Extinguisher Recommendations

[mab1]

Seeing that lovely griff on fire in the TVR General section has prompted me to get one sorted for the Tuscan.

Does anyone have any recommendations on which one and mounting locations etc?

Thanks

[Milky400]

Was sad to see but at least no one was injured. I have a simple powder one mounted behind the passenger seat which is eaisily reached.

Personally as much as I love the car, would I fight the fire?!?! Important thing is to get out. Whatever you do, you should never lift the bonnet if you think the car is in flames, the sudden influx of air could turn it into a bit of a fire ball. Although it would normally be ok, I have Seen it happen

[gruffalo]

I think it may be one of these for me after reading the same thread.

http://www.fireprotectionshop.co.uk/fireshield-4kg...

[DonkeyApple]

It's a good subject.

I always carried a 2kg CO2 can in the boot of the Tiv. Strapped to the lower, rear section of the cage so it wasn't going anywhere. If absolutely necessary then the hatch glass could be smashed to access it.

I bought CO2 because of the absolute mess that dry powder causes. If you have a small incident then it will be the powder that causes the most damage.

I'm putting the car back on the road and need a replacement cylinder so I'm certainly interested in the pros and cons of powder, especially as they seem much smaller so can be installed in the cabin.

[m4tti]

Since rebuilding my Tuscan this is something Ive started thinking about. Having a hand held extinguisher is fine if your self or your passenger spontaneously combust, or the fire starts in the cabin.

In reality most of these fires start in the engine bay, the problem with this on the Tuscan is the bonnets nailed down. In the time it takes to get the bonnet off you'll be staring down the barrel of huge plastic bbq. The heat of which will be fairly intense.

The best solution and the one I'm most interested in doing, is to plumb in Halon (or the equivalent environmentally friendly) extinguisher with the actuation in the cabin. This means you can remotely kill the fire and the halon being a gas means that theoretically there will be no damage to the engine.

[DonkeyApple]

Yup. The whole front section is bolted down on the Typhon so it's a none starter gaining direct access.

I've also thought about fitting a rail but all the kits seem to be for massive Motorsport tanks etc.

If there were a neat CO2 solution I would probably do this.

[stevieeg]

m4tti said:

In reality most of these fires start in the engine bay, the problem with this on the Tuscan is the bonnets nailed down. In the time it takes to get the bonnet off you'll be staring down the barrel of huge plastic bbq. The heat of which will be fairly intense.

Make sure you have a long nozzle and push it into the bay below the scuttle?

I would think this would probably make the small amount of extinguishing material one of these portable items holds far more effective.

I'm hoping I never have to help answer this question experimentally.

[m4tti]

This is the problem, the heat that will be exiting round there will do more than singe the hairs off your arm. I think you'd be very lucky to hold the hose in that vicinity.

The best method is to have the outlets of a system either side of the engine, I'm probably going to look to do something like this over winter. If i find something suitable for the task I'll post it up. The only drawback with a remote system is clowns activating it mistakenly.

[clive f]

talk to the dtec race boys, I`m sure they have to have an extinguisher system plumbed in under the bonnet as part of the race regs.

[RobertoBlanco]

Thats a really difficult and controversial topic. I heard from several firemen, that a 2kg extinguisher might not be enough to really put out a fire under the bonnet. This is more suited against fire resulting from a short in electronics for example. The small extinguishers have a capacity of max 5-10 seconds of continuous spray. So this might not be enough to put out a fire in the engine compartment. The correct technique is also of importance. For example: Do not open bonnet fully, put spray through a small gap or through vents or from below the car into the engine bayto prevent surplus oxygen supply.

I got the recommendation to go either for 8kg or just let go of that thought of buying one at all. For the small (electronic) fires I bought this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stop-Fire-Fire-Extinguis...
It is pretty lightweight, small and has a relatively long working period. You can also re-use it. Also it are cheap and easy to handle. Perhaps it is enough to stop a beginning smouldering fire, i don't know.
But if the car really is on fire no fire extinguisher on earth can stop it from destroying your car.

BTW: You also have to take into account the type of medium you use in the extinguisher, as some of them do equal harm as the fire itself does. So easy calculation:

1.) Your car is on fire => You use fire extinguisher, put out fire, add harm due to fire extinguishing => Insurance may not pay for these damages
2.) Your car is on fire => You call fire brigade => Car is lost due to fire until they arrive => You get full compensation from insurance

So be sure you get one with the proper type of media to actually effectively combat a fire (oily fluids, electronics,..etc...), think about the capacity of the fire extinguisher, the added weight and size and carefully think about the possible harm you might do with them.

Just my 2 cents.

[stevieeg]

RobertoBlanco said:

A 2kg extinguisher might not be enough to really put out a fire under the bonnet.

Many moons ago I did a 3 day fire safety course at Grangemouth refinery where we spent a whole afternoon trying to extinguish 1m x 1m fires in trays of petrol with various extinguishers. All of the extinguishers were full size, but it still took a great deal of knack to quell the fire. Compared with doing the same exrecise in ducting it was like night and day.

Personally I'd be most concerned about getting distance between myself and the car, but if it had only just taken hold and I'd managed to get out of the car and in position with the extinguisher before things had gotten really out of hand I'd try my best to fight it while keeping the bonnet closed.

I reckon it would probably be your best bet as it would allow the extinguisher material to expand into a far smaller volume and at least give you a fighting chance.

[m4tti]

A plumbed in clean agent system would stop the engine compartment fire and not affect any of the components. Halon was the system of choice and is highly effective in disrupting the combustion process. Halon is a clean agent and will not contaminate the engine.

This sort of system is/was commonly used in motorsport.

http://www.h3rcleanagents.com/support_faq_2.htm

There was some greeny bill passed a few years ago which essentially outlawed halon, so you can only get it if you have a specific requirement ie aviation.

There are halon replacements out there, but im yet to look into them

http://www.mfs-fire-extinguishers.co.uk/halon.htm

[Walford]

[DonkeyApple]

Do you wave or throw that at the fire?

[Walford]

[m4tti]

Walford said:

He looks p!ssed off, like someone took his speed six and replaced it with a chevy engine

[stevieeg]

Yes, despite all of his discoveries Ohm never got over his Tuscan combusting. I guess that was the point being made.

[mab1]

Interesting range of replies!

Has anyone gone for a plumbed in system?