how large of a fire ext. should i get?
 

I am thinking about getting a real, not rice, fire extinguisher for my car. I found some nice halon ones but dont know what size to get. They have a 1lb. bottle for $68 and a 2.5lb. bottle for like $120sumthin. Would 1lb. be enough to put out a possible engine fire? Or should i spend the extra cash and get the 2.5? Plus size is another factor. I gues i would have to put a 2.5lb. in the trunk. Anyway, let me know what you guys think and/or use. Thanks.


-Jeff

I thought Halon had been banned as its a greenhouse gas ? anyway its by far the best extingusher you can get so buy one if you can still get them.

I would get the one you can fit within the passenger area ... you never know when you may need to get to it in a hurry

If you want it in the passenger area and the 2.5lb one is too big to fit, another option is mounting two 1lb ones side by side. Cost would be the same as a 2.5lb one, you would have 2lbs, and they could mount side by side.

Probably not necessary, but it's an option.

so 1lb. is not large enough? I should go for the 2.5lb or 2 one pounders? Thanks.


-Jeff

If I remember correctly the SCCA's GCR requires a 2.5lb extinguisher for IT cars. Apparantly they think it is the minimum required to put out a oil/gas fire.

And as for the Halon and enviroment problem I think the law is written so that no new Halon can be produced for the public but apparently there is about 10 years worth of the stuff that is legal so sell to the public. But it will always be available to the airlines and the military. I have read it is the only chemical that can extinguish an engine fire at the speeds and altitudes that commercial airlines fly.

This might help:
http://www.ioportracing.com/faqs-fire.htm

its not legal to use in the UK (for competition purposes anyway :( ) Its a bad job really as the replacement AFF or whatever is nowhere near as good at putting out fires

I put a 1 lb. extinguisher in the area right behind the 3rd breaklight under the hatch latch behind the interior plastic in my FD. Oh and Halon is a lot safer on the enviroment than your car burning to the ground.

IMO, you should get at least the 2.5 lb extinguisher. (IMO, a 5lb would be nice).

You would be surprised how short a 1lb extinguisher lasts. If you want, purchase a small extinguisher from Home Depot and use it. You will see what I mean. (In fact, take a Fire Safety course if possible.)

ThePartsTrader is right. No "new" Halon can be manufactured. However, existing supplies are still available. There are also Halon replacements now, but I have no first hand experience w/ these.

Would a 2.5lb bottle fit in an FD trunk? I doubt it will fit anywhere in the cabin.



-Jeff

IMHO its HALON or nothing. It is foolhardy to lift the bonnet of a car experiencing an engine fire, you simpl;y have to have a remote way to put it out. Without a remote you are safer to let it burn and replace it. (wonder how I know?----see my sig)

This is my next mod. The 5 lb pull type will strap down in the luggage compartment and the 4 nozzles will snuff out fires in the engine bay and cockpit with the pull of a toggle.

http://store.summitracing.com
enter one of the following SSI-RCxxxx-xxx serial numbers in the search engine

SSI-RC500 Universal, 5 lb. bottle, aluminum tubing, pull type activator, Firebottle fire extinguisher system ... $299.95

SSI-RC500-DTS Universal, 5 lb. bottle, steel tubing, pull type activator, Firebottle fire extinguisher system ... $304.95

SSI-RC500P Extinguisher with 5 lb. bottle, aluminum tubing, push type activator ... $289.95

SSI-RC500P-DTS Extinguisher with 5 lb. bottle, aluminum tubing, push type activator ... $295.95

Were there any signs right before your FD lit up? Now I dont know if I should get the bottle or remote....:confused:



-Jeff

I had just logged a full day of driving--about 300+ miles and the car had been running great (not great--PERFECTLY!!). Everything was as it should be and I was heading back to my office to drop off some files when I smelled something bad. I was behind an old pickup truck so I guessed the smell was coming from it. I moved into the right hand lane to get away from the truck and noticed cars behind me were hitting their brakes and the smell was worse. I also noticed, in the mirrors that there was brown/gray smoke behind me. I then put two and two together and realized it was me. I pulled off the road and a ton of brown/black smoke billowed out from under the hood. I grabbed a few things from the car (PDA, phone, wallet and checkbook) and exited the car while calling 911. A truck driver stopped immediately and offered his fire extinguisher, I thought about it for a half a second and declined. The last thing I wanted to do was to pop that hood and give the fire something to breathe. When he asked me why I didn't want the extinguisher he just said "DAMN, I know better than that, they keep telling us that if the rig catches fire under the hood just to walk the hell away." He and I stood there watching the entire car get engulfed with flames in less than 5 minutes and by the time the fire department arrived there was nothing left to salvage.

It appears that something in the front relay panel under the stock air intake box shorted out and started a fire that fed on the plastic in the box. There was nothing left in front of the engine but the turbo area and the UIM area had less damage than the forward section, thereby rulling out the usual fuel leak or oil spill theories.

To answer your question ---there is no way to predict where, when or why a fire is going to break out. even on a well maintained car. I will be adding a remote system as soon as $$$ allow.

Jeff

Although it is illegal to manufacture Halon, it will be available for years, if not decades.

I guess the size of the fire extinguisher would depend somewhat on its manufacturer, I bought a 2.5 pound halon fire extinguisher from Safecraft
Its size id diminutive and I believe it fits in the rear storage compartmnent of 93-95 RX7(I can't check because my car is 3000 miles away)

I carry 2-5lb tanks and even then, I think they are too small. Have you guys ever seen a car fire, it spready very fast and your gonna need a lot to put it out, espeically if you can't/forget to shut your car off and a gas leak develops... Halon is the best, if your gonna spend your money, you must as well get the best.

good luck

P.S. 1lb fireextinguishers are RICE!!!

2 5 lb tanks are a great idea. How did you plumb them to remotely trigger simulatenously or do you have to trigger them individually?

2 - ½ LB. bottle is small for a remote system. 5 LBS min. 10 LBS better. If you are in a crash and burning ( Trust me you will be glad it is a 10 LB. ) Point the nozzles at the engine, gas tank and ( YOU. ) If you are using it by hand in a car, 2- ½ LB is much easier to pick up and use in the confined space. I have a 2 - ½ LB for hand use and soon to have a 10LB remote

i have to trigger then seperatly

I have one 5lb handheld Halon bottle, I'll be getting a 10lb fire system later this year.

PaulC

are all these fire extinguisher systems you all speak of in race cars or street cars?

I am thinking of installing a system in my street driven car.

Street cars crash & burn just like races do. Usally I don't wear my driving suit and helmet on the street - there have been some acceptions to that though. No flame regardant suit, no helmet to keep the flames off your face = less chance for survival. Oh and yes ALL OF MY VEHICLES HAVE SOME SORT OF FIRE RETARDANT SYSTEM WETHER HAND HELD OR A FLAME OUT SYSTEM. And I have been on fire before not fun. I would suggest that everyone has one in there car.