I'm sure this has been discussed before but it's something many of us probably don't think about until it's too late. My brother's 10 year old BMW burned up this morning from an as yet unknown cause. Fortunately it wasn't in the garage but on a fairly isolated spot on the road. I've had a couple of fires as well in the last two years but there was a 5 lb. extinguisher close enough to put both of them out in time. One was from getting a little overzealous with the starting fluid on an old minihome and the other was from a rubber fuel line rupture on an old fire truck of all things.

I don't know why I've been carrying nothing more than a 1lb. unit in the toolbox behind the seat in my 50. It wouldn't bother me that much if one of my newer everyday vehicles went up in flames but the old pickup means a lot to me so it's time to install a 5 lb. extinguisher. It looks like the household one I have would barely fit next to or underneath the stock seat but I'd have to come up with a good bracket system.

At this point I'm open to any ideas. Any good fire prevention tips are welcome in this thread as well.

 

I have a 3 lb halon extiguisher. A class 1-3 (household - powder) extingusher will put out any fire, but the mess is awful to clean up. The halon is like co2 in that it will extinguish a fuel or electrical fire, but being an inert gas, it leaves no residue. They are somewhat expensive, but well worth it IMHO. Mine is mounted beside the driver seat on the floor- very handy - and out of sight unless the driver door is open.

 

no joke it's the truth and i've done it many times .... whatever dirty ,greasy t-shirt i happen to have on my back to smother it with . especially in the race cars didn't usually think of the fact there was one sitting right next to me when it would happen . the last time out in the demo car i had the fuel pump broken off in a head on and when i tried to restart it went up in flame s . before the fire guys could get there i had my long sleeve outer work shirt off , stuffed in the hole to keep the flames at bay for a second , and was creating a sunroof where there was none ...... got 2nd and third degree burns in a car fire once and wont play around ...............

 

Thanks Randy. I've heard of the Halon's before but honestly don't know much about them. Do you know if a 3 lb. Halon is equivalent to a 3 lb. household ABC as far as how much of a fire it will put out? If they're more effective that alone would be worth some extra money.

 

It is my understanding that the halon is more effective (and certainly less messy). Halon is what commercial and military aircraft jet engines use as a fire suppresant system. I bought mine from a local fire extinguisher service company. That's where I have to go to get it refilled also.

 

I just found this one on Epay.
eBay Motors: Halon Fire Extinguisher Race Car / Motor Home / Custom (item 190148222955 end time Jul-27-08 12:12:53 PDT)
You're right Randy, they are a bit expensive but must be pretty effective. This one is only .88 lbs. Put it under the hood and forget about it.

 

I carry a 5 pounder under the seat in my 48.

 

John -

I looked at the eBay offering and that is interesting. Not a bad price either. If you like that idea, great. It is self-actuating and heat triggered, so it automatically comes on when a fire happens. I would bet where you place it has a lot to do with limiting fire damage before it fires off. It won't help you with an electrical fire under the dash, though.

I went home at lunch and looked at the one I have. Except for labeling, it looks just like an ABC extinguisher. Mine is a 5lb Halon 1211 made by General. It is about 16" long and 5 inch diameter. I also talked to my extinguisher service guy. He said the price of one of those new is around $185 and is plenty of capacity to handle most anything on a vehicle or RV. A major service (including pressure test, new valve and O-rings) is about $25. He agrees that the Halon type is the much preferred type to use. He never recommends and ABC type for vehicles because when the powder melts, like on manifolds and such, it can't be removed without wire-brushing it off. It also typically takes a bigger capacity ABC to do the job a smaller Halon unit will handle.

I personally prefer it handy to grab so I can go to any fire, including another vehicle. That's why I put it next to the driver seat on the floor...it's on my way out of the truck.

Good luck.

 

The self blasting unit for under the hood is an interesting concept but I could see it going off when it shouldn't and like you say, not being where the fire is if it starts under the dash etc. Maybe not a bad idea for something supplemental though. I'll have to do some checking locally on the Halon units. Maybe some of the automotive parts stores sell them?

 

I was once told that Halon extinguishers are best suited for semi air- tight areas, and don't work well in well ventilated places because they remove the oxygen from the fire. I don't know how true it is, but I'm sure someone will be along shortly with experience.

Personally, I have a 5 lb dry chemical one. I'd rather clean up a bunch of powder (and yes, I've had to clean up after these before) than rebuild my truck.

 

I bought a new 5 lb. ABC and painted it black and mounted it where RJ has his. That is a helluva price on that halon, but as stated, in it's automatic cinfiguration, is not very versatile.

 

I have either a 5lb Halon or CO2 in all 4 of my trucks. The ABC dry chemical extinguishers are a royal pain to clean up after. Mine are serviced here where I work once a year with all the others in the shop… Shhhh :-)
__________________
My Grandpa told me once that you have to learn by the mistakes of others because you will NOT live long enough to make them all yourself.

 

Here are two views of mine. It's a polished stainless steel bottle that's filled with Halon 1211, with machined aluminum parts.

It came from Steve Baker, the owner of Safecraft Safety Equipment in Concord, California. They make great stuff. Here's their site:

Safecraft Safety Equipment

Dave
1956 Ford F-100 panel truck project