technerdian
19th Apr 2021, 10:54
With the end of the EU Halon exemption for aviation coming on fast (2025) I'm wondering what is the replacement. I was looking to buy a Haltron I extinguisher which is apparently the "green Halon", but the Amerex distributor tells me the EU has banned that too!
Has anyone seen handheld aircraft extinguishers that are non-Halon?
Cheers!
Ultranomad
20th Apr 2021, 00:13
Production of new extinguishers with Halotron I (a.k.a. R-123) has indeed been banned in the EU. However, existing stocks can still be sold - or at least could be sold 5 months ago when I replaced one in the aircraft I was servicing. Extinguishers already installed can also be recharged.
The new extinguishing agent to replace it is R-236FA (C3H2F6), which is a greenhouse gas but not an ozone depleter. The engineer at the factory that sold me the R-123 one told me they were already working on getting the R-236FA extinguishers approved as a drop-in replacement.