Fire extinguishers

Coldee,

If you are worried about temperature effecting you extinguisher I wouldn't.
Mine is mounted on the floor just inside the door beside the drivers seat.
Worked in the NW of WA for more years than I care to remember and saw extinguishers mounted in all sorts of places including direct sunlight. I'm talking ambients up to 60 degrees C. You could have cooked the Sunday roast in the cab if the vehicle was left with the windows up.

Cheers
Pop

Hi Coldee,
I keep mine under the drivers seat, but have 3 another under the passenger seat and one in the back next to the stove. I leave my car in the sun up in the top end and the temp in summer is 48c outside and you just can't get into the car for the heat. I did have the same thought as you and let one off after it was so hot that I needed to use a towel to hold it and it worked perfect. So if you are happy where it is leave it there.
Cheers Andy

Coldee,
Close and as accessible possible would be best, the only other consideration would be that it doesn't become a missile if Mr. Murphy comes into play.
Mike.

Thanks all. Yes, the thought of it going off in the heat was a concern. I wasn't keen of having it getting too hot and rupturing.
It will not become a missile because it fits neatly into a rather useless drink bottle holder on the door of the D-Max. Ok for maps but a bit hard to grab the bottle with my long legs.
Under the seat was not an option. It has to be stored upright. Besides, I don't like hard objects under the seat because they can get under my feet and I am concerned about them getting under the peddles if they roll out.
Thanks again for your advice.

Everyone of our work vehicles has an extinguisher in them. Once a year we put them to be serviced .I was there when the did this. All he does is belt the bottom of the extinguisher with a rubber mallet a few times ,stamps the tag and charges a fortune to do it. I do this with my extinguisher every year .

Hi Coldee
I know you don't see it as a issue but it may help others.

A number of things to consider when mounting things.
• Strength of item being attached
• Strength of attachment system
• strength of material being attached to
In motorsport we used to work on a 25 times guideline. That is the retention system had to withstand a force a minimum of 25 times the weight of the object. This guideline was based on things not coming loose in the event of a crash and reflected the sort of forces involved.
On that basis a 1Kg extinguisher, in a crash, weighs at least 25Kg and the force that generates needs to be resisted in all directions. The extinguisher needs to stay in its bracket. The bracket needs to stay attached to the vehicle and the bolts holding it all together need to be strong enough to withstand the forces applied.
The forces can apply in any direction so fitting into pockets or hollows can leave a missile if (when) it comes loose, think roll-over.
Most brackets supplied are not very strong and do not retain the extinguishers very well as they were designed as wall mounts for buildings, not for vehicles.
We have seen snapped brackets, broken self tappers used to hold brackets, tek screws pulled through floors and weak vehicle attachment points torn out.
Keeping them out of the passenger compartment is the safest practice but totally impractical if it is needed in a hurry so the traditional way is to bolt it to the floor just in front of the drivers seat where it can be accessed quickly by the driver. Your backup units can go somewhere else because hopefully by you have enough time to access it.

Another consideration
Dry powder fire extinguishers used to have a terrible habit of powder compaction so that when they were set off the propellant came out and the powder stayed in.
The modern versions apparently have a coating on the powder that inhibits that compaction, however practical experience has found it is not perfect. So extinguishers should be pulled from their brackets occasionally and given a good shake to ensure the powder remains loose.

Regards
A

If your extinguisher is in good condition, temperature inside a car shouldn't be an issue.
Extinguishers should be serviced every 6 months according to Australian Standards and removed from service at 5 years for hydrostatic testing. Somewhere on the extinguisher will be a date of manufacture, typically on the base or the neck. It will be a month and year. 5 years from this date the extinguisher should be retired.
The stamping is sometimes a bit hard to find as it is usually full of paint.
Extinguishers that are subject to vibration will still settle and it is not uncommon to have them fail if they are not turned regularly. This why you should test the extinguisher prior to committing yourself to a fire situation.
Mine are mounted on the floor in front of the drivers seat in the landcruiser and in front of the front passenger seat of the hilux.

One thing I noticed is that heavy vehicles have theirs mounted outside of the vehicle. Sure, they might be bigger, but at least they are easy to get to. Both for trailer, and towing vehicle.

Just got to work out a way that some clown does not knock it off.

I currently have one tucked behind the rear seat of the Dmax dual cab. I am considering buying two more and mounting them to the outside edge of the roof rack so they are in easy reach.
But the only thing that worries me is some A hole swiping them.

Doing a bit of research, fire extinguishers in the States have a pressure valve that is released if needed to prevent explosion. Are ours the same as theirs??????

I have one mounted behind the driver’s seat within easy reach.
A mate of mine was driving through Tenants Creek when one of a group of locals stepped out in front of his 4WD trying to stop him. He put his foot down and the bloke smartly jumped out of the road.
Mine’s not only for extinguishing fires.