Fire extinguishers

I carry 2 of the 1kg dry chem jobbies you can buy from st johns and the like.

they can put out a hell of a fire if used correctly and to give you a comparison

the M113A1 carries 1 1kg and 1 2kg dry chem (along with the co2 bottle for the engine bay)

the Leopard carried 3 from memory

the ASLAV carries 2 1kgs and a 2kg

the Busmaster carries 3 of the 1kg rechargable jobs, 2 inside and one outside.

The reason I carry 2 is so that in the event of it being my vehicle going up If I cant get to one of them I might be able to get to the other usually one is directly behind the drivers seat on top of almost everything you can usually see it when you look through the window OR it will be just about falling out at you when you open the door.

the second one gets positiond depending on the loadout of the vehicle.

IF the passangers side rear sliding window is going to be open for the trip it will be right there where anyone can reach in and grab it.

it normally sits standing up on the ledge under the rear sear on the passanger side (exactly mirror image of where the first one goes if Im carrying a full compliment of passangers)

and IF Im set up for camping/trackworking/mechanicing it will be right at the back doordirectly under the handle to open the door.

IF Im carrying the chainsaw theres a disposable can type extiquisher and another 1kg dry chem in the chainsaw box.

I have mine mounted on the back of my centre console. Its side laying horizontal, which im going to take a guess now is the wrong way to do things.

nope you can store them any which way you like so long as you tappy thing on a regular basis to keep the powder from settling and you hold them the right way up when you discharge them.

if you want to see the basic effect of not doing the tappy thing go grab one of those shake'n'bake pancake mix bottles (you know the ones that look like miniture milk bottles) all the contents is neatly condensed into the bottom of the bottle, turn it upside down and give it a shake then turn it right way up and you'll see its all nicely areated ready to mix.

same deal in your extinquisher but you cant see how badly its compacted.

Excellent. I haven't drilled holes meaninglessly then.

Not to put a dampener on the dry powder ext.

Only Problem with the powder extinguishers.

The day you let one off is the day the electrical probelms begin. The powder get into all areas. This then absorbs moisture which leads to corrosion etc.

Pitty the Halon have been phased out as they were probably best.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Dave

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Originally Posted by garrycol

Also for any car fire that has taken hold, one standard car extinguisher will not do the job

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Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

they can put out a hell of a fire if used correctly

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Certainly can if applied in the right way. I've extinguished a fully involved car with a 1.5kg DCP. Even the little 0.9kg units will put out a large cabin fire. Trick is to approach from upwind, aim at the base of the fire, hit it in small bursts, & wait for the cloud of powder to settle before giving it some more. Most people panic and just use the "spray & pray" method :eek: They don't last long at all if you just hold down the handle and sweep the fire like the directions tell you.

After being to countless car fires I suppose it is easy to tell people "don't panic" :angel: But it's inportant to remember that, unless someone's trapped inside, using those extra few seconds to size up the fire and take your time to make an attack can make the difference between saving something and losing everything.

My 2 cents anyway....

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Originally Posted by DRS

Pitty the Halon have been phased out as they were probably best.

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I seem to remember the Halon's where not much use in confined spaces, ie it would kill you quicker than the fire ;) :D

The DCP is the best general purpose option. Yes it is corrosive and damages electrical componentry, but it is a compromise.
Be very aware that 1kg extinguishers have very limited capability and will only last about 20 seconds. If the fire has hold they are pretty uselless. Usually to put out any fire of size a min 4.5kg would be needed and probablly a 9kg. But these are not practical to carry in most cars. A 1kg is better than nothing and a heap of them better again. Ideally you would carry 3 x 9kg size extinguisher, 1 x dcp, 1 x foam and 1 x CO2 but that is not even remotely practical.
At the end of the day if my car was going up I would grab out what I wanted to save and claim the insurance as it will probablly be stuffed anyway.
A 9kg will only give you 60-90 seconds in a dcp and a CO2 will only give you 30-50seconds use.

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Originally Posted by HangOver

I seem to remember the Halon's where not much use in confined spaces, ie it would kill you quicker than the fire ;) :D

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So will CO2.
:o

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Originally Posted by Treads

Certainly can if applied in the right way. I've extinguished a fully involved car with a 1.5kg DCP. Even the little 0.9kg units will put out a large cabin fire. Trick is to approach from upwind, aim at the base of the fire, hit it in small bursts, & wait for the cloud of powder to settle before giving it some more. Most people panic and just use the "spray & pray" method :eek: They don't last long at all if you just hold down the handle and sweep the fire like the directions tell you.

After being to countless car fires I suppose it is easy to tell people "don't panic" :angel: But it's inportant to remember that, unless someone's trapped inside, using those extra few seconds to size up the fire and take your time to make an attack can make the difference between saving something and losing everything.

My 2 cents anyway....

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In the right hands yes, but generally I would disagree. As you said most people panic. It all depends on how much of a hold the fire has got. Once it starts in the ducting, plastics etc the are very hard to extinguish and overhaul completely. You can usually knock the main seat of the fire down with a 1kg but putting it out completely is often not possible. The trick is to attack it asap. I have seen it take 1000litre plus of water and 3% foam to control one.:o