Low Pressure Carbon Dioxide (CO2) fire suppression systems differ from high pressure systems in several important ways:

• The supply of CO2 is stored in a large refrigerated tank.
• The pressure in the tank is much lower than that found in CO2 cylinders.
• It is less costly to protect large facilities with low pressure CO2 than with high pressure CO2 cylinders.

There are currently two types of low pressure carbon dioxide fire suppression systems on the market--bulk and mini-bulk.

Bulk Low Pressure C02

Bulk low pressure CO2 systems are designed to meet the requirements of NFPA standard #12, Standard on Carbon Dioxide Extinguishing Systems. The low pressure system consists of liquid CO2 stored in an ASME coded pressure vessel equipped with it's own refrigeration system. The pressure within the pressure vessel is maintained near 300 psi by maintaining the internal temperature at approximately 0° F.

In the event of a fire, the detection and control system releases CO2 into the piping distribution network. With bulk systems there are often selector valves that select where the CO2 flow is directed. Finally, Carbon Dioxide flows out the nozzles into the protected facility.

Bulk low pressure CO2 systems measure the storage capacity of Carbon Dioxide in tons of agent. Tank capacities range from 0.75 - 60 tons.

Typical applications protected by bulk low pressure Carbon Dioxide fire suppression systems include:

• Printing presses
• Transformer vaults and electrical cabinets
• Open pits
• Dip tanks
• Rolling mills
• Ovens
• Coating machines
• Generators
• Flammable gas or liquid storage areas
• Exhaust and fume handling systems

Mini Bulk C02 Systems

In 1991 Ansul Preferred CO2 revolutionized the low pressure CO2 fire protection business by introducing the most technologically advanced low pressure CO2 equipment ever developed. The Mini-Bulk tank system was designed to bridge the gap between high pressure cylinders and low pressure bulk storage tanks.

The Mini-Bulk system is available in tank capacities of 350 - 1500 lbs. Each Mini-Bulk tank is equipped with a low cost, high efficiency, air cooled vapor compression unit. The refrigerant media R134 is environmentally safe and very efficient for this application. The tanks are approved for 48 hours of continuous service at a maximum ambient temperature of 110° F.

Mini-Bulk Systems offer several advantages over cylinder storage type CO2 fire systems:

• The ASME coded inner vessel does not require hydrostatic testing.
• The unit is more cost effective than high pressure cylinders.
• High-efficiency filling design allows tanks to be filled in place.
• Liquid level and pressure gauges allow in-place service eliminating the need to weigh individual cylinders.
• Can use all of the nozzles and valves currently employed in the larger bulk low pressure systems.
• Small weight and footprint compared to cylinder based systems.

Assembling all the components together into a workable system optimized for your facility is the work of trained fire protection engineers. At Reliable Fire Equipment our engineering group will design your system, prepare full color AutoCad generated shop drawings, flow and battery calculations, and provide you the hard data you need to rest assured in the confidence of a well designed fire protection system.

For additional assistance on the design of your low pressure Carbon Dioxide system, complete our Survey Request Form and one of our professionals will contact you.

 

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708-597-4600Fax 708-389-1150

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