C02 sprayer for putting out laser fires

Laser
#1

Does anyone know about the c02 sprayers for the laser cutters? I’ve been looking for some refillable containers that have the sprayer adapter for it so that it can easily be used to put out laser fires. I found these but I’m not sure what shop would be able to fill this particular nozzle up with C02. https://www.amazon.com/Titan-Tools-19424-Non-Aerosol-Sprayer/dp/B00KZ0VEGE/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1499126825&sr=8-6&keywords=refillable+sprayer The gas supply shop I talked to said it needed to have a CGA320 valve for it to be refilled there, but I’m not sure if a sports store has any alternative options from that.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

#2

Lots of folks refill the “sports” paint gun cylinders with dry ice. If you know how much CO2 they hold in weight, e.g. 13 oz, they will take head off weight the right amount of dry ice, put crushed dry ice in and put head back on.

When it melts it should be liquid and gas in the cylinder.

1 Like
#3

what about the sprayer attachment? anyone know where to get that? i’ve been hunting and haven’t found one yet…

#4

that is a fascinating workaround to getting them refilled from the sportings store. I don’t mind shelling out a few extra bucks to get it done at the store.

#5

The sprayers we have at the space aren’t really good for fires since they have Venturi nozzles that would just pull in more surrounding air. Currently the Venturi holes are covered with tape

Not to mention having to open the negative pressure laser to blow them out…

#6

So nobody is using the C02 dispensers anymore? Is there a better solution in case something flames up in the laser?

#7

Nope we still have them I just don’t think they will do anything in the event of a real fire.

Opening the box to let more air in so you can spray a bit of co2 on it doesn’t make sense.

You’d need a co2 dump system that’s plumbed into the enclosure to actually put out a fire.

2 Likes
#8

So, it sounds like fire is a concern, but rare enough that a fire has always been able to be blown out with minimal interference. It sounds like an ideal system would be to have a solenoid switch that could be pushed from the outside that would dispense C02 gas inside of the laser with the lid still closed. But with it being such a rare occurence I don’t know how much of a bother it should be.

The reason I am asking about this is that I am helping set up the laser at one of the colleges here in PDX, and discovered that the previous tech had been keeping a compressed air duster can on hand for blowing out fires…which it says in giant letters on the can that it is extremely flammable! I don’t want to leave them without a system in case of a laser fire though, and definitely want to provide an alternative to a standard fire extinguisher for small fires, so I was looking for a refillable C02 dispenser like what is at the DMS.

1 Like
#9

I agree and on industrial machines where I’ve worked that is the method used: flood the cabinet with the CO2 or Halon. Just turn off blower, hit the gas smothering it and cooling it below auto-ignition point as CO2 expands. Then you can open the doors and retrieve grilled parts.

#10

That’s a really cool idea