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Fire extinguisher recommendations


BaileyMex

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Hi all

Just realised that mine is way past it's sell by date, and heaven forbid I need one, but has anyone got any recommendations for a reasonable hand held unit that could mount on a bracket behind the drivers seat?

Some online seem TOO cheap, and others seem expensive. 

Thanks in advance

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I'm not honestly convinced of the 'benefit' of handheld small extinguishers in connection with any type of car fire! I got trained by Chubb Fire to use various extinguishers - water, CO2, powder and foam and was surprised by the amount of extinguishing substance required to kill various fires, even in controlled conditions. Petrol / diesel / oil was hardest to smother and i'd imagine in connection with an engine bay fire, quite impractical with hand held equipment. Even in competition vehicles, the 'plumbed in' systems of 2.5kgs are only there to buy time for driver / crew escape or rescue, not save the vehicle. Of course if it makes you feel better to have one and potentially put yourself at risk by tackling something - crack on but as I said at a job interview when asked how I would tackle a fire in the position I was being interviewed for, and replied - throw the extinguisher into the fire and if that didn't work, run cos my life or skin was worth more than £4.50 an hour! I still got the job LOL!

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Yeah, it'd always be a risk having to try to tackle something like that yourself.

I can kill the fuel pump with a flick of a switch, and with a hand held it may just save the car rather than just watch it burn.

I think I'd rather have one than not.

Would powder be the best all round option?

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52 minutes ago, BaileyMex said:

Yeah, it'd always be a risk having to try to tackle something like that yourself.

I can kill the fuel pump with a flick of a switch, and with a hand held it may just save the car rather than just watch it burn.

I think I'd rather have one than not.

Would powder be the best all round option?

On our vehicles in work we have dry powder plumbed in the engine bay and hydraulic bay to remove oxygen away from any wet source fires. 

At hatches and doors we have plummed wet and hand held wet extinguishers to put out a fire on a person. 

Dry would probably be the better option for fuel as long as you don't intend on standing there too long and you activate it from outside the vehicle. 

There are basically three elements to a fire: fuel source/oxygen source/ignition source. 

Remove one source and and the fire should extinguish. However, if a fire is about the height above your knee from the ground, katana has the right idea. Leg it... 

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Figure this - if fire under bonnet you have to a) crack open bonnet to fight it and b) be close enough to fight it! Problems occur with opening bonnet - it allows air in usually with a woomph and due to b) you are in a really bad place! Maybe a CO2 or dry powder might be ok for a wiring / dashboard fire but you do have to hit it hard to smother. A mate had a fire in a 'classic' mini, luckily whilst at work in a garage and got through 2x 2kg dry powder cylinders and what a mess!

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11 hours ago, katana said:

I'm not honestly convinced of the 'benefit' of handheld small extinguishers in connection with any type of car fire! I got trained by Chubb Fire to use various extinguishers - water, CO2, powder and foam and was surprised by the amount of extinguishing substance required to kill various fires, even in controlled conditions. Petrol / diesel / oil was hardest to smother and i'd imagine in connection with an engine bay fire, quite impractical with hand held equipment. Even in competition vehicles, the 'plumbed in' systems of 2.5kgs are only there to buy time for driver / crew escape or rescue, not save the vehicle. Of course if it makes you feel better to have one and potentially put yourself at risk by tackling something - crack on but as I said at a job interview when asked how I would tackle a fire in the position I was being interviewed for, and replied - throw the extinguisher into the fire and if that didn't work, run cos my life or skin was worth more than £4.50 an hour! I still got the job LOL!

Getting out is always the best option, but, having said that, I once had a fire under the bonnet in one of my old mk1s caused by a broken(and brand new) jubilee clip on a fuel line. Pulled in to the pub car park, which was really handy, and stuck a really small and half used bcf extinguisher up from under the front valance and used it all up AND put it out! wiring was a bit singed but still OK. Put a spare clip on it and carried n to work 😌

So, I guess if you're out, having a go is better than ending up with a burnt out wreck, especially if you've sweat tears and blood into building it.....

BCF wasn't illegal in those days

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3 minutes ago, Johnny Boy said:

Dry powder is ok on electrical, foam isn't.

Co2 is my preferred one, as its not messy, just don't breath it in,

but I don't think any of them will do you any good if you breathed them in .😬

I was thinking more of the fuel element JB rather than the electrics which are not too bad provided it's not an electric/hybrid 😲 Haven't had to attend a serious RTC involving a hybrid/electric yet, but it's worrying from our point of view, especially if we're cutting people out 😕

Agreed CO2 is best provided you don't inhale, but they do tend to be a bit bigger and heavier for car use.

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Yeah, it'd always be a risk having to try to tackle something like that yourself.

I can kill the fuel pump with a flick of a switch, and with a hand held it may just save the car rather than just watch it burn.

I think I'd rather have one than not.

Would powder be the best all round option?

 

Or would C02 be better for fuel leaks?

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3 hours ago, Mash said:

I was thinking more of the fuel element JB rather than the electrics which are not too bad provided it's not an electric/hybrid 😲 Haven't had to attend a serious RTC involving a hybrid/electric yet, but it's worrying from our point of view, especially if we're cutting people out 😕

Agreed CO2 is best provided you don't inhale, but they do tend to be a bit bigger and heavier for car use.

👍

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