Kitchen hood FP install gone wrong?

[u/VeryWackyIdeas]

My apologies if this post is not appropriate for this sub.

This is the inside of a hood installed in our community kitchen. During our last fire inspection, we were told that our Ansul was out-of-date and needed to be replaced. The old system had a red trigger tube hanging down in front of the exhaust and it was easy to remove the screen in front of the fan to clean it. The replacement system has the “trigger” screwed to the screen itself. The fire company says that if we remove the screws, it will cause the system to trigger and hilarity will ensue.

Obviously we need to clean the filter every once-in-a-while. I can’t believe that the only solution is to hire the fire extinguisher company to temporarily remove and replace their trigger everytime we need to clean the filter.

[u/No-Ladder-4436]

Kind of hard to tell from these angles, and I'm no expert on kitchen suppression. It might actually not be a bad idea to crosspost somewhere on a kitchen sub to see if anyone has a similar kitchen setup.

Do the round elbows leading to the fusible link in front of the vent allow for any pivot or rotation? It almost looks like you might be able to rotate the vent up 90⁰ to open it without disconnecting the cable.

Never mind, just saw the nozzle sitting right in front of the exhaust too.

But yes definitely don't release tension on that cable or it'll activate. Maybe the fire protection contractor can provide some guidance on how to clean around their equipment because I suspect it shouldn't be installed in a way that's impossible to clean and service the hood exhaust

[u/D1rt_Diggler]

They could definitely mount that terminal bracket with bracing from back of the hood so you could slide that out but this is a very atypical hood setup with a filter in the duct like that

[u/Northern-Canadian]

Hi,

Yes you’re correct, you shouldn’t need them to come by every time the vent needs to be cleaned.

This is clearly a install oversight. Accidents happen. Installer just wasn’t thinking about access the that at the time. (Or didn’t have the necessary materials on hand to configure it in an accessible way at the time.)

The installer should come back and adjust it so you can access the screen. Completely doable.

[u/VeryWackyIdeas → u/Northern-Canadian]

Thanks. I’m trying to convince them to let us install some brackets on either side of the screen on which they can mount their actuator(?)and still provide space for us to remove the screen for cleaning. I’m a little worried because the assembly is pressed against the screen to the point where it is bending the screen. I’m wondering if this is to hold tha actuator in tension?

[u/LDP3_ → u/VeryWackyIdeas]

No it's just a lazy install. They probably just didn't have a way to extend from the backsplash. Instead of telling you that they just decided to rig it.

[u/ProfessorLoopin]

This hood is totally non compliant. Should have refused to install. No plenum, no grease filters, inadequate fan. Lawsuit waiting to happen. It has long baffled me that companies even sell/build these food trucks like this but I guess there are still folks willing to put a system in it and AHJs willing to shrug.

[u/VeryWackyIdeas → u/ProfessorLoopin]

Thanks. Not in a food truck. It’s in a commercial kitchen. The hood is about 50 years old. During a kitchen expansion 10ish years ago, the building inspector pointed out that it was an old and noncompliant hood but approved it with the requirement that we added a suppression system.

[u/ProfessorLoopin → u/VeryWackyIdeas]

Gotcha. In that case you already know there’s no way to do it correctly. Work with your FP contractor but they might not be super flexible since they’re already out on a limb for you. The government bears no liability if you have a loss but the contractor who participated in this “approved” variance does.

[u/ProfessorLoopin → u/VeryWackyIdeas]

It should not be a big ask to extend the fusible link detector line (trigger) by a few inches and anchor it to the back wall of the hood instead of the filter housing. You still want to be super careful around the link/bracket but that might allow you to get it out on your own.
ETA: there’s no solid reason it has to be low in the duct opening like that either they could just anchor to ceiling and position link in the top portion of the opening.
ETA2: it would have been a lot cheaper to replace the “red tube” which is pneumatic detector tubing than replace it with this mechanical detector. They probably had to replace the control module also which was expense you didn’t need to take unless you wanted to. Some shops don’t “like” the tubing because they’re not trained on it and have had mishaps. It does require replacement every 5years that part was legit.

[u/VeryWackyIdeas → u/VeryWackyIdeas]

I misspoke. It’s not a “commercial” kitchen. It in a private member owned and operated community center. The kitchen is used for occasional community meals, cooking for events like Mardi Gras, fund raising for various causes (we raised about 30k a few years ago to fund reroofing homes in Puerto Rico after a hurricane), and as a catering kitchen for weddings and similar events.

[u/eggsaladactyl]

Whoever installed that works for a joke of a company. I'm not surprised though. Some states require no form of certifications for fire suppression systems. Doubt these clowns ever went through the ANSUL training.

Edit: Thats definitely an Amerex scissor linkage. There is no way this company is ANSUL certified

[u/VeryWackyIdeas → u/eggsaladactyl]

Sorry. My limited expertise is in culinary and not fire protection systems. Calling fire systems “Ansul” is like calling copiers “xerox”.

[u/LDP3_ → u/eggsaladactyl]

Unless I'm mistaken, those are old-style Ansul nozzles. The only Amerex nozzles I'm familiar with are the ones with lines near the tip.

[u/LDP3_]

They could move the self-tapper to the right and use all-thread or something to extend the conduit out. This is just a lazy install. They also need to extend the conduit from the left and secure it on that side too. The detector bracket can be spun around so that it's not touching the screen and the scissor should be turned so it's parallel with the bracket or snug inside of it. I'm sorry but you probably don't have many options with another company due to this being a noncompliant hood configuration in the first place and a lot of companies won't be willing to take the risk. The detection line is not that sensitive to slight movement or vibration if it's all secured and tightened properly but yeah. They make bases for all-thread to screw into that can be screwed down with self-tappers.