Ultimate Vehicle Fire Extinguisher

[Unorthodox]

Thats a good point about cold co2 cracking the engine block. I always dreamed of building a centralized co2 extinguisher in my truck to fumigate the engine bay and smother a fire. I also found some cool air actuated solenoids I thought of using to close the fuel line as well when engaged. I do worry about the temperature differential though. I picked co2 initially because I figured I could pick up more at a welding supply if I needed to just about anywhere in the world.

 

[Fish]

Trae, you asked a great question, so I'm going to answer with two more. What are your hazards? How much do you want to spend?

For camping, you incur a couple of hazards that racers don't. Campfires and cooking. Nothing beats good old water (especially with foam added) for a Class A fire. Class A fires are ordinary combustibles e.g. paper, wood, etc. Dry chem extinguishers don't work all that great on Class A fires.

Class B fires are flammable liquids. That includes gasoline, but also your cooking grease. The cheapest solution for that (besides a shovel and dirt) is a dry chem extinguisher. Or a water extinguisher IF you've added foam. The price goes up from there for CO2 and halotrol extinguishers. CO2 isn't all that hot for Class B fires either.

Class C fires are energized electrical. Water = bad. Until you de-energize. Again, dry chem is cheap. CO2 and halotrol go up from there. Here CO2 does much better.

For a good 1-2 punch, I recommend a 2.5 gallon water since you can re-fill it yourself. And a 5 lb dry chem. Halotrol if you can afford it. Some people I know carry a dry chem for other people and a halotrol for themselves.

The 2.5 gallon extinguisher is rated 2A. A five pound dry chem is technically has a higher 3A rating plus a 40B:C rating for Class B and C. From my experience, a good user can put out a lot more Class A fire with water. I've basically extinguished a burning kitchen with one. Not stove. Kitchen.

 

[trae]

Trae, you asked a great question, so I'm going to answer with two more. What are your hazards? How much do you want to spend?

In my 10 years of camping I've never encountered a situation that required a fire extinguisher, but that doesn't mean anything really. I'm willing to spend enough money to cover my bases somewhat. Quality and shelf life would be important. At the same time, the space in my rig is limited.

I'm curious what the prefix number means (as in 3A). I understand A,B and C stand for classes of fires.

Anyway, if I didn't have your wisdom to fall back on, I'd simply go to amazon and purchase this unit: http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-21005779-Fire-Extinguisher-160CI/dp/B000VBGG5Q/ref=zg_bs_13400621_4

It's chem based ABC, rated for 12 years (!) solid all metal construction. Reviews indicate 6-8 feet spread at about 15-20 seconds. It's about a foot long, 7lb and tucked away in the corner (maybe driver side pillar?) shouldn't take up much space. Would this work?

 

[bfdiesel]

My dads truck caught fire once, leaking carburetor. His choice of fire extinguisher was a shovel that day. The truck needed some new fuel line and the carb rebuilt but that was it all said and done.

Something to remember is that dry chem is one of the best for killing a fire but is also corrosive so needs to be cleaned up ASAP.

I personally carry a shovel, a dry chem, and a 5 gallon bucket.

 

[762X39]

When I was a soldier (I am in my 50's now) we took courses on firefighting and the thing I learned was that more is better and a small extinguisher only buys time. The typical hardware store extinguisher buys piece of mind but not much else.I also don't worry about what happens to my truck or engine block in case of a fire, I have insurance for that stuff. Any sort of extinguisher is better than nothing and the only important thing is human life, not stuff. Take a course and then plan and buy accordingly.

 

[craig333]

Putting out vehicles while working for CDF was one thing but what really convinced me was a trip to the Jeep wrecker. I couldn't believe how many burned up Jeeps they had.

That and rolling up on something I'd rather not describe here. I want enough firepower to at least have a real chance of making a difference.

 

[Fish]

In my 10 years of camping I've never encountered a situation that required a fire extinguisher, but that doesn't mean anything really. I'm willing to spend enough money to cover my bases somewhat. Quality and shelf life would be important. At the same time, the space in my rig is limited.

I'm curious what the prefix number means (as in 3A). I understand A,B and C stand for classes of fires.

Anyway, if I didn't have your wisdom to fall back on, I'd simply go to amazon and purchase this unit: http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-21005779-Fire-Extinguisher-160CI/dp/B000VBGG5Q/ref=zg_bs_13400621_4

It's chem based ABC, rated for 12 years (!) solid all metal construction. Reviews indicate 6-8 feet spread at about 15-20 seconds. It's about a foot long, 7lb and tucked away in the corner (maybe driver side pillar?) shouldn't take up much space. Would this work?

I certainly understand about the space issue. Thanks to this thread, I looked for a good place for my pressurized H2O extinguisher and was having difficulty... in the back of a Dodge 2500. I also hear you on the "never needing one". But then, there's that one time my Bronco caught fire... in an underground parking garage. Glad I had an extinguisher that day.

The extinguisher you listed is the standard size required by code for businesses. It should do you fine for most situations. I'd certainly upgrade the bracket.

As far as ratings, the A rating used to be based on a crib (wood, not baby) fire. Now I think it's simple the equivalent of 1.25 gallons of water and how much fire that can extinguish. The B rating is supposed to be the square feet of flammable liquid fire it can extinguish. 10B=10sq. ft. Don't be fooled by that. That's in a pool of liquid, not in the spraying or dripping fire that we typically see in vehicle fires. A three dimensional fire is significantly more difficult to extinguish. The trick is to extinguish the small fires while simultaneously cooling the ignition source.

 

[Bergum]

If you are to be prepared. Buy yourself some tubing and nozzles. Put 2 in the engine bay, one over the tank, and 2nd under the dashboard. Hook Up a 3 way valve and a fome extinguisher that has a temperature range of your area.

If you are ever to use it, you will need to clean and oil everything as foam are wery corosiv...

 

[Schattenjager]

This thread prompted some serious thought (thanks once again, Scott) about my favorite quote: Chance favors the prepared mind.

Being stuck in Alaska for the time being, I took advantage of the copious amounts of aviation supply and maintenance outfits here. One of the largest shops recommended the extinguisher below. As a matter of fact, the owner of the shop said it was a liability to stock anything else for aircraft, so he doesn't. Quite an endorsement but I thought there might be more to the story. He walked me into the shop hanger and showed me several planes, many twins, that carry this unit. The logic is the suppression material will not do as much damage as fire, it is robust enough to give reliable service at any temperature, has long shelf life, and will extinguish any fire a plane or guide camp will encounter. Is it faulty logic that it would suite me and my Land Cruiser's normal exploration / camping needs?

A lot of you have posted various standards and initials that mean nothing to me, but I am curious as to your educated thoughts on this $95 bit of kit:

Halotron link

 

[trae]

...One of the largest shops recommended the extinguisher below.

A lot of you have posted various standards and initials that mean nothing to me, but I am curious as to your educated thoughts on this $95 bit of kit:

Halotron link

Schattenjager, Halotron extinguishers were discussed up-thread. Seems like it's good stuff, but expensive.

Sure, you can get a little 1 or 2ABC bottle for about $100, but those will not be enough to do the job unless the fire is very small. Really, they're more like bling for your truck.

"Bling for your truck", I like that.

 

[craig333]

What foam are you using thats corrosive? The ones I'm using are completely non corrosive.

 

[Corey]

This thread prompted some serious thought (thanks once again, Scott) about my favorite quote: Chance favors the prepared mind.

Being stuck in Alaska for the time being, I took advantage of the copious amounts of aviation supply and maintenance outfits here. One of the largest shops recommended the extinguisher below. As a matter of fact, the owner of the shop said it was a liability to stock anything else for aircraft, so he doesn't. Quite an endorsement but I thought there might be more to the story. He walked me into the shop hanger and showed me several planes, many twins, that carry this unit. The logic is the suppression material will not do as much damage as fire, it is robust enough to give reliable service at any temperature, has long shelf life, and will extinguish any fire a plane or guide camp will encounter. Is it faulty logic that it would suite me and my Land Cruiser's normal exploration / camping needs?


Halotron link

Basically the same as my HalGuard unit.

 

[bugnout]

I carry a couple of these in my Jeep, my camper and in the garage. They are non-corrosive, non-toxic and cheap. So cheap that you can afford to put them everywhere. Can be carried in a bicycle water bottle holder.

http://www.firesupplydepot.com/fire-extinguishers.html

 

[TreeTopFlyer]

The Kidde AFFFs are non-corrosive. Cold Fire, Fireade2000 etc are as well. There is also FE-13 which is a clean agent as well. The link I posted previously goes into most all of this, on the baja rigs most are going to AFFF and dry chem. The halon escapes too fast if moving/trying to slow down and pull over. The dry chem is a mess and a last result.

This is a good topic, one that often gets overlooked. With the amount of money we have dumped into our rigs, fire safety/suppression is a good thing to know/have.

What foam are you using thats corrosive? The ones I'm using are completely non corrosive.

 

[craig333]

It is a good topic. Even though I'm always reminding others to check their dry chem extinguishers for compaction, sometimes I go a bit too long myself.

And another btw. Your B fire is quite like to become an AB fire quite quickly. I'd never carry just a BC extinguisher.