warning to all about battery chargers
well for those that did not know, our Christmas started off two weeks back badly with a battery charger catching fire on the boat. We had put the batteries on charge for a shake down run before going this week ( well we were meant to :(...)to Rotto.
but sadly that Rotto trip never happened, as the charger over heated and set the deck carpet and cabin insulation alight.
Took fire brigade 40minutes to get there, even though we were only 8km away from the station, due to only volunteers now manning the Midland Fire Brigade after hours on a weekend!!! WTF...god help us if it had been the house! and as the boat was less than 4m from the house, it nearly was the house too,
oh well, it ended sad, but luckily no one got hurt.
A Big thanks to all my neighbours and those driving by that ran to help with hoses and support.
So, we learn t the hard-way, no matter how big and heavy a battery is, take it out and charge it on the ground.
Tony Halliday: ~Meals on Reels ~
It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it
"It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC)
"In a mad world only the mad are sane." Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)
Matt T
Posts: 875
Date Joined: 19/11/07
Insured?
Hope it's insured TH. Bloody terrible thing to happen. Feel for you mate.
Tony Halliday
Posts: 2500
Date Joined: 14/06/07
thanks Matt, We busy with
thanks Matt,
We busy with the assessor at the moment, but with what we will get out, there is no chance of getting a 7.8m turbo-diesel that sleeps four again! :(
probably have to down grade and save up again, or look for a new project.
Wife and son are gutted, as we all put hundreds of hours into the rebuild and changes we did.
Tony Halliday: ~Meals on Reels ~
It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it
"It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC)
"In a mad world only the mad are sane." Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)
Feral
Posts: 1508
Date Joined: 01/11/06
oh crap ... sorry to see
oh crap ... sorry to see mate
is anything salvagable ??
alfred
Posts: 3097
Date Joined: 12/01/07
Oh crap. that does look
Oh crap. that does look bad. Glad that the house and you folks were not hurt.
Tony Halliday
Posts: 2500
Date Joined: 14/06/07
oh and a couple of lessons
oh and a couple of lessons learn t as well.
1. fire extinguishers on a boat are useless when you off it and it's on fire!
2. 2 x 2,5kg dry powder extinguishers can't put out insulation and allie when it's burning! yes the insulation burnt so hot it set the aluminum alight.
3. garden hoses are useless in getting enough water into a hot fire to stop it spreading! Thank god we saved the diesel tank which was stainless steel by drenching all the hoses in that area till the fire truck arrived.
4. flares go off with a bang in a wheel house and are bloody scary!
5. it takes less than 3 minutes for a fire to get out of control from first flames to inferno on a boat! I would hate to be at sea and have had this happen.
my next boat will have 2 5kg big extinguishers and at least one CO2 unit in the wheel house with a self-activation bulb.
the fire got so hot, it burnt through the bulk heads and the hull in places! bloody scary
Tony Halliday: ~Meals on Reels ~
It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it
"It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC)
"In a mad world only the mad are sane." Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)
swoffer
Posts: 83
Date Joined: 30/12/06
Tough break there Tony. Dont
Tough break there Tony.
Dont get to caught up in trying to put out burning aluminium tho , once it is alite no amount of dry powder will stop it , a special metal fire extinguisher is needed. This is why the poms lost so many ships during the Faulklands war , they thought they would make them lighter by putting ally superstructures on them.
Matt T
Posts: 875
Date Joined: 19/11/07
3 Minutes!
Shit that is scary! How did you discover the fire - had it been burning long?
Tony Halliday
Posts: 2500
Date Joined: 14/06/07
Matt, we had been in the
Matt, we had been in the court yard next to the boat, about 5m away from it when we heard a strange pop/ crackle sound, looked around the corner and saw the deck carpet up in flames. it could not have been going for more than a minute or two, but by the time we got the fire exstiguishers out the house and garage, the deck was up in flames and into the wheelhouse.
We managed to kill the deck fire and the wheel house, looked all out and took wife back into the house for a cup of tea, as she was in shock. when she looked back over the her shoulder from the kitchen, she saw it was back alight.
The fire had restarted in the wheel house insulation and as we had no more fire extinguishers, we grabbed hoses. one was too short and could only lucky keep the grass around the boat wet. Other which was two joined hoses was keeping the motor and back deck from going up, but then the bloody plastic coupler between the two hoses broke! ( that will teach me for buying cheap crap and not brass fittings!!!lesson learn t. )
lucky by then my neighbors arrived with another hose and we where able to then keep the diesel tank / filler cap area and back deck cool and under control, but the wheel house fire had spread into the front of the cabin and we had no chance there.
Word of advise to anyone with a boat. have a good quality long hose with brass fittings and quality spray head if you ever want to stop a fire, the Gardiener stuff is crap.
We also learn t that the pink insulation installed to keep the water sound down and heat out, was the perfect fuel to start a fire storm in the wheel house.
oh well sh!t happens as they say, now to wait for the settlement and start looking again for a tub.
Tony Halliday: ~Meals on Reels ~
It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it
"It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC)
"In a mad world only the mad are sane." Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)
danno
Posts: 1676
Date Joined: 12/07/09
oh man that sucks
oh man that sucks badly
lucky nothing else caught alight.
cheers danno
TheBradyBunch
Posts: 216
Date Joined: 20/12/09
wow that is not good. We had
wow that is not good. We had someone throw a fire bomb in a friends boat last month while it was staying at our house. The mrs woke up just after 1am from a bad dream and woke me up. As we were drifting back to sleep I heard a noise outside and the neighbours dog go mental. When i went outside I realised the boat was on fire. The mrs called the police who informed the fire brigade. As the mrs always has kept a fire blanket in the car we grabbed that out. I threw it on the fire but it was useless. The mrs then told me to throw sand on top of the blanket. We were very lucky as the boat was just under the eaves of the house. Now we look back the mrs was very lucky as she stood on the wheel to look at the fire, without realising it was a built in fuel tank which is where the fire was. The police and firies took about 5 minutes to get here. There was no damage done to the boat TG as my mate didnt have insurance on it and he still is paying it off. It is alli based.
So thank goodness the mrs had a bad dream or who knows what would have happened.
We have realised that fire blankets DON"T WORK unless u block off every bit of air getting underneath it.
We now have insurance on our boat, something we never thought we could afford, but it is only $300 a year which is really nothing. And our mates boat is now back at the owners house, still with no insurance.
BTW the police even tho having the bottle and the rag that the bomb was made out of (we put fire out quickly so this was still in one piece) they won't investigate it further.
Glad 2 hear ur family and home r all ok.
Tony Halliday
Posts: 2500
Date Joined: 14/06/07
I can say you where dam
I can say you where dam lucky the fuel tank did not go up,
we found that cushions and plastic was the first to burn. the carpet did not burn that bad, neither did the wooden kitchenette unit.
if the fire brigade had been quicker, we could have saved the boat, but after 40minutes from the first call to them arriving! we stood no chance of limiting the damage.
Tony Halliday: ~Meals on Reels ~
It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it
"It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC)
"In a mad world only the mad are sane." Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)
Dale
Posts: 7930
Date Joined: 13/09/05
Damn Tony, that's not very
Damn Tony, that's not very good for sure, Hope you can get your insurance ok,
Cheers
Dale
"Just because you are a Character, Doesn't mean you have Character."
Mr Wolf
Andy Mac
Posts: 4778
Date Joined: 03/02/06
Mate, you must be gutted
I know you put heaps of hours into that boat and to see it go up in flames like that, jeez!
Just thankful everyone was safe at the end of the day.
Agree, take the batteries out of the boat and charge in a well ventilated area.
You have just prompted me to change the fire extinguishers over on my own boat. Been meaning to do it for weeks, the new one has just been sitting in the shed.
Cheers
Andy Mac (Fishwrecked Reeltime Editor & Forum Moderator)
Youngest member of the Fishwrecked Old Farts Club
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18026
Date Joined: 11/03/08
thats a real kick in the
thats a real kick in the guts for you guys.and here i am complaining about the dramas i had on the weekend. with all the work you have done on the boat you could never realy put a price on her.i would never have thought a battery charger could cause to much heat that would cause something like this to happen.A few lessons learnt by you but it was the hard way.......you didnt throw any beenies or chairs into the fire did you while drinking sherry
..... hope you can gget things sorted soon mate and get back out on the water
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Tony Halliday
Posts: 2500
Date Joined: 14/06/07
lol...I can smile a little
lol...I can smile a little now about it...
but we did loose two wooden directors chairs and a wide brim hat, if that counts!
oh and bugger all sherry this year, it's been cheap chardies at the door-sales....moving up the ranks now
Tony Halliday: ~Meals on Reels ~
It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it
"It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC)
"In a mad world only the mad are sane." Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)
Paul G
Posts: 5215
Date Joined: 12/12/07
Sorry to here about the boat
Sorry to here about the boat ,I guess you feel pretty helpless in times like that
Active Gyp-Rok solutions ,Residential and commercial ceilings and walls
HuggyB
Posts: 2515
Date Joined: 03/08/08
Not good Tony
sorry about your loss, particularly at this time of year and knowing how much work you put into it.
Just curious on a few things
1. Pink insulation - is that the expanding foam type from a can? If not what type is it?
2. What brand of battery charger where you using?
3. Was the charger sitting in the exposed sun while charging?
Just remember with aluminium, it'll start to deform at around the 150C mark which in fire terms is not very hot, and begin to melt at ~600C for most marine grade alloys. Depending on the fire fuel (carpets etc) it can get up to around 800C.
The Terrorist - coming to a fishing spot near you.........
Tony Halliday
Posts: 2500
Date Joined: 14/06/07
thanks mate for the kind
thanks mate for the kind words.
the insulation was that wool type, it's normaly used in roofing and dry walling. bloody stuff burns super hot once alight!
the battery was a good quality unit from Auto1 I got last year, and yes it was on the back deck carpet in the late afternoon sun. Fire broke out around 7-30pm, so not much heat from the sun can be blamed.
Seems the carpet only burnt slowly, but it was enough to set off the insulation under the deck ( sound damping for the diesel) and in the walls of the wheel house, which had a vinyl compressed board outer layer.
funny thing was the Waeco esky did not burn out, it took some damage, but proved that fiber glass is more resilient to fire than I thought it would be.
I'll put some more pics in my photo bucket later today and show you just how hot it got, it melted allie in places.
Tony Halliday: ~Meals on Reels ~
It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it
"It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC)
"In a mad world only the mad are sane." Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)
Tony Halliday
Posts: 2500
Date Joined: 14/06/07
some more pics, not the
some more pics, not the prettiest I've ever posted.
Tony Halliday: ~Meals on Reels ~
It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it
"It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC)
"In a mad world only the mad are sane." Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)
joe amato
Posts: 731
Date Joined: 21/12/08
hope your insurance covers you
sorry to hear that ,not a good way to end and start of the new year,hope your insurance makes a better new year for you guys
grayzeee
Posts: 2283
Date Joined: 09/07/09
mate. that is gutting.
mate. that is gutting.
sorry to hear it.
If I spent half as long fishing , as I do reading this bloody forum , I'd be twice the fisherman I am.
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18026
Date Joined: 11/03/08
on a bright note if there is
on a bright note if there is one, at least you have saved the trailer and that will save some big $$$$ for you.just got to get a boat to put on it
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
swoffer
Posts: 83
Date Joined: 30/12/06
Hey Tony , whats all the
Hey Tony , whats all the crap you can see near the water line, damage ?
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18026
Date Joined: 11/03/08
could have been water
could have been water chines. i have seen them on other boats and their about that shape. ... Tony, was anything salvagable apart from the waeko.
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Tony Halliday
Posts: 2500
Date Joined: 14/06/07
only the trailer, motor and
only the trailer, motor and fuel tank is worth salvaging.
Tony Halliday: ~Meals on Reels ~
It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it
"It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC)
"In a mad world only the mad are sane." Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18026
Date Joined: 11/03/08
when the insurance is paid
when the insurance is paid out do they take the boat or do you get to salvage whatever you can first?
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
bod
Posts: 2319
Date Joined: 03/05/06
really bad luck Tony
it's making me feel nervous about having the boat parked up under the house eaves but there's no other choice here.
Auslobster
Posts: 1901
Date Joined: 03/05/08
Just a question....
...shouldn't insulation in that part of the boat (near the engine/fuel tank) be fireproof? The two crayboats that I worked on had noise-dampening stuff in their engine room hatches but it also was flame retardant.
HuggyB
Posts: 2515
Date Joined: 03/08/08
flame retardant items
will eventually burn, it is not "fireproof".
The Terrorist - coming to a fishing spot near you.........
Tony Halliday
Posts: 2500
Date Joined: 14/06/07
the fiber-wool was the cabin
the fiber-wool was the cabin sides, wheel house walls and roof insulation that did the damage. Motor had the silver-metal-blanket type around it and probably saved the engine bay.
In hindsight the original builder should not have used normal fiber-wool in the rest of the boat, but thats history now.
Also the vinyl on the roof and walls went up like a flash.
Lot's to be learn t from this by those rebuilding an old boat and things I never knew about.
oh well, we will wait and see what I can find to replace the old girl.
Tony Halliday: ~Meals on Reels ~
It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it
"It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC)
"In a mad world only the mad are sane." Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)
jersey
Posts: 393
Date Joined: 12/06/08
In 1984
The English navy had some all ali ships,one of them the H.M.S Sheffield,took an Exocet missile and the ensuing fire melted the ships hull,ali becomes self combustible at the right temp,As all above have said Tony,sorry for your loss,I hope it is not long before you are boating again,jersey
Pete D
Posts: 1681
Date Joined: 07/06/07
I feel gutted for you and
I feel gutted for you and Michelle - alot of work went into Ugly Betty.
Glad you mananaged to contain the fire to just the boat and all OK.
What sort of charger was used? (ask Huggy asked). I use a c-tek all the time - gets warm, but not hot.
A fault in the charger maybe?
Cheers Pete
shabba
Posts: 484
Date Joined: 26/02/08
sorry 2 hear tony. u must b
sorry 2 hear tony. u must b gutted, all the work & hours u put in 2 the boat
.
Tony Halliday
Posts: 2500
Date Joined: 14/06/07
thanks guys, charger was a
thanks guys,
charger was a good one we got from Auto1, it was over $80~90 so not a cheapy, with all the right info and specs.
I suspect the unit may have fried it self and that what caused the fire, oh well, we will never know for sure.
Anyways still waiting for the insurance to come back and tell us whats happening, :(
Tony
Tony Halliday: ~Meals on Reels ~
It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it
"It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC)
"In a mad world only the mad are sane." Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)
swoffer
Posts: 83
Date Joined: 30/12/06
Hey , be pretty cool if you
Hey , be pretty cool if you get to keep the engine , fuel tank etc eh . Then just buy a new tub n plonk em in . Could work out ok in the end perhaps .
Tony Halliday
Posts: 2500
Date Joined: 14/06/07
swoffer, the cost of anew
swoffer, the cost of anew hull is close to $45k, then fixtures, carpets, electronics etc..would push it over $60k,
add in fitting the motor, etc, I'm close to $70k down and insurance will take off the price of the trailer, motor and tank from my payout, leaving more than $30k short... :(
have been looking at some "other" alternatives, but will decide once I see the cheque and know what I can afford again.
Tony Halliday: ~Meals on Reels ~
It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it
"It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC)
"In a mad world only the mad are sane." Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)
swoffer
Posts: 83
Date Joined: 30/12/06
bran new tub for 30 g ,
bran new tub for 30 g , sounds like a good deal to me .
Tony Halliday
Posts: 2500
Date Joined: 14/06/07
I'm not keen to go in over
I'm not keen to go in over $90k on a boat in this climate.
I can get a good second hand allie or GRP for $60k and not have to put in any extra cash.
Spoke to the guys at Ocean Spray & Boats, and Sean said it would not be worth using the old motor and leg, the better bet would be to go 200hp O/B instead and have a better resale value, than having a 10year old diesel in it.
Tony Halliday: ~Meals on Reels ~
It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it
"It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC)
"In a mad world only the mad are sane." Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)