What is indicated if the red discharge indicator for a fire extinguishing system is blown out?

What is indicated if the red discharge indicator for a fire extinguishing system is blown out?

• A. The system has been discharged by an overheat condition.
• B. The system has been discharged by actuating the bottle discharge switch.
• C. The system has not discharged and is ready for reuse.
• D. The system has a low-pressure condition.

Answer: (A)

When a red discharge indicator is blown out, it signals that the fire extinguishing bottle has discharged automatically because of heat. The red indicator is tied to a temperature-responsive mechanism (a fusible link or similar) that, at a high enough temperature, releases and pushes the indicator out to show the system has released its agent. So this is indicating automatic actuation in response to an overheat or fire, not a manual discharge or a simple low-pressure state. If the system had been discharged manually, the indication would come from the manual discharge action itself, and not the heat-triggered indicator. A separate low-pressure condition would show on the system’s pressure indicators, not on the red discharge indicator.

When a red discharge indicator is blown out, it signals that the fire extinguishing bottle has discharged automatically because of heat. The red indicator is tied to a temperature-responsive mechanism (a fusible link or similar) that, at a high enough temperature, releases and pushes the indicator out to show the system has released its agent. So this is indicating automatic actuation in response to an overheat or fire, not a manual discharge or a simple low-pressure state. If the system had been discharged manually, the indication would come from the manual discharge action itself, and not the heat-triggered indicator. A separate low-pressure condition would show on the system’s pressure indicators, not on the red discharge indicator.