Basic Preparations #2 - Fire Extinguishers

[Paladine71]

I'm curious about everyone's experience and preference for fire extinguishers. I currently only carry one, and probably need to upgrade or augment it. I have a Kidde Dry Chemical 10-B:C mounted in my driver's side cargo window, but nothing else currently on-board. What do you have and what do you recommend?

 

[abearden]

I've got two little ones that I don't know the details of off-hand (roughly 2 lb dry chemical) Looking at getting a 5 or 10 lb Halon at some point: they don't leave residue like the dry chemical and don't conduct electricity like the CO2 and water extinguishers.

 

[alrock]

Can't remember what type I have, but it is a small one mounted between the door and the driver's seat. I want something with very quick access in the event I need it.

 

[Reloader]

I have the same thing mounted in the passenger side cargo window. Got it at Farm and Fleet for 11 or 12 dollars. Its auto/marine rated and not much to loose if I use it on a strangers vehicle on fire.

 

[Flash]

I keep 3 ABC chemical portables in the back under the shelf. A plastic snap lock container houses all 3 and slides under the homemade shelf along with the other ithems there (like 6 ton bottle jack, 4"x30' strap, tarp, jumper cables, rope and 15# Co2 tank, gloves, etc).

 

[Paladine71]

I've got two little ones that I don't know the details of off-hand (roughly 2 lb dry chemical) Looking at getting a 5 or 10 lb Halon at some point: they don't leave residue like the dry chemical and don't conduct electricity like the CO2 and water extinguishers.

I haven't worked with a portable halon, interesting, are you looking at a certain brand?

 

[abearden]

I haven't worked with a portable halon, interesting, are you looking at a certain brand?

Not yet. Once I get a few other things squared away with the truck I'll be doing more research into brands. They all seem to start around $180+ship and go up from there.

 

[MUTAINT]

Accessability is very important. I am looked for a nice size (amount of Extinguishing Agent) and it will be mounted to the rear of the center console.
We never really have 5 people in any of our rigs at one time anyway so the loss of leg room vs the loss of vehicle seems like a decent trade off.

I chose the black one to blend in with the interior and it's Made in U.S.A! Hope to have it very soon.:
http://www.h3rperformance.com/hg250b.htm

 

[erdlen65]

I don't keep one in my 3 yet but untill last Friday I had a 10 lb abc under my seat in my work truck. Which I accidentally set off while loading tools and filled my new truck at the end of the day :shame:

 

[ReconH3]

I run two 5lb H3Rs like Mutaint mentioned. One in the trunk and one in the main cab. Both are attached to the roll cage. I plan to get one more for inside the main cabin so I have one for the front seats and another for the rear seats. I've seen too many vehicles burn up because extinguishers were too small. I would rather have 3 smaller distributed around the truck than 1 big one. Gives a better chance of having at least one accessible if there is a roll.

"Ex Umbris Venimus"

Sent from my iPhone

 

[Hunner]

I recall there being an issue environmentally with Halon at one point.
I guess it worked too good?

"Because Halon is a CFC, production of new Halon ceased in 1994. There is no cost effective means of safely and effectively disposing of the Halon. Therefore, recycling and reusing the existing supply intelligently and responsibly to protect lives and property is the wisest solution."

There are several types of halon and it is still available. My experience with those that I got for marine applications because they did not make a mess, was great a couple of times. I understood it works best in an enclosed area to snuff off the oxygen and to reduce the risk of flash back. I made small holes into the engine compartments that had a swing cover to shoot them thru instead of opening a hatch and allowing more air to rush in.
I installed automatic ext as well and have considered that on the H3. They can also be manually activated. That saved my brother once in a collision while SCCA racing.
An additional pull activator that emergency teams can get to is also an option and should be marked as to it's function.
Had an oil line burst and ignite on the manifold of my LandCruiser so I raised the hood only enough to shoot the ext in there and not fuel the fire. It took two to suppress the re-flash.
The cheap ext. at discount stores cannot be refilled. The place that fills my metal ones and scuba tanks by the way, also does all that for the fire department. They sometimes have business's that replace all of them for cosmetic purposes and sell them discounted and re-certified.
I too believe in multiples of 3. The first shot with most of those is the big bang theory, after that they will only put out small amounts at reduced pressure.
Once again we have some comparable requirements to the boating industry. Coast Guard requirements are to use a metal bracket not the plastic junk that comes with most of them. That is a good idea to secure them both in a boat bouncing around and a Hummer!
A two pound missile flying around in a vehicle could be bad.
Everyone has their priorities I guess and might think some of this is overkill but if you are trying to be self sufficient far from help and like the confidence of at least having one more chance to survive or save your vehicle, ext are a cheap preventative way to do so.
That's just what I know, might not be all there is to it. I think maybe a mix of types with one being the ABC type would be good.

 

[deserth3]

One thing to consider is how long the fire extinguisher has been in your vehicle. Especialy out here in the desert. Mine stays in the rear right compartment out of direct sun light.

I recently read an article that vehicle fire extiguishers should be replaced after 5 years. I'll have to see if I can find that article again.

 

[Hunner]

I take mine in once a year and these guys check the pressure gauge on both types, and tag them as certified. I'm usually in there getting SCUBA tanks hydrostatic tested so they do it as a courtesy. They invert the ABC powder type and whack on it to loosen the contents. If it does not seem right they can re-pressurize the good ones or even dump the contents and refill. They won't touch the plastic valve ones except to throw them away.
The fun thing is I got to "test" several that they have that will be re-furbed anyway in a test area. I can tell you the initial blast held down at the base of the fire will startle you so hang on. When I was working in safety at the Hwy. Dept they came to work and put on a demo and let us try different ones and I produced a video to show during safety classes.
The Halon I understand they reclaim the gas, filter it and re-pressurize those. I usually leave them and have never seen the process.
I have many different types and sizes for my business and my rural home.
The most fun of course is a big ole CO2 which can be used for chilling your beer in an emergency.
Those were around before Halon but are expensive.

 

[3Hummers]

I have 3 but don't remember the model offhand. If you have a leak in a transmission or T case hose you will need several and that may not be enough. One thing to consider on your UCP is that it doesn't limit access to the underneath of your truck too much. I have seen some "under armor" that was almost solid. A friend of mine lost his H1 to a transmission line or T-case line leak. ( I forget which ) He had two extinguishers but access prevented him from getting the chemical where he wanted it exactly and he ran out of extinguisher before the exhaust system had cooled down enough to not re-ignite the leaking fluid.

 

[Kurt]

I have a full size unit mounted between my rear seats on the H1, I find the smaller ones aren't super helpful after a fire on another H1 that we stopped [leaking diesel on an Duramax spilled onto hot heaters and the harness started on fire]. The small ones last for a few seconds but the medium ones are handy for something more serious.

Ansul makes great units including one with an easy to replace gas cartridge making long term maintenance easy. I've seen them at refinerys and looked them up...

http://www.ansul.com/en/Products/hand_portable/redline_hportable.asp

 

[poncho1965]

I'm curious about everyone's experience and preference for fire extinguishers. I currently only carry one, and probably need to upgrade or augment it. I have a Kidde Dry Chemical 10-B:C mounted in my driver's side cargo window, but nothing else currently on-board. What do you have and what do you recommend?

I looked at putting mine here; what kind of screws did you use?

 

[Paladine71]

Just some wide ones with wide threads, so it wouldn't bore out the screw holes. I've had it there for at least a year and have had no problem with it at all.

 

[Expendable]

I would definitely do like Hunner does and have your extinguishers checked once a year. Those dry chemical extinguishers will cake and harden at the bottom if left sitting in the same position for extended durations of time. I've had Fire Captains tell me to shake the dry chemical extinguishers vigorously every six months to make sure they don't harden and render the extinguisher useless. Worst feeling having an extinguisher and a fire happens. Then you go to use it and a tiny puff of a cloud appears but that's it.

Also who here knows PASS?
Pull the pin
Aim the Nozzle at the base of the fire (For safety stay 8'-10' away from the fire)
Squeeze the levers
Sweep across the base of the fire (Don't go too fast or else the fire will pop back up and don't go too slow or you will waste the product and might not have enough to put out the fire)

 

[cgalpha08]

^yup practiced with em back in middle school lol. Actually lit a fire on school grounds lol

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