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Fire Extinguishers

woods

I probably did it wrong.
Joined
May 22, 2020
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On the road yesterday, so a billow of smoke ahead on the opposite lane. Guy towing a small pop up camper was frantically unhooking his truck from the camper. From what I could see, the brakes on the camper had caught fire. Guy\'s wife was on the phone. Would have been nice to have an extinguisher on hand to help. So I\'m going to buy one for each of the vehicles. \n\nI see this one for the car:\n\nhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...1RXDZOE6&psc=1\n\n\nWould like to do a larger one for the truck. But, can I mount it on the outside on the headache rack? I\'m not sure how it\'d do in the weather. Everything else rusts up. \n\nAnd any suggestions for an extinguisher? Was thinking maybe this one:\n\nhttps://www.amazon.com/Kidde-2100577...950733&sr=8-14

61V6yptNntL._AC_SL1200_.jpg
 
If you mount it on the outside it will get stolen. Keep your extinguisher in the cab or in the bed box.
 
If you mount it on the outside it will get stolen. Keep your extinguisher in the cab or in the bed box.

Huh. Is that really an item that gets swiped? I never considered that.

5lb is too big to keep in the cab, and my truck box is full with the chainsaw gear and tow straps.

hrm
 
I keep a ten pounder clipped to the ladder rack/bed rails in my truck. It's been there for at least a year and isn't showing any rust. I just shake it up once in a while to keep everything from caking up at the bottom
 
I have the small grey Kidde that you can buy a walmart in my vehicles.

I did have to use it once. An oil rag I stuffed under the hood of my truck got loose and found the exhaust manifold. Definitely would have burned my truck to the ground if I didnt have it.
 
I have a least a 5# ABC and a 5# Halon in all my vehicles.

One thing about extinguishers, when the fire is out no-one has ever complained about having to many or one left over that didn't get used.
 
Make sure it's not a one squeeze and done extinguisher or if it is you or the person using it knows it is.
 
Alright. Asked Dad (I know, I know) since he's a retired firefighter after 35 years. I don't 100% agree with it, but I can see it from his perspective.

Don't bother. The toxic fumes. Canisters exploding. Flammable liquids like propane and gasoline. Stand uphill and call the fire department. Collect the insurance on it. The extinguisher is fine, but you're at a massive risk of getting hurt or killed. He was going over the list of items on vehicles that explode. The bumpers, the pressurized canisters that open doors, the shocks, tires, etc. All the plastic is toxic to breathe too. You can't even see the fumes and it'll do damage if you inhale it. He's been to a lot of calls where people tried to save their vehicle, and got hurt trying to put it out. Not worth the risk.

Iunno. I can see it from both ways.
 
I have 5 pounders every where, looking for a old school water fire ext,
A 5 gallon bucket of water with an old bath towel soaking in it for welding and sketchy stuff like first starts etc.
I also have a couple of fire blankets".
 
Whatever you decide to do, do >NOT< buy cheap crap from Wallyworld or crAmazon.com !!! Go to your local fire supply place, it won't cost much more and you'll get something that's much more likely to work when you need it. I go to http://www.greersupply.com/ 'cause they're local to me, but Google is your friend. Most places like Greer's sell stuff that's rechargeable so when you >do< need it, it can be recharged for much cheaper than replaceing it. And while I understand what Woods' dad said, if somebody is trapped in a burning vehicle, I'm gonna grab my fire bottle, try to knock the fire back, and save somebody's ass. That's what the portable bottle is for, to knock it out when it's small, or knock it back enough to save a life. Let insurance deal with the rest...

:flipoff2::usa:
 
Alright. Asked Dad (I know, I know) since he's a retired firefighter after 35 years. I don't 100% agree with it, but I can see it from his perspective.

Don't bother. The toxic fumes. Canisters exploding. Flammable liquids like propane and gasoline. Stand uphill and call the fire department. Collect the insurance on it. The extinguisher is fine, but you're at a massive risk of getting hurt or killed. He was going over the list of items on vehicles that explode. The bumpers, the pressurized canisters that open doors, the shocks, tires, etc. All the plastic is toxic to breathe too. You can't even see the fumes and it'll do damage if you inhale it. He's been to a lot of calls where people tried to save their vehicle, and got hurt trying to put it out. Not worth the risk.

Iunno. I can see it from both ways.

As a retired FF myself I carry an extinguisher in all my vehicles, 2A 10BC serviceable. All that he said may be true, but then I travel in remote areas with no cell coverage so calling for help is not possible. I also want to be able to save my own vehicles rather than just let them burn to the ground and possibly start a wildland fire in the process. What if you could save a family members life by using one but you called the FD instead of having one? Too many what ifs in my mind to just say, don't carry one and rely on the FD. That's like saying don't carry a spare just call AAA. Stand uphill and upwind if possible, the smoke from all the plastics can fuck you up. Learn how to use one properly, it's more than just P.A.S.S. I have mine all hard mounted within reach of the drivers door so they don't become projectiles in a crash and are easy to access. Someone mentioned periodically shaking them up. That's a good idea since they can cake or harden up at the bottom, Kidde has had several recalls for just that. Or just shake them up to break up the cake.

Ultimately you make the choice yourself, there's possible dangers in everything we do.
 
As a retired FF myself I carry an extinguisher in all my vehicles, 2A 10BC serviceable. All that he said may be true, but then I travel in remote areas with no cell coverage so calling for help is not possible. I also want to be able to save my own vehicles rather than just let them burn to the ground and possibly start a wildland fire in the process. What if you could save a family members life by using one but you called the FD instead of having one? Too many what ifs in my mind to just say, don't carry one and rely on the FD. That's like saying don't carry a spare just call AAA. Stand uphill and upwind if possible, the smoke from all the plastics can fuck you up. Learn how to use one properly, it's more than just P.A.S.S. I have mine all hard mounted within reach of the drivers door so they don't become projectiles in a crash and are easy to access. Someone mentioned periodically shaking them up. That's a good idea since they can cake or harden up at the bottom, Kidde has had several recalls for just that. Or just shake them up to break up the cake.

Ultimately you make the choice yourself, there's possible dangers in everything we do.

Its really situation dependent I think. Rolling up onto a scene, first thing is scene safety. Something starts and you catch it quickly, then have at it.
 
We were discussing the ELEMENT fire extinguisher on another website recently...


Aside from the cost (which doesn't really matter) they are a way better unit.


https://elementfire.com/

That does seem pretty neat. $80 for the small and $120 for the bigger one isn't all that expensive.

I've got two 2.5lb H3R HalGuard extinguishers in the front of the Jeep and a single 5lb H3R HalGuard in the rear. They cost a lot more than the Elements but, I don't really care what safety equipment costs.

I also installed a 5L AFFF system in the Jeep. Mainly because I installed a fuel cell in the rear that sticks up into the tub. I have two nozzles on the cell, two nozzles on the driver and passenger, and two nozzles in the engine compartment. Figured if I'm spending tens of thousands of dollars on fancy parts, I might as well spend $500 on protecting them and myself.
 
The element is bad ass but pricey. You're not going to get a much better deal on a 316 ABC and if you use it twice, you should be keeping your stuff up better.
 
The element is bad ass but pricey. You're not going to get a much better deal on a 316 ABC and if you use it twice, you should be keeping your stuff up better.

I've had to refill three or four times, none of which was due to my stuff. Always somebody else, and so far I'm about 50/50 on being reimbursed for the cost. Not that I care, I'm just glad I could help save somebody else's stuff. :smokin:
 
Its really situation dependent I think. Rolling up onto a scene, first thing is scene safety. Something starts and you catch it quickly, then have at it.

Absolutely. If I roll up on a fuel tanker on fire I ain't doing shit other than calling 911 and hoping the driver made it out. lol




I have no experience with those Element style extinguishers other than watching that Leno episode and that sorta seemed like an infomercial.
 
The coolest part about ELEMENT is the lack of residue/clean up



Leno did a video with them.

Watch it.
 
CHECK YOUR EXTINGUISHERS.

We have fire extinguishers everywhere. We had a small fire, out of 3 we tried NONE of them worked, lol. You have to shake them routinely. If you hear the stuff sliding around it's probably good. If not, you can try rapping on the end with a rubber mallet to break up the powder.

I found a crazy small extinguisher that the tractor pull guys use, don't recall the name? Crazy spendy, but the videos are amazing.

I ended up picking up a mix of the aerosol can ones and regular to replace all the ones in the house.

edit: Too spendy for me, but if you race or some shit? The videos of them from putting out 5000hp alcohol tractors in a snap are pretty impressive.
https://www.ake.com/stop-fyre-green-fire-extinguisher-1.html
 
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I am thinking about starting to replace my 30+ extinguishers with some of these. I wonder what kinda of shitstorm msha would have with these. I pay like 600 a year to get my extinguishers re certified every year. Extinguishers that don’t need a monthly check by me would be worth the cost.
 
CHECK YOUR EXTINGUISHERS.

We have fire extinguishers everywhere. We had a small fire, out of 3 we tried NONE of them worked, lol. You have to shake them routinely. If you hear the stuff sliding around it's probably good. If not, you can try rapping on the end with a rubber mallet to break up the powder.

I found a crazy small extinguisher that the tractor pull guys use, don't recall the name? Crazy spendy, but the videos are amazing.

I ended up picking up a mix of the aerosol can ones and regular to replace all the ones in the house.

edit: Too spendy for me, but if you race or some shit? The videos of them from putting out 5000hp alcohol tractors in a snap are pretty impressive.
https://www.ake.com/stop-fyre-green-fire-extinguisher-1.html

Yeah had several of my dry powder ones not work either.

Switched to Halguard on my wheeler and future ones. Heck even a pressurized water unit would work on some auto stuff, like the brakes.
 
Whatever you decide to do, do >NOT< buy cheap crap from Wallyworld or crAmazon.com !!! Go to your local fire supply place, it won't cost much more and you'll get something that's much more likely to work when you need it. I go to http://www.greersupply.com/ 'cause they're local to me, but Google is your friend. Most places like Greer's sell stuff that's rechargeable so when you >do< need it, it can be recharged for much cheaper than replaceing it. And while I understand what Woods' dad said, if somebody is trapped in a burning vehicle, I'm gonna grab my fire bottle, try to knock the fire back, and save somebody's ass. That's what the portable bottle is for, to knock it out when it's small, or knock it back enough to save a life. Let insurance deal with the rest...

:flipoff2::usa:

I agree with this, get a good 2.5Lb or 5Lb extinguisher with a metal valve, good brands are amerex and badger, it is more likely to work when you need it too and a local place can even service and recharge as needed. If you can't remember to maintain them then have the local place put you on the schedule to inspect every year, this is their business model. If you get the cheapies from walmart get a new one every wheeling season.
 
Huh. Is that really an item that gets swiped? I never considered that.

5lb is too big to keep in the cab, and my truck box is full with the chainsaw gear and tow straps.

hrm

Now you know why most people don't have them. 5Lb fire extinguisher only rated to last 5 seconds. Keep it where it rusts and you'll be replacing it or it will not work when you want it.

Might be better off with these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_0sawCkIk4
 
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