A High Glass Performance from Nobel Fire Systems
When you operate high value production machines that have long lead times for spare parts, you don’t want to take any chances with potential downtime. That’s the approach taken by Recresco Limited, one of the UK’s leading materials recycling companies. So after one of their valuable mobile glass crushing machines was badly damaged by fire, Recresco turned to Nobel Fire Systems to ensure there was no repeat of the incident.
Recresco use the machines to crush glass which is then recycled and used in a variety of diverse ways from road surfacing to bottle production. Each glass crushing machine represents a huge investment and is at the cutting edge of recycling technology.
Having lost the services of one of the machines through accidental fire damage, Recresco commissioned Nobel Fire Systems to survey the equipment and recommend a fire protection package that would provide cover for the future.
After carrying out a full survey, Nobel recommended its Stat-X fire system to be fitted to each of the glass crushers. The Stat-X system is designed to protect the engine and hydraulics compartment on the glass crushers which are the most vulnerable parts of the equipment in terms of potential outbreaks of fire.
Stat-X comprises a two stage industrial fire detection system. If a fire should occur the 1st stage of alarm is to activate a local alarm and also to shutdown the large diesel engine providing power for the crushers hydraulics and mobility. If the fire progresses, the 2nd stage detection will pick up a fire condition and after a short programmable time delay to allow the engine and cooling fans time to “spin down” will then deploy the Stat-X suppression system.
The fire system employs “intelligent technology” that senses when the machine is running or shut down. It derives its power from the machines 24V supply integrating the ignition and emergency shutdown circuits and when the machine is switched off it automatically goes into a “sleep mode” so that there is no draw on the machines battery supply.
Stat-X doesn’t require intricate pipework and nozzles to be fitted, nor does it require space for the provision of gas or chemical dry powder cylinders. As such installation can be carried out in just one day.
All Stat-X aerosol units require little maintenance and have an expected shelf life of up to 10 years, so Recresco have the assurance that their critical recycling equipment is now fully protected against fire for the foreseeable future.