to-failure-to-discharge-and#.Wfr3FggcNkQ

Navman said:

I have posted the URL address for the Kiddie recall below for those who are interested. I need to check mine out next time I am down at the boat. One of the two deadliest things which can happen on board are water coming in uncontrollably and fire. Be safe all.

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/k...-due-to-failure-to-discharge-and#.Wfr3FggcNkQ

Click to expand...

Your sage observation is supported by a surveyor friend of mine. She sez that a fire at sea is usually more immediately threatening than flooding, in terms of danger to life.

And in the "FWIW dept", I used to know a sailor/racer/sailmaker up in Tacoma that was crewing on a boat that caught fire in Puget Sound. Everyone escaped by jumping over the side and being picked up by other boaters. And..... that particular fire was caused by a leak in the piping for a pressurized alcohol galley range -- no one saw the pale blue flame behind the stove until it was too far advanced to extinguish. That incident influenced our decision to stay with the Origo range -- no pressure.
I will be taking our fire bottles in for recertification soon and will then resolve any product recall issues that we find.

As my daddy used to say, you can't step to the curb and watch your boat burn. There is a tendency to drown instead. Way back when, the Catalina 27 belonging to a secretary at work burned to the waterline in the Sacramento Delta. The problem? One of those "safe" alcohol stoves. I keep extinguishers all over Terra Nova.

supersailor said:

As my daddy used to say, you can't step to the curb and watch your boat burn. There is a tendency to drown instead. Way back when, the Catalina 27 belonging to a secretary at work burned to the waterline in the Sacramento Delta. The problem? One of those "safe" alcohol stoves. I keep extinguishers all over Terra Nova.

Click to expand...

So, was that stove one of those ubiquitous pressure-alcohol stoves like the "Princess" ? Boat builders used to install them by the crate full on production boats back in the day. If forced to cook with a pressure stove I would prefer to (reluctantly) return to the kerosine stove we had on a prior boat... at least you could see when something was amiss by the copious amount of soot rising! Nothing subtle about it.

Yup. Remember, you had to prewarm the burners. A large powerboat barreled through the anchorage right after they lit the pans and it spilled burning alcohol in the cabin. They did not have enough extinguishers to put it out.

On this topic, I wonder what the most likely fire is on a diesel boat.

We have a Halon system (factory, untested) over the engine. But what's the likelihood of a diesel fire? I'm asking because I don't really know.

With a propane stove, the danger seems more of explosion, for which a fire extinguisher is...well, I don't know.

What is the nature of a propane fire, after the blast? Is there typically fire?

Seems to me most burning of boats is result of some kind of heater misfunction, probably electric, from dockside power?

So, review for me the actual value of fire extinguishers--I have them all over the place, too. I mean, beyond the curtains over the stove.

Navman said:

I have posted the URL address for the Kiddie recall below for those who are interested. I need to check mine out next time I am down at the boat. One of the two deadliest things which can happen on board are water coming in uncontrollably and fire. Be safe all.



https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/k...-due-to-failure-to-discharge-and#.Wfr3FggcNkQ

Click to expand...

I have a Kidde unit with a black plastic handle/nozzle with model no. FA110G and it is not on the recall list. Does anyone know why this unit is not under the recall? I have several more on my boat and will check their model numbers shortly.

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?9283-Fire-on-board!!

Not the source one might imagine, but here is a real incident.

On a related note, my surveyor friend tells me that AC electrical fires while on shore power are common on boats with older wiring and device components.

Then there was the DC electrical fire on board another boat at our YC a couple summers ago. The original Universal diesel engine harness overheated and burned. Boat was saved by on-board extinguishers and then towed in. It took a major re-wire of the whole engine (and nearby) wiring to repair it, and turned into quite a project. This was a late 80's boat.
That's just one reason why we are spec'ing out a major upgrade to our boat with its M25XP and overheating harness. We do have a list of engine problems to address, though, and so are also looking into a new Betamarine.

Speaking of the perceived threat of a diesel fire, I also wonder how common such a fire really is?

As for propane, I once visited a 36 foot boat the morning after it was destroyed by a propane explosion. Whole deck was peeled off - still attached at the bow area -- like a lid on an old time sardine can. Boat was floating with little smoke damage. Violent (!) explosion but no fire.
Bilge had filled with propane, and no one noticed when they returned after dark and lit a lantern....... no deaths, but extensive injuries.

Most likely sources of fire on a Diesel boat:

1. Cooking gas. After explosion usually fire although it probably doesn't matter at that point.

2. Heating especially if not diesel heat.

3. Electrical. A good reason to inspect the electrical system yearly.

4. Gasoline. Too many gas cans stored in lockers for the dingie's outboard.

5. BBQ's. I once had a sponge catch fire when it blew against the BBQ. Others use BBQ's not meant to be onboard.

6 Cigarettes. They don't do well with sleep.

This thread is reminding me that shore power is probably the greatest fire threat.

Come to think of it, my boat electrician suggested putting in a new AC panel. He said my own work on all the DC was fine, but "once you plug, you don't want a problem."

He was on board to fix a nonfunctioning AC outlet. After he left, I put the rest of the AC system out of my mind.

I'm plugged in all the time at the dock. The battery charger's running. In summer, the refrigerator's on and maintaining 40F. My power cord is not new. And I hardly think about all that.

Hmmmm.

Fa 110 g

Hi Herb
Check second group Dons recall list. Don Thanks for sending it :<{)))
It is 5 down in the left column.
My favorite fire story was a lightning strike to a smaller Pearson. I think was about my size a 28. Cruise A Day tank blew up and it burnt to the water line in the middle of the night on the mooring maybe 1978. No injuries. When they dragged the wreck to the shore the waterline was clearly showing but everything else above the waterline was missing with the exeption of the porcelain head that was unburnt but probably not salvage. A few day later I went to show a friend the damage and everything was gone except the lead shot from the keel. Like it never happened.
Best Regards Pat 1981 E28+ Universal 5411

I thought I read somewhere that amateur DC wiring was the leading cause of boat fires. Probably info to be found in the "BoatUS" newsletter archives. There have also been several survivor stories come out lately that all said that by the time they realized they had to abandon, there was no time to do anything but jump overboard. No EPIRB, no life raft, no ditch bag. Kind of sobering. One couple only survived because the dinghy davit burned through and dropped the half-melted dinghy clear of the boat.

Re: AC. My marina was re-wired a couple of years ago and they have gradually been lowering the ground-fault trip level. Each time, a few boats show up as problems. Several shore-power cords have been condemned and a couple of boats kicked off the grid until Repairs Are Made. So far, I have not received one of the dreaded notes from the manager.

Water Heater

Hi Respected Sailors
Thanks for all these fire related stories. We can't be too careful! The water heater is probably the only tarbaby that I have not touched. I can't recall but I think that our raritan only lasted about (5) years. It Rusted out. I replaced it with a ss heater mfg I can't recall without taking the cover off the boat :<{(( It has been terrific. I was in a hurry to go cruising and never hooked up the wiring on the ss tank. I very rarely go to a dock soo.... We heat with a anti freeze bypass that I turn on to heat the hot water tank when needed. Very glad that I do not have to worry about 110 on the boat. 12V is enough for me. Best Regards Pat 1981 E28+ Universal 5411
Edit: The ss tank is a SenDur its been great.

Christian,

Don't discount the DC system! Terra Nova had many non fused circuits on her when I bought her. That meant that you could sustain an electric arc until the entire battery bank drew down. Enough to make any fire start. Also the wiring in many cases was assembled by Laurel and Hardy. There were interior lamp cords used with laughable connections (in one case, the lamp cord was twisted by hand then electrical taped with no connector). That was a perfect place to get an arc.


If you bought your boat used, suspect every circuit until you inspect it. Professional work many times is no better than amateur work, so check it all. In Terra Nova's case, the AC circuits were ok. The DC circuits looked like they had been wired by an over caffeinated hyper active spider.

I shall amend my memo to self: electrical is the foremost fire threat on yachts.

Checking my extinguishers

I'm not sure we'll make any progress on uncovering what causes the most boat fires, but story time is always fun.

Morning coffee. I witnessed a lightning strike on a 1970s Ranger 29. Smoke but no flames. Not in Miami, but in the Port Ludlow, WA anchorage. No injuries, scared a little dog though. Most vivid memories: Relief when my friends emerged from the smoke-filled cabin in fine shape and the VHF whip antenna descending to the deck of the boat in three bright orange segments.

OMG. Watched and worried while a hibachi charcoal grill flamed up after being lit in the cockpit of about a 27 foot sailboat (not an Ericson). Happened at dusk at Parks Bay, Shaw Island, WA. No injuries to people, not sure about any scorched gelcoat.

You can, accidentally, do this one yourself with a few supplies available in most homes and boats. Many of our boats have 30-amp shore power and a circuit breaker panel for the AC side of our electrical systems. My panel is separated into two 15-amp circuits. Have a fully charged non-recall fire extinguisher handy if you do this experiment. Anyway plug an electric heater into an outlet on your boat and fire it up. Then plug an electric drill, a grinder or a heat gun to the same outlet and fire it up. Your well-maintained Outlets circuit breaker may trip, shutting off power. Tripping the breaker is the best outcome, if you overload the circuit. Worst outcome is a Sad Story.

Sad story. Older 30-ish foot sailboat hauled out across the yard from me (thank goodness) a year ago. Cold and rainy December in the Pacific Northwest. Freezing weather forecast for the next couple days. Owner of the boat shows up early, places a second electric heater into the cabin (and fires it up). Later that day, while a yard worker (our honest to goodness hero/nut) is working on the hull of the boat, he notices smoke coming out of the companionway. Yells "FIRE" and heads up the ladder. Garden hoses and possibly a CO2 fire extinguisher used to put out the fire. Fire department is called and they inspect the boat while it is still smoking lightly. Source of the fire: a thermal circuit breaker in the AC circuit that did not trip and the wiring caught fire. What was I doing during this emergency? I was below in my boat. When I realized what was going on, I started for my ladder to go after a hose. But, I turned around and picked up two of my extinguishers and carried them over towards the fire. We didn't need to use them and it's a good thing. If they are on the recall list I could have been carrying two tubes of gasoline. Ya never know. Injuries: The yard worker singed some hair, eyebrows and probably some hair off the back of his hands. His face was a little red, too. Boat damage: electrical panel and surrounding structure burned, rest of the interior had much smoke and water damage. Owner: I didn't talk to him, but he probably had to decide whether to total it or repair/restore the boat. Not making a judgement here. This could have happened to me had I not experienced a drill + heater inconvenience many years ago.

These popular electric heaters, whether they are oil-filled radiators or ceramic type (resistance coil with a fan), can pull about 10-12 amps AC when at higher temperature and/or fan settings. Here, in the Northwest, one heater has been enough and I have to shut it off when working with electric tools onboard. One of the yards I use only permits oil-filled radiators to be left on unattended while in the yard. That's what I use and it works fine. Have an uneventful winter and a happy Thanksgiving!

North West lightning is just not up to snuff. You have to head south and east to get the real good stuff. Lightening protection is a whole new subject. Nothing seems to truly work except maybe to snuggle up next to another boat with a much higher mast except that a hit on the neighbor can still fry all your electronics.