OMP Fire Bottle Issue | FerrariChat

OMP Fire Bottle Issue

Discussion in 'Other Racing' started by jakermc, Mar 22, 2016.

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  1. jakermc

    jakermc Formula 3
    Owner

    Jan 17, 2004
    1,792
    Palm Beach, FL
    Full Name:
    Rob
    So let's assume you drop your helmet on your fire bottle button and it goes off (I'll save that story for another day), requiring a recharge. It seems that the aluminum OMP bottle most of our cars have can not be legally shipped in the United States. So unless you leave near Stable Energies in New Jersey, you are SOL.

    Has anyone faced this and figured out how a way around this problem? Anyone near Stable Energies willing to pick up a bottle and ship it to me? Do we have any influence on OMP to get them to solve the problem with their bottle?
     
  2. gatorgreg

    gatorgreg Formula 3

    Dec 13, 2004
    1,863
    NAPLES
    Rob,
    I took the OMP system out of the car after it went off at Homestead by itself. I installed this system https://www.safecraft.com/
     
  3. james patterson

    james patterson Formula Junior
    Professional Ferrari Technician

    Dec 8, 2003
    417
    Dallas Texas
    Full Name:
    James Patterson
    I thought the deal was it can't be air shipped but ground shipping was fine. We have used Pegasus to service the OMP bottle and had no problem sending and receiving by UPS ground service.
     
  4. jakermc

    jakermc Formula 3
    Owner

    Jan 17, 2004
    1,792
    Palm Beach, FL
    Full Name:
    Rob
    Pegasus dropped OMP completely because they can't be shipped. Stable Energies is the other company out there and they also are refusing to ship.

    OMP does have a steel bottle that can be shipped but they are out of stock at the moment. I'm on the waiting list ....
     
  5. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner

    Aug 10, 2002
    26,294
    socal
    Aside from the original OMP vintage period correct look and feel I would take the omp bottle out and replace it with EES firecharger which is consumer rechargable and all parts are safe to ship. It is also SCCA legal which means everyone accepts it as a fire safety system. I also think AFFF type foam is a better suppressant than halon.

    Emergency Suppression Systems, Inc.

    Other friends of mine have had the OP's problem. It is easy to buy these things but very difficult to recharge. OMP specifically had issues with the flop tube not working properly and was not imported for a while because it failed in rollovers. So that is an issue if a very old dated bottle. Safecraft specifically and anyone with pressurized aqueous foam you have to check to make sure the gauge moves during the changes in the heat of the day. Those gauges sit in water and basically fail with time to a high pressure amount and make you think you got pressure in the tank. You may and you maynot. That problem does not happen with EES. EES is a real stupid simple system where you can service and check all moving parts yourself.
     
    Nuvolari likes this.
  6. jakermc

    jakermc Formula 3
    Owner

    Jan 17, 2004
    1,792
    Palm Beach, FL
    Full Name:
    Rob
    How much plumbing needs to be changed out to make the swap? I know that the OMP bottle used a unique fitting on the bottle. What is required to make the change?
     
  7. Dr_ferrari

    Dr_ferrari Formula 3
    Consultant Professional Ferrari Technician

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,067
    Pocono Sportscar
    Full Name:
    Jim McGee
  8. Ky1e

    Ky1e Formula 3

    Mar 4, 2011
    1,250
    FL
    My two McLarens each came with OMP fire systems and I will state that I believe they are unequivocally unsafe (at least how they were installed in our McLarens).

    The first one went off by itself but just ozzed and leaked foam like slow shaving cream. It did not do its job and would not have put out any fire. We could not get one shipped and so instead we replaced the entire system with a SPA fire system.

    On the second MClaren my son pushed the fire button (he thought that was how you start the car!) AND SURE ENOUGH THE FIRE SYSTEM DID NOT WORK PROPERLY. IT DISCHARGED BUT JUST STARTED SLOWLY OOZING AND LEAKING FOAM. If it had bee a real emergency it would have done nothing. So in 2 cars each less than 3 months old, the OMP fire systems failed and did not perform. Plus as you said the bottle is not replaceable. But even if it was, who would want to use a system that appears to be plaqued with failures. I was pissed thinking about how I could have gotten fried due to this failed system. Now I have SPA systems in both cars.
     
  9. jakermc

    jakermc Formula 3
    Owner

    Jan 17, 2004
    1,792
    Palm Beach, FL
    Full Name:
    Rob
    Mine worked extremely well. Too well, given they were accidentally discharged! I would guess you had an install issue.

    The issue is that the Aluminum bottles can not be shipped. They can certainly be serviced locally. The steel bottles can be shipped.
     
  10. jr-f12-15

    jr-f12-15 Karting
    Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 25, 2020
    62
    Tomball, TX
    Full Name:
    John Refalo
    Any recommendations for cleaning up after an accidental discharge? At mondays track day mine went off sitting in the pit. It worked extremely well. Both myself and my coach were completely covered along with the entire interior and engine compartment. This stuff tastes terrible and it is also very sticky. Doesnt seem like an easy cleanup. Any help would be appreciated.

    Sent from my SM-G930V using FerrariChat.com mobile app
     

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