Technology has allowed many products to become smaller for the modern world, and with micro automatic fire extinguishers, the fire industry has now received the same treatment.
Normal-sized automatic fire extinguishers are often located in cupboards and small rooms, designed to cover a specific risk and to tackle a fire as soon as it begins without intervention. These are commonly used in server cupboards, boiler rooms and engine compartments.
Just like miniature automatic fire extinguishers, they have a glass bulb which is temperature-sensitive. As such, once the temperature of the area reaches a certain level—usually around 68°C—this bulb breaks which allows the contents of the canister to spray out and should extinguish the flames within that area.
Where To Use Micro Automatic Fire Extinguishers
The tiny design of these new extinguishers means that they are suitable for microenvironments. It is becoming increasingly common to find these small devices built within computers and appliances by the manufacturers.
As an example, if you have one of these within your tumble drier, should it ever catch fire, the micro automatic fire extinguisher will step in and tackle the blaze before you even became aware of it. Extinguishing the flames in its early stages prevents the fire from escalating to prevent further damage to the appliance and massively reduces the risks to individuals and properties.
These mini versions are filled with a clean agent extinguishant—a liquid which turns into a gas when released—which requires no cleanup and is non-corrosive. This makes them ideal for computing and electronic environments as it means no collateral damage is caused so data would be salvageable.
Maintenance-free, while these are often installed at the manufacturing stage where they’re required, they are also suitable for retrofitting and are supplied with a bracket to securely mount the micro automatic fire extinguisher.
Available in a range of sizes which would fit within the housing of most electronics—between 100g and 500g—the largest size provides coverage for 0.78m3 enclosure volume. As the content is a gas which is environmentally-friendly, this would be enough to fill the internals of most appliances.
