2023-09K

Date: March 21, 2023

To: All Engineered Systems Distributors
From: Product Management
Subject: Announcing New Fluoro-K™ Fire Suppression Agent
Reference: Bulletin 2023-02 Fluoroketone-based Fire Suppressants - Future & Alternatives

We are very excited to bring you this update on the forthcoming launch of our new Kidde Fluoro-K fire
suppression agent and associated delivery platforms. It is our intent for this agent to be used with new systems
sales as well as to refill and recharge discharged systems.

Fluoro-K Agency Update:

Our branded agent, Kidde Fluoro-K, has received Underwriters Laboratories (UL) listing and Factory Mutual (FM)
approval as a fire suppression system component. We are now eagerly awaiting the necessary next step in the
process – which is for the agent to be listed and approved for use with the Kidde ECS™, ECS-500™ and ADS™
fire suppression delivery platforms.

Fluoro-K bears Kidde brand of Quality Assurance:

Because our mutual reputations in the market are based on the quality of products we supply, a key requirement
for us while adding this new agent to our portfolio was to establish and assure ourselves, beyond a shadow of a
doubt, of its quality, purity, and fitness for purpose.

Our qualification process subjected the various agent choices to Carrier’s stringent Technology Readiness Level
(TRL) testing at our chemistry laboratory and other third-party test laboratories. To confirm compliance with
NFPA 2001 and our own requirements, we tested agents for purity, acidity, water content, non-volatile residues,
dimers, and timers. The outcome showed two possible agent sources of which we selected the one with the
most ideal Minimum Design Concentration (MDC).

Please look for a white paper with more details on the subject to be published as soon as possible.

Why does MDC Matter?

The Class A and B (n-Heptane) MDCs for Fluoro-K are the same as our current product which means a
discharged Novec 12301 system can be refilled with Fluoro-K without any changes to agent volumes, cylinder
quantities, pipe sizes or nozzle drills. While the Class C MDC value for Fluoro-K is 4.52% vs 4.50% for Novec
1230, this increase will have a minor impact on agent quantity and likely never require a change in hardware.
For example, if protecting a 20,000 cubic foot space, only 5 more pounds of agent are required.

This is not true with some of the ‘generic’ FK-5-1-12 products available in the market today, some of which may
require from 38 to as much as 96 additional pounds of their agent in Class C spaces – potentially forcing a
change to hardware including cylinders and nozzles.

Therefore, to raise awareness of the subject of MDCs and the fact that these values vary by FK-5-1-12 supplier,
we highly recommend publicizing and promoting the agent specifications listed in Appendix-A with end-users
and specifying architects & engineers.
1
3M™ Novec™ 1230 Fire Protection Fluid

All trademarks used are owned by their respective owners. © 2023 Carrier | All rights reserved.
Bulletin 2023-09K
Page 2 of 4

Refill & Rebuilds:

For refilling and recharging of discharged systems, we will continue to offer Novec 1230 for as long as this agent
remains available and of course, also our new agent, Fluoro-K.

We will launch refill-rebuild kits including instruction labels, ring labels and gauges to convert cylinders previously
containing Novec 1230 to Fluoro-K.

Estimated Launch & Availability Schedule:

It is our expectation that the approvals for our hardware delivery platforms will be completed within weeks. Our
own final internal pre-launch checks will follow.

We are working hard to meet the following dates:

• To facilitate submitting proposals and quotations for projects, we will release the Price List by April 01,
2023
• We will update our order entry system to enter sales orders and send order acknowledgements by April
15, 2023
• We are preparing to enable the first shipments of our ECS-500 and ADS systems with Fluoro-K by June
1, 2023.

Notwithstanding the above dates, if you are currently bidding on projects for delivery in June 2023 and beyond,
please contact your Kidde Regional Sales Director for advance pricing information. Please be aware that unless
otherwise advised, hardware pricing remains consistent with current products.

A word about PFAS, EPA and related topics:

While the December 2022 announcement by 3M 2,3 has led to heightened awareness of PFAS-type compounds
and their presence in our environment, gauging by the questions, conversations, and presentations at the
February 2023 Fire Suppression Systems Association (FSSA) conference2,4, we perceive the need for some
additional clarifications. Please see Appendix-B.

Questions or Concerns
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at:

Sales Domestic, International

Product Management: (508) 881-2000
Customer Service: (508) 881-2000
Domestic_CS@kidde-fenwal.com
International_CS@kidde-fenwal.com
Applications Engineering (866) 287-2531
Kidde_Applications@fs.utc.com
Technical Support: (866) 287-2531
Kidde_TechSupport@fs.utc.com

We thank you for your continued support and business.

2 Should you choose to visit the provided links please be aware that hyperlinks to external websites outside of Kidde or Carrier domains are provided for
convenience and are not subject to our control or ownership.
3
https://news.3m.com/2022-12-20-3M-to-Exit-PFAS-Manufacturing-by-the-End-of-2025
4
https://www.fssa.net/

All trademarks used are owned by their respective owners © 2023 Carrier | All rights reserved.
Bulletin 2023-09K
Page 3 of 4

Appendix-A
Fluoro-K Agent Specifications

1. The Fire Suppression Agent used shall be Kidde Fluoro-K™

a. The Fluoro-K agent shall have Minimum Design Concentrations of 4.50% for Class A, 5.85% for Class
B and 4.52% for Class C applications.
b. The Fire Suppression OEM shall provide documentary evidence including actual test results proving
the purity of the agent as per NFPA 2001 latest edition. Agents without such evidence shall not be
accepted.
c. The Fire Suppression OEM shall provide documents evidencing the combined listing by UL and FM
of the Agent, Cylinder-Valve Assembly, and associated delivery system hardware. Products without
such evidence shall not be accepted.
d. The cylinders shall be filled with the Fluoro-K agent at a UL-listed and FM-approved First Fill facility
e. The cylinders shall be refilled exclusively with Fluoro-K in case of discharge and no alternate agent
shall be used.
f. In order to ensure that the replacement agent used in case of a discharge matches the agent originally
filled, the Fire Suppression Contractor shall guarantee in writing the commitment to use the same
agent for refills and provide agent test reports in each refill instance.

All trademarks used are owned by their respective owners © 2023 Carrier | All rights reserved.
Bulletin 2023-09K
Page 4 of 4

Appendix-B
PFAS & EPA

• PFAS:
o PFAS compounds are Per- and Poly-Fluoro Alkyl Substances – a diverse group of manufactured
chemicals used in a wide range of consumer and industrial products.
o Although there has been much focus in recent news and announcements relating to all PFAS, our
understanding is that those PFAS that are also Persistent Bio-accumulative Toxic (PBT) are cause
for concern.
o Fluorine based compounds with 8 or more carbon atoms (C8 compounds) are typically PBT.
o Fluoro-K or Fluoroketone FK-5-1-12 is a C6 compound – which means it has only 6 carbon atoms
and is not known to contain any PBTs.
o Furthermore, research2,5 has shown that the FK-5-1-12 and any potential breakdown compounds are
not soluble in water and additionally, its atmospheric lifetime is 5 days or less.

• EPA
o The EPA2,6 states “C6-perfluorolketone is acceptable as a substitute for halon 1301…”
o The EPA2,6 also states that “EPA has reviewed the potential environmental impacts of this substitute
and has concluded that, by comparison to halon 1301 and other acceptable substitutes, C6-
perfluoroketone significantly reduces overall risk to the environment. With no ozone-depletion
potential, a global warming potential value of less than 100, and an atmospheric lifetime of less than
three days, C6-perfluoroketone provides an improvement over use of halon 1301,
hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in fire protection. We find that
C6-perfluoroketone is acceptable because it reduces overall risk to public health and the environment
in the end use listed.”
o As you are aware, pursuant to the AIM (American Innovation and Manufacturing) Act, the EPA passed
regulations for the phasing down of production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). In its
modeling analysis2,7 of the impact of this regulation, the EPA considered the transition of fire
suppression HFC-227ea to FK-5-1-12.
o Absent any other specific communication or publication, based on the foregoing statements, we
conclude that FK-5-1-12 currently remains an acceptable fire suppression agent as per the US EPA.

5 https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/el/fire_research/R0301570.pdf
6 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2002/12/20/02-32130/protection-of-stratospheric-ozone-notice-17-for-significant-new-alternatives-policy-
program
7 https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-
07/RIA%20for%20Phasing%20Down%20Production%20and%20Consumption%20of%20Hydrofluorocarbons%20%28HFCs%29.pdf

All trademarks used are owned by their respective owners © 2023 Carrier | All rights reserved.