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This year’s Firex International show at the ExCeL in London attracted high numbers of both visitors and exhibitors – which combined to make for an extremely busy three days and, for what certainly seemed like, the best attended Firex in recent memory.

We had plenty to shout about, with our stand playing host to three new products – including the launch of our new smoke detector tester – Solo 365.  Unsurprising the new products featured heavily in the design of our stand with high impact graphics and promotional material.

Feedback on Solo 365, our Urban Kits and the new range of Solo smoke aerosols was extremely positive with orders taken during the show and more following since.

Firex was particularly poignant given the tragic fire in London the week before.  Increased media coverage and packed seminars ensured plenty of debate around the show floor about what needs to be done to ensure such a tragic event is not repeated.

Firex International returns next year – 19^th -21^st June.

More images from firex 2017:

We’re currently part way through a very busy show season, in recent weeks we’ve been to Dublin, Glasgow, London, Utrecht and Prague and our sites our now firmly set on one of the industry’s flagship trade events – Firex International.

This year is a major year for us in terms of product development with three exciting new products set for launch, on top of this we also preparing for regulation changes which will affect some of our aerosol smoke products.

Four Reasons to visit us at Firex International:

1. Innovation – completely familiar, entirely innovative – Solo 365 our new smoke detector tester officially launches at the show
2. Choice  – some of our smoke aerosols are changing, we’ve a new range to select from – choose your new solution on the stand
3. Design – perfect for engineers on the go, working on large sites or in cities, we’re launching a new range of compact Urban Kits
4. Approvals – our world leading products are approved by the leading detector manufacturers, come and try them for yourself in our demo area

With so much to share, trade-shows provide the perfect platform to spread the word – if we haven’t seen you at one of the events already register now for Firex International and join us on Stand E130.

Firex International – 20th – 22nd June 2017, Excel London, UK

Regulation updates mean we’re required to make changes to some of the pressurised aerosol products we currently offer, as the date for this new regulation draws nearer here’s a reminder of everything you need to know.

By 31^st December 2017 our Solo A3 smoke test aerosol will no longer be manufactured, if you use this product you’ll need to choose from one of our alternative solutions – Solo A10 or Solo A5.

Our new product range offers unrivalled choice.  If a non-flammable solution, similar to Solo A3, is your preferred choice the Solo A10 is your new solution.  Solo A10 is available in the standard 250ml can or a 150ml can – which is similar in price to the Solo A3.

Alternatively, if a non-flammable product is not essential then Solo A5 could be your new solution.  Common with many other pressurised aerosol products, Solo A5 is a flammable product and comes in the standard 250ml can.

As part of the Solo range, both products have a familiar look and feel and will be widely available from local distributors.

Two of our hand-held smoke aerosols Chekkit and Canned Smoke will also be phased out as part of these new regulations, however we have a ready-made alternative with our best-selling SmokeSabre aerosol which is unaffected by the regulation update.

Watch our video and choose your new aerosol now.

Solo battery batons and chargers are used with Testifire 1000 and Testifire 2000 multi-stimulus testers and Solo 460 cordless heat testers and have a long history of reliable operation.

Issue:
It has come to our attention recently that battery batons may become abnormally hot, possibly leading to heating of the product, its surroundings and with potential to cause damage as a result. This heating occurs when a fully-charged battery remains connected to a powered charger, which has been subsequently been forced into FULL CHARGE MODE, caused by repeated power supply interruptions.
This problem has become evident with 12VDC applications alongside the increasing use of stop-start technology in modern vehicles. It can also, although less likely, occur when older vehicles make multiple short journeys (where a vehicle is again repeatedly switched on & off), and also if a mains powered charger was similarly disrupted from its socket.

Why it happens:
Upon each power-up cycle, the charger is designed to monitor battery terminal voltage over time, with the aim to detect a characteristic drop in terminal voltage which indicates the battery has reached full charge. Once the voltage drop is detected, the charger switches into trickle-charger mode. Where a drop in battery terminal voltage cannot be detected after power up, because the battery is already fully charged, the charger remains in Full Charge mode awaiting a fall in battery terminal voltage.

Repeatedly interrupting the charger supply resets the charger cycle each time, resulting in operation in Full Charge mode and the extra forced energy dissipated as heat in the battery.

Advice to Users:
The Solo Charger User Instructions state that “The battery charger and battery can remain connected under a trickle charge for several hours without damage to the battery. This maintains the battery in a fully charged state, ready for use.” This remains true where the charger power supply is not experiencing repeated interruption.

However, where the charger power is likely to be repeatedly disrupted (e.g. in vehicles with stop-start technology, or as described above), then the battery should be disconnected once fully charged in order to avoid potential over-heating.

Do not hesitate to contact our Technical Support by telephone +44 (0) 1707 282 760 or by email support@detectortesters.com with any questions or concerns.