Where to put F/E?

[jonesfam]

I have always carried 1 of those little disposable Fire Extinguishers that you get from a certain W store.
This always lived in the front Passengers side door bottle holder wrapped in a small towel.


A couple of weeks ago driving to work I came across a tray back L/C on the side of the road with a serious fire going on in the tray. Pulled up, grabbed above F/C & put out about 90% of the fire before the F/C ran out of powder which enabled us to pull most of the burning/smouldering stuff out of the tray.


Another motorist drove into Innot Hot Springs & got the Firies who put the rest out in double quick time.


Anyway back to my original problem, because the little F/E I had proved it's self to be to small to be of a huge help I have now bought a 1KG F/E.
This F/E is a fair bit larger than my old 1, wont fit well in the bottle holder.
It does have a screw on bracket on it but the question is where do I put it?


I don't want to drill holes in my trim, I don't have a cargo barrier, I don't want it loose in the car.
I do want it to be easy & quick to get at & I do want it to be easy to check the pressure in it.


Where do you blokes but your F/E?


Thanks
Jonesfam

[Learner]

Hi jonesfam,
I know that you don't want to drill any trim, but a common location is the front trim beneath the front passenger seat base. This has the added advantage of holding the extinguisher horizontally, meaning less chance of the powder packing down.

You could also buy a new trim to fit when you remove the extinguisher.

HTH,
Peter

[VK3GJM]

Hi Jonesfam,

The passenger seat works well for me and the wife. Quick access and zero interference.

If you remove the plastic dress cover there is a bracket across the seat, a simple 3mm aluminium bracket shaped accordingly allows you to fit the 1kg and fit the plastic cover back on. The aluminium plate is bolted to the seat bracket with pre-drilled holes provided, therefore every remains original.

The photo attached may help how I did it.

Unfortunately, the iPad seems to turn photos upside down, but in this instance it worked in my favour....

Regards

Gerald

VK3GJM

[LandyAndy]

Hi jonesfam,
I know that you don't want to drill any trim, but a common location is the front trim beneath the front passenger seat base. This has the added advantage of holding the extinguisher horizontally, meaning less chance of the powder packing down.

You could also buy a new trim to fit when you remove the extinguisher.

HTH,
Peter

Beware the powder packing on the side,if it has all you will get is the propellant.When the fire extinguisher people service them all they do is roll them around tapping with a rubber mallet then toss end to end to make sure the powder is flowing,also check the pressure on the gauge.So easy to service your own
Andrew

[LandyAndy]

Hi Jonesfam,

The passenger seat works well for me and the wife. Quick access and zero interference.

If you remove the plastic dress cover there is a bracket across the seat, a simple 3mm aluminium bracket shaped accordingly allows you to fit the 1kg and fit the plastic cover back on. The aluminium plate is bolted to the seat bracket with pre-drilled holes provided, therefore every remains original.

The photo attached may help how I did it.

Unfortunately, the iPad seems to turn photos upside down, but in this instance it worked in my favour....

Regards

Gerald

VK3GJM

Must fit one to my D4.Being a pov pack there is no plastic hiding the goodies under the seat as there are no goodies under there
Great spot to fit one.
Andrew

[VK3GJM]

Hi Andrew,

There was nothing under my seat either, however a replacement frame provided a great spot for the CB main body with remote head and a short control cable squeezed onto the ash tray slide.

When fitting the 1kg bottle, you do have to be careful of trigger mechanism, I have an extra plastic wire that ensures the trigger pin cannot fall out and someone could trigger the powder. The plastic tab must first be broken, then the pin is polled out to trigger the powder.

As it's only my wife and I instructions are known. Thankfully, I hope,I never have to use it.

Regards

Gerald
VK3GJM

[Redback]

Beware the powder packing on the side,if it has all you will get is the propellant.When the fire extinguisher people service them all they do is roll them around tapping with a rubber mallet then toss end to end to make sure the powder is flowing,also check the pressure on the gauge.So easy to service your own
Andrew

I was under the impression the small incar extingushers contained Co2, because they are more affective on a wider variety of fires and have a longer shelf life.

[jon3950]

I was under the impression the small incar extingushers contained Co2, because they are more affective on a wider variety of fires and have a longer shelf life.

Dry powder, identified by the white stripe. CO2 extinguishers have a black stripe.

Having seen even 4kg systems fail utterly to extinguish car fires and having more old extinguishers than I can point a stick at, I now carry a fire blanket instead.

My theory is I am more likely to be dealing with a camping fire than a vehicle fire where it should more reliable.

Don't know if this is a sound theory or not. Fortunately I haven't had to put it to the test.

Cheers,
Jon

[jonesfam]

The 1 I just bought is dry powder.
Supposedly suitable for cars, boats & vans.


Anyway, had a look last night & it will end up under the front passengers seat, thanks for the advice on that.


BTW the fire I had to put out had motor oil in it & the small powder F/E handled it very well, just didn't have enough in it to do the whole fire.


Thanks
Jonesfam

[jon3950]

The 1 I just bought is dry powder.
Supposedly suitable for cars, boats & vans.


Anyway, had a look last night & it will end up under the front passengers seat, thanks for the advice on that.


BTW the fire I had to put out had motor oil in it & the small powder F/E handled it very well, just didn't have enough in it to do the whole fire.


Thanks
Jonesfam

Dry powder is the right choice and the bigger the better.

It's not that dry powder doesn't work it's just that more often than not you won't have enough of it to put the fire out.

Cheers,
Jon