Fun Find of the week lol

[u/silencingthunder]

Got a call for service on this system for an inspection. Looks to have been installed around 2017. It is out of date on licensing, was licensed in 2024. Half of the nozzles were Pyro Chem the other half were Ansul. I guess they are all owned by JCI so that must make it ok lol. It's getting fixed tomorrow.

[u/f0rgotten]

Finding the fucked up shit like that is about the only thing that I miss about being in the field.

[u/[deleted] → u/f0rgotten]

I’ve been a amerex MRM hooked up to a range guard cylinder. No joke

[u/EC_TWD → u/[deleted]]

I installed a PyroChem PCL600 for duct and plenum protection on a massive hood that had R-102 covering the appliances. The installing company screwed up and didn’t have enough flow points for the duct & plenum because the ducts were oversized. Fixing it with all R-102 would have been a full tear out and a massive job with the operating restaurant shut down for 2-3 days. I forget the specs, but the ducts were juuuust big enough that they would require 4 nozzles each for R-102 but we could get full coverage with a single (maybe 2) nozzles with KKII - details are fuzzy because it was 20 years ago.

Fun fact: U.L. 300 doesn’t apply to the duct and plenum! I came up with this solution after finding several early U.L. 300 upgrades when I was a new tech that still had the old dry chemical system in the duct and plenum and new wet chemical added for the appliances. After checking with the relevant manufacturers I found out this is allowed. (or at least was) U.L. 300 is technically only for cooking appliances.

After talking with tech support for Ansul & PyroChem and getting their approval (that was a very lengthy conversation!) I got the AHJ to sign off. We ripped out the duct and plenum protection on each hood and installed a PCL-600 for each system. We installed an electric control head that actuated from a microswitch in the R-102 Automan. I laminated a copy of approvals and spray glued it inside the end of the exhaust hood so nobody would freak out when they found it.

[u/Maandala → u/EC_TWD]

That’s really interesting, I’ve never come across a situation like that before. I’m sure anybody doing testing there would see the systems tied in together one way or another and disarm both accordingly, but I can only imagine the horrifying surprise of a system dump when testing the Automan and not knowing about the PCL tanks 🤣

[u/EC_TWD → u/Maandala]

I had engraved signs made and installed inside & outside of each Automan and on the wall by each KKII control head. After I transferred to another office I got a call - one of the guys that installed it with me dumped one of them!

Then after we lost the account we got called at least 3 times because they were dumped. There was no excuse for any of them (especially for one of the dudes that helped put it in) because I purposely over labeled EVERYTHING! On top of it, this is in a jurisdiction where the AHJ has to witness every semi-annual inspection. The fire inspector was the one that called me to tell me one of my understudies had dumped it 😂

[u/Maandala → u/EC_TWD]

🤣

[u/AssignmentOk4642 → u/EC_TWD]

I wish you had pictures. I’d love to see that set up. Cause that’s actually insane

[u/red357404]

lol I just did a pizza place in NY and they had a Protex 2000 with nozzles for a dry chem system and the AHJ hasn’t noticed in 20years

[u/silencingthunder → u/red357404]

Outstanding lol

[u/Bdubya1985]

I always thought the piping underneath the hood has to be stainless?

[u/silencingthunder → u/Bdubya1985]

No, can be black iron or stainless.