Blogs

Top 10 most asked questions on Beam Smoke Detection

We’ve been on a short break, but we are back with our monthly blog posts, where we talk anything and everything around fire safety and best practice.

In no particular order let’s get into the most frequently asked questions I get about our beam smoke detectors.

Spark Detection: Where, When, Why…

Spark detection is a specialist part of the Talentum Flame Detection range.

Which Beam Smoke Detector is best for you – End to End or Reflective.

Choosing the right Beam for a particular site depends on a number of criteria (which will be discussed in the Blog).

While both types of Beam technology, Reflective and End to End are equally good at detecting smoke, each type has applications to which it is more suitable than the other type.

Reflective Types:

Distance Sensitivity of the Talentum Flame Detector

The sensitivity of all Talentum Flame Detectors is based on the size of the flame and the distance that flame is away from the Flame Detector. 

For example, while a Flame Detector will pick up a cigarette lighter flame at 1M, the same size flame would not be detected at a distance of 8M.

How to wire to a Conventional or Addressable Fire Panel.

There are two types of Fire Panels, Conventional types which have ‘Zones’ which are connected directly to devices such as Optical Beam smoke Detectors or Flame Detectors and Analogue Addressable types which have a loop bus onto which addressable devices can be connected.

Air Purge: When, Where, Why.

Whilst the IR2 and IR3 types of Flame Detector can still work with contamination (from dust or dirt for example) on the sensor window, their working range and sensitivity can be reduced.

Cleaning the Flame Detector, if it is high off the ground, may be difficult and or expensive, this is where the Flame Detector Air Purge kit comes in.

Exd Do’s and Don’ts.

FFE make an Exd End to End Beam Smoke Detector, Fireray 3000 and Exd versions of the Talentum Flame Detector, IR2, IR3 and UV/IR2.

All Exd detectors are designed to be used in what are termed as ‘Hazardous Areas’ (Zone 1) and as such, must be installed as per the guidelines for such areas. Here is some additional information to be aware of when testing FFE Exd Flame Detectors and Beam Smoke Detectors.

Exd Flame Detectors.

How to align an End to End beam smoke detector?

The Fireray 3000 is the current FFE End to End Beam smoke detector and has several features which were not found on the previous generation of End to End Beams.

The Fireray 3000 can be aligned by either one or two people using the following described methods:

Fireray Laser Alignment – Fault Finding Tool.

The internal laser, which is fitted to two of the current beam smoke detectors in the Fireray range is primarily used for alignment. However, it also play's a major role in fault finding.

Once aligned, if the beam smoke detector is not mounted to a solid surface or structure (see other Blogs), it can go out of alignment due to building movement.

Explosion Proof Beam Smoke Detectors Explained

The Fireray 3000 ExD is an End to End Beam detector which is designed to be used in a Hazardous Area (Zone 1 and Zone 2).

Zone 1 is defined as: ‘An area where ignitable concentrations of flammable Gasses, Vapours or Liquids are likely to exist under normal operating conditions’.

Zone 2 is defined as: ‘An area where ignitable concentrations of flammable Gasses, Vapours or Liquids are not likely to exist under normal operating conditions’.