Fire Extinguisher for cnc laser

Issues related to safety

Fire Extinguisher for cnc laser

Postby dirktheeng » Mon Dec 26, 2011 12:50 am

All,

After seeing Mark K's unfortunate experience with a fire in his cnc laser during a cut with acrylic and the aftermath of the fire extinguisher, I started to look into some fire extinguishers. I have a dry chemical extinguisher, but I think this is not a good choise for a cnc laser system because it is very corrosive and will damag any electronics and exposed metals. If you want to have a chance of rebuilding the system after an event like this, it may be best to have a different extinguisher on hand. Other extinguishers are really quite expensive and relatively indiscriminate with regards to localization. I found a new product that could be better. It's called the tundra fire spray. If the fire is small and hasen't engulfed the whole laser system, it may be better than a regular extinguisher as in Mark K's case (forgive me if I am misjudging the situation, I wasn't there to see anything). Further, the cost is only around $14. A halon extinguisher runs in the hundreds. I have a cheap (but effective) dry chemical extinguisher as backup, but this may save the laser system from serious damage.
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Re: Fire Extinguisher for cnc laser

Postby mikegrundvig » Mon Dec 26, 2011 1:05 am

Sadly, there are a handful of reports of it failing to fire when you need it:
http://www.amazon.com/First-Alert-AF400 ... B001229JCU

And the consumer reports article:
http://174.129.132.250/safety/2010/04/a ... shers.html

Not saying this might not be a great choice, but I'd be nervous enough to have a normal extinguisher right next to it as well.

-Mike
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Re: Fire Extinguisher for cnc laser

Postby Groover » Mon Dec 26, 2011 10:07 am

I would think a small CO2 extinguisher right next to the machine would be a good idea. Both powder and foam extinguisher leave a lot of cleaning up after use. And with the good ventilation we usually have in the machines the CO2 wouldn't be much of a problem even in small shops, just turn of the ventilation, put out the fire and start up the ventilation again to get the CO2 out of the room.
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