Paul recently wrote to ask with the following question, “Can you store IG100 at 165 bar not 200”?

Here’s our answer:

IG100 as well as IG55 and IG541 were all originally designed around 150 bar systems, but as systems have developed and to reduce the amount of cylinders required (the higher the pressure the more agent can be held in a cylinder) systems are now designed around 200 bar and 300 bar systems. As an example an 80L 150 bar cylinder will typically hold approximately 18Kg of agent, a 200 bar cylinder will typically hold 24Kg and a 300 bar cylinder will typically hold 33.5Kg. This means that the amount of cylinders needed can be halved in some cases between using a 150 bar cylinder and a 300 bar cylinder, this make a huge difference in the storage footprint particularly on large projects.

150 bar cylinders are still available as service exchange cylinders (for refills or 10 year testing) but I am not aware of any manufacturers who still sell new systems at 150 bar. The use of 200 bar systems are still widely used for small risks where the quantity of agent needed would reduce the oxygen level by volume below 10%, by using a 200 bar system would allow a normal suppression level of approximately 12.5%.

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