Thread: Defender storage spots

Originally Posted by CraigE

I carry one it is mounted on the trans tunnel for easy reach no good having it where you can not get it. On the Disco I had one on the front fllor drivers seat and one on the cargo barrier. The small 0.4-0.5kg up to 1kg extinguishers will not do much if a fire even has a remote hold. You would need to get to the fire within the first few seconds. However it may give you time to get people out or retrieve irreplaceable items. Remember we are talking DCP extinguishers here and they destroy electrics and corrode metal. CO2 is better for electrics, but does not last long and should not be used in a confined area with people. Foam is messy but very effective. AFFF foam is very corrosive. I spilt about 20ml of undiluted AFFF on a tow bal a few days ago and it stripped the chrome off in sceonds. Fire Aide is non corrosive.
To have any real effect you would need to carry a 4.5-9kg extinguisher. I have and can put out car fires with a 9kg that have a fair hold. I stunned my ex boss once when he did not think it could be done. Conditions would have to be right and can very dramatically so anything is better than nothing. However most times I have seen the small ones used the car ends up a smouldering wreck unless you have quick access to multiples of them.
Basic thing to remember is aim at the base of the fire, not at the flames and you will be more effective. Most people aim willy nilly at the flames and there is no hope of putting a fire out this way with an extinguisher. My advice is do a fire extinguisher training course to learn how to use one effectivelly. But above all protect yourself, no point aiming at the base of a fire if the flames or smoke are going to get you and most vehicle fire smoke is toxic. If we go in close it is in SCBA.
When the fire aide extinguishers become available in Australia it will give you a lot more chance. All we use for foam eductor systems now. More expensive but can be used very effectivelly at 1% instead of 6% for AFFF and is environmetally safe and non toxic and non corrosive.
Cheers
Craig

Bit of a side point here Craig - but one of our boys made a stuff up a little while ago at an MVA and discovered that Class A (BFFF) foam puts car fires out quite well - esp tyres alight. It's made a few of us stop and have a think over this way.

Cheers
Chris

I have mounted my extinguisher horizontally on the front of the cubby box just behind the hi-lo stick.

The winch controller lives in the recovery/tool box in the back and I also have switches in the dash center for it. The switches are washer switches wired through relays so you can't power both at once. There is also an isolator switch so that idiot passengers don't try and unwind when going down the Bruce!

Originally Posted by numpty

I know this is an argueable point, but technically speaking the contents shouldn't compact, as the powder is under pressure and therefore in suspension.

Compaction was certainly an issue in the older types which had a dry nitrogen cylinder inside the extinguisher. With these you could unscrew the head, remove the cylinder, stir up the powder and replace cylinder and head.

Numpty,
Sorry for late reply but only just read this.
The point is not argueable from a factual point of view. The contents will settle and compact in all DCP extinguishers if left sitting. This can and does occur from as little as a month on. I have seen many fail and use them regularly even brand new ones.
On one occassion I had 3 out of 5 fail when used in anger (not on my site, but another business).
Generally they will still discharge but you may not get maximum contents use / coverage or duration out of them and those extra few seconds can be vital to controlling a fire.
Cheers
CraigE