Fire Extinguishers

bigal0043

bigal0043

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Jun 29, 2005
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Plattsburgh,NY
www.mk3supra.net
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jetjock

jetjock

creepy-ass cracka
Jul 11, 2005
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Redacted per Title 18 USC Section 798
Dry chemical....Ugh. It's corrosive, makes a hell of a mess, and is not very effective. Spend the money and get a 2 or 3 pounder Halon, preferably 1301. More expensive but well worth it and the best fire suppressant known.
 
jetjock

jetjock

creepy-ass cracka
Jul 11, 2005
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Redacted per Title 18 USC Section 798
Lol..baking soda....that's good ;)

I keep a Halon unit in both cars. Fire extinguishers are like parachutes: It's better to have one and not need it than to need one and not have it. Even if your car doesn't go up in flames you could save someone else's

Halon manufacture was banned by the Montreal Protocol (at the same time and for the same reasons as was CFC-12) but it's still available. Look in any race car or computer room and that's what you'll find. It's very effective and leaves zero mess behind.

Those chrome ones are spendy alright. You could get a fire bottle system to install for around that price. A 2 or 3 pound Halon unit will run you around $70-80 from an aviation supplier. You can tell if it's 1301 because it won't have a pressure gage but 1211 will work too (one is a streaming agent and the other a fogging agent). Course, it's better to keep the car maintained to prevent fires in the first place but if the time ever comes you'll be glad you bought the best there is.
 
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Stretch

Stretch

Tallest MK3 driver ever!!
Mar 30, 2005
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I had a little fire near the coolant hose ontop of the back of the head one day. I ran and got some water and tossed it on it. i stood back and braced for explosion, but it all was fine.
eric
 
C.44

C.44

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Apr 7, 2005
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Halon isn't nearly as accesible as CO2, which also leaves no stains or whatsoever. Co2 can be used on everything but class D fires (metal fires). Costs you a bit more but keeps your stuff safe.

The normal cheap powder extinguishers are not cheap in anyway. It's a chemical solution that'll never completely vanish. In time your electronics in and around the car at the time of the fire will fail due to corrosion.

Water/Soap filled extinguishers are a definite no go in cars either. If it's a fire caused by oil or gasoline (which it most of the time will be) then your going to spread it all over instead of extinguishing the fire. Also electronics do not like water.

Just buy a Co2, it's a bit more expensive, but nowhere near as expensive as your car is ;)

Just one more quick addition to this lecture, get a big one. Not those small batterysize things. A 6kg extinguisher lasts about 15 seconds for powder, 25 for Co2 and 30 for water soap.

No i'm not a firefighter ;)
 
jetjock

jetjock

creepy-ass cracka
Jul 11, 2005
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Redacted per Title 18 USC Section 798
They can be refilled. Halon is illegal to manufacture but not to own or use. It's the same as R-12 in that there is plenty of recycled and virgin stuff left and most any extinguisher service company will refill them for you. There is one issue though: if it has a non-removable valve it's considered disposable and most 1 or 2 pounders are such.

As mentioned, CO2 is good also but Halon has several advantages over it. The 1211/1301 blend makes it's own pressure (that's why it has no gage) so leaks aren't a concern. It's also pound for pound much more effective than CO2 so the result is a lot of firefighting ability in a small package. And where CO2 smothers a fire by depriving it of oxygen, Halon actually breaks the fire's chemical reaction. It's good stuff but the downside is cost. Try ebay for some good deals. Search on halon. Or look here:

http://tinyurl.com/m6zuk

Btw, I'm not a firefighter either. I know this stuff because Halon is used in industrial facilties and aircraft, both of which I have experience being around. Since I had aircraft on the brain I was recommending 1301 but for a handheld unit used for what we're talking about here 1211 is probably better as you can stream it. That said, the blend is a more effective agent.
 
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