Extinguishers

Been thinking of getting a Halotron extinguisher. From what I can find out they're as good as the powder ones without the messy residue.
What's your thoughts on this type?

G'day Truckster
Yep - carry the 1kg dry chemical type. I reckon it should put out a fire under the bonnet (not the one in the video - he needs a bloody big fire truck!).
I do know that they will put out a tent that's on fire - happened once many years ago when we used to travel with a 3 way fridge. Bought a Trailblaza as soon as we got home after that!
Mate - is it true that the dry chem type contents will settle and they need to be shaken every so often?

He probably needs several rolls of toilet paper and a change of jocks. With all that rain/mist spreading the fuel I think a red flag to stop the race may be better than a yellow flag. It does not look like he is holding a fire extinguisher to start with, more like a black flag or similar so a longer stick may be useful to push the fire away and also to put the marshmallows on.

In regards to size of extinguisher many people would struggle with a 9Kg extinguisherat the best of times. The 1 kg ones look good but near to useless, a bit like some passenger cars in the bush and some women in 4x4's in the city who could not even park a shopping trolley let alone a large 4x4 without hitting something.

personally.... i don't carry one.

i guess it comes down to the amout of risk that you place you and your 4wd in which determines whether the need to carry one is warranted

i guess in the end... they are a "life saving" device... (mental note: ensure a Fire Extinguisher is incoporated into the design of new storage _Affordable_Storage_Drawers.aspx for 4by)

that car i the above wmv clip sure throws a fair size flame !

good topic truckster,
i have a 1kg dry chemical type but i can tell you from experience they are not that good for under bonnet fire.
On the 24 th January 2002 my jackeroo cought fire about 30 klm north of Mittagong NSW the four 1kg extingishers that i and passing motorists had between us didnt do a thing, nor did the 2 x 9kg jobbies that we got from passing trucks then the first rural fire truck turned up and emptied a load of water on the vehicle, but it kept burning didnt go out till second truck turned up with foam and dumped a full load on the girl. End result 1 x pile of motlten metal and plastic and a bad start to the Australia day long weekend.
The caurse of the fire, i had just had a new fuel pump installed and when the mechanic put it in they nicked a fuel line and this made fuel under presure spray around the engine bay.
The good thing about all this i got a new patrol
pmacks

Hi Mate,

I carry a 1kg dry chemical type and have used it once helping another guy out and it emptied itself real quick.

It makes you wonder in the event of a decent fire these would not have enough grunt in them.

Have a good one.

A handy URL

http://www.fire-extinguisher101.com/

Hey Truckster,
How is ya ?
I have a 1 kg bottle too. Didnt know it needed shaking though, so thanks for alerting me of that.
So what other alternatives do we have mate? cant carry a 9kg bottle and would be stupid having 3 x 1kg bottles as by the time i get to take them all out, chances are the car will be almost crisp !!!
Ange

truckster,
nicked fuel line was the reason that the NRMA investigater gave as the only possible cause, this was after they had the car for a month for forensic examination. My understanding is they were going to go the dealer for cost recovery because i had to hand over all reciets from vehicle servicing. This car was on a novated lease and they got my permission to get a copy of all service documents from the lease company, car was purchased new from dealer and serviced at dealer for its whole life.
We had only done about 40 k's from Campbelltown ( home ) when it went up and the only indication was a plume of white smoke out the back and to tell the truth i thought the radiator had gone because this is what the smoke looked like mind you we were doing 100kph on the expressway and didnt see flames leaping out the bonnet till we stopped. We were very lucky as we had the camper on and managed to get it un hooked and moved and unload the car before it got to hot to get near. Car didn't explode like in movies just a complete burnt out shell not a single wire to be seen under the bonnet and all the plastic was completly gone as well. The car looked just like those you see burnt out in the bush except it had only happened 30 minutes before very surreal.
pmacks

Truckster,

Ha ha ha. The guy in the tower needed at least four arms. Two yellow flags were nowhere near enough.

Dammit! I carry two 1kg jobbies. One fits neatly in a depression under the driver's seat of the Hilux (there's an opening there for a wisecrack or two :-)) while the other is in a box in the tub nearest the tailgate.

They both get shaken up whenever I decide to clean the truck (which ain't often) or immediately before a trip.

Don't think there are too many alternatives unless you are about to enlighten us O wise one :-)

I don't drink the stuff - but the old idea of a carton of beer being the best fire extinguisher has much merit. Some years ago, my husband was bringing our daughter and friend home for the weekend from boarding school, when they noticed smoke coming out of the dash. Quick stop, disconnect battery, but by now it was flames. While the girls threw the luggage out of the back windows, some youngsters stopped and sacrificed their beer and saved our cruiser. Still several thousand dollars worth of repairs (new dash and windscreen), but so close to losing the whole vehicle. A couple of weeks later, a vehicle went up near here so quick that passersby with car fire extinguishers couldn't save it. Beer has it's merits after all!

CAMS just upgraded thier regs for motorkhanas and other club events from 1 to 2 x 1kg extuingishers. 0.9kg OK for a little while. Just put a 2nd one in my sons car.

Only tried to use them once , had no effect. I dont bother anymore.

I have a fire blanket for the Campertrailer.

This on the Africian 4x4 forum, sounds like good advice.

Consider the following criteria for fitting a fire extinguisher:

1. It must be in a position where damage to it is unlikely.
2. It must be easily located in the dark.
3. Only a single arm action of the driver should be necessary to locate, unclip and bring it to a usable or carrying position.
4. It must not interfere with the exit or entry to the vehicle.
5. A third party or passenger should be able to locate, unclip and bring it into action with only a bit more difficulty than the driver.
6. Should it accidentally unclip, it should not fall onto the driver or passenger.

Remember that fire extinguishers are usually brought into use during times of stress, like firearms, and therefore any hinderance can mean a catastrophic result. Practice getting it into action and get used to its operation. It may save someones life.

We carry 1kg dry powder extinguishers in our work cars and on at least 2 occasions we have used them to put out fires in other peoples cars successfully. As far as I'm concerned they are a must have.

I have 3.1kg Powder type ...Quell extinguisher. It lives in a handy space behind the back seat. When I am travelling it lies under the front seat covered by a piece of cloth. Is that OK?

If my insurance company would give me a rebate for carrying a decent extinguisher I would carry one.

As they don't, if my car or camper catches fire we will just run, and........

scream FIRE.

Another very VERY important point people.

*** MOST EXTINGUISHERS DO HAVE A USEBY DATE - IF YOU ARE UNSURE, GET IT CHECKED OUT! IT ISNT THAT EXPENSIVE ***

Hi All

I have a 1kg Dry chem type. What do people think about strapping one to the passenger side of a cargo barrier??? You could easily store a 3kg there.....

Another thought is what do people do driving through spinifex country and the seeds get around the muffler etc underneath the car and start smoldering you'd need an extinguisher with a decent hose attachment to get to those. I've heard some people use the handheld pump sprayers filled with water for those.. any thoughts on tackling those sort of fires???

Russ

Yep, 1kg dry chem for me also. Nice point on the shaking mentioned, I didn't know that.

Truckster, you're last point about expiry. Is it expiry (ie. like milk in the sun) or is it a need for a pressure or functioning check? Also, how do you get rid of the thingss if no good? Wouldn't have thought the rubbish bin or tip would take em.