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Wondering why Tesla doesn't have fire suppression solutions in place ready for this type of danger. Surely major Class D fire suppression would be a prerequisit

Wondering why Tesla doesn't have fire suppression solutions in place ready for this type of danger. Surely major Class D fire suppression would be a prerequisite for this type of process? https://www.elitefire.co.uk/help-advice/detect-and-extinguish-class-d-fires/ https://www.elitefire.co.uk/help-advice/detect-and-extinguis...

xxpor 6y ago
It wasn't the metal that caught fire, it was the hydraulic fluid. You still wouldn't want to use water on that though. Everyone down thread is commenting like the aluminum caught fire. That's not what the article says: "A piece of machinery containing molten metal caught fire" It's really hard to get aluminum hot enough to combust if it's in a big blob. Powder on the other hand...
- olivermarks 6y ago
  Hydraulic fluid under pressure is a class B fire than can very quickly escalate. Sand bags aren't going to be doing much in those situations https://youtu.be/aj8-JlRqoWc https://youtu.be/aj8-JlRqoWc If you have molten metals class D powder suppression is needed. I'm amazed the old NUMI plant doesn't have both ready for action.
  - xxpor 6y ago
    Agreed. Class D extinguishers are expensive, but we're talking ~$500 instead of ~$50 for an ABC (obviously depends on size). Both costs are trivial for any manufacturing company, and frankly I'd be shocked if they both weren't required by code. The only thing that I can think of is perhaps no one noticed until it was too late? And then the employees didn't want to touch it until the fire department showed up. If there was a hydraulic leak, they used the sand bags to stop the spread of the fluid, and then used foam to actually put out the fire? No clue.
- userbinator 6y ago
  Incidentally, this is why a lot of planes use https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skydrol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skydrol instead of regular mineral-oil-based hydraulic fluid, despite the former being far more irritating for human handling.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
SiempreViernes 6y ago
Well, maybe they hadn't gotten around to putting it in yet? Supposedly the building was still under construction.
- olivermarks 6y ago
  You'd think fire regulations would need to be adhered to before production was allowed to start. Small businesses have endless compliance check ups for this type of thing and big fines if they don't have safety and fire suppression in order
  - londons_explore 6y ago
    I suspect the machine itself was also under construction. Someone was probably doing tests on it when it caught fire due to some design issue (like the hydraulic hoses touching the pipes where the molten aluminium flows)
  - SonOfKyuss 6y ago
    Elon may be a visionary, but his disdain for regulations is well documented.
xirbeosbwo1234 6y ago
It's Tesla. They've been selling fake self-driving systems for five years and building $50,000 cars in a circus tent. There is no level of incompetence or malice I would find surprising.
justapassenger 6y ago
That press in literally in a tent on a parking lot. There’s lots of things that are missing, from what would be considered normal operating conditions for equipment like that. Silicon Valley spirit of move fast and break things is still strong with them.
- nickik 6y ago
  Nonsense, its not in a tent. Its a dedicated building to house the press. See it being constructed here: See: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0173/8204/7844/articles/3_f727186c-6acf-43b2-a033-3ba0c5530444_1200x.jpg?v=1598299351 https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0173/8204/7844/articles/3_...
  - justapassenger 6y ago
    Good point, not a tent. It’s much closer to a carport.
    - kiallmacinnes 6y ago
      Based on the photo above - it's a purpose built structure designed to house that exact machine. What makes you think it doesn't meet the machines operating requirements?
    - manicdee 6y ago
      Just because the walls weren’t there when the photo was taken doesn’t mean it will never have walls.

xxpor 6y ago

It wasn't the metal that caught fire, it was the hydraulic fluid. You still wouldn't want to use water on that though. Everyone down thread is commenting like the aluminum caught fire. That's not what the article says: "A piece of machinery containing molten metal caught fire" It's really hard to get aluminum hot enough to combust if it's in a big blob. Powder on the other hand...

olivermarks 6y ago
Hydraulic fluid under pressure is a class B fire than can very quickly escalate. Sand bags aren't going to be doing much in those situations https://youtu.be/aj8-JlRqoWc https://youtu.be/aj8-JlRqoWc If you have molten metals class D powder suppression is needed. I'm amazed the old NUMI plant doesn't have both ready for action.
- xxpor 6y ago
  Agreed. Class D extinguishers are expensive, but we're talking ~$500 instead of ~$50 for an ABC (obviously depends on size). Both costs are trivial for any manufacturing company, and frankly I'd be shocked if they both weren't required by code. The only thing that I can think of is perhaps no one noticed until it was too late? And then the employees didn't want to touch it until the fire department showed up. If there was a hydraulic leak, they used the sand bags to stop the spread of the fluid, and then used foam to actually put out the fire? No clue.
userbinator 6y ago
Incidentally, this is why a lot of planes use https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skydrol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skydrol instead of regular mineral-oil-based hydraulic fluid, despite the former being far more irritating for human handling.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

SiempreViernes 6y ago

Well, maybe they hadn't gotten around to putting it in yet? Supposedly the building was still under construction.

olivermarks 6y ago
You'd think fire regulations would need to be adhered to before production was allowed to start. Small businesses have endless compliance check ups for this type of thing and big fines if they don't have safety and fire suppression in order
- londons_explore 6y ago
  I suspect the machine itself was also under construction. Someone was probably doing tests on it when it caught fire due to some design issue (like the hydraulic hoses touching the pipes where the molten aluminium flows)
- SonOfKyuss 6y ago
  Elon may be a visionary, but his disdain for regulations is well documented.

xirbeosbwo1234 6y ago

It's Tesla. They've been selling fake self-driving systems for five years and building $50,000 cars in a circus tent. There is no level of incompetence or malice I would find surprising.

justapassenger 6y ago

That press in literally in a tent on a parking lot. There’s lots of things that are missing, from what would be considered normal operating conditions for equipment like that. Silicon Valley spirit of move fast and break things is still strong with them.

nickik 6y ago
Nonsense, its not in a tent. Its a dedicated building to house the press. See it being constructed here: See: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0173/8204/7844/articles/3_f727186c-6acf-43b2-a033-3ba0c5530444_1200x.jpg?v=1598299351 https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0173/8204/7844/articles/3_...
- justapassenger 6y ago
  Good point, not a tent. It’s much closer to a carport.
  - kiallmacinnes 6y ago
    Based on the photo above - it's a purpose built structure designed to house that exact machine. What makes you think it doesn't meet the machines operating requirements?
  - manicdee 6y ago
    Just because the walls weren’t there when the photo was taken doesn’t mean it will never have walls.