Fire Safety, Halon Options

[Randal]

Best I can find locally here in the Bay Area is a 5lb bottle for about $149.00. Anyone have a better source for Halon?

I think it is also called Haltron 1.

[Rog914]

There's both Halon & Halotron. Halon comes out as a gas, Halotron comes out as a foam. Both leave no bad residue. Try a web search for either or both to find best prices.

Ralph

74 2.0

[lagunero]

Halon won't be produced for the public anymore, so buy it if you want it, cuz when it's gone it's gone. Haltron is the new enviro friendly replacement.

[lmcchesney]

I can not find the source posting, but I seem to remember that Halon will no longer be an approved fire extinguisher for the track. SCCA, PCA not sure. Does anyone know the newly approved substance? Also, is there an approved substance which is not damaging to the engine compartment?
Thanks,
L. McC

[Elliot_Cannon]

Halon can sometimes be dangerous if used in a confined space. The fire wont be able to breath but neither will you.
Cheers, Elliot

[brant]

whoo... is this true that Halon is no longer approved for track...

I doubt that..
I know its not produced and very expensive, I know that new products are better, but I think it is still legal for sanctioning bodies... (I sure hope so as I've got 15lbs of it in 2 different cars $$$$)

b

[Rusty]

There are better products available than Halon? I'd like to hear about them. Or are they just "kinder to the environment"?

-Rusty (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smoke.gif)

[JeffBowlsby]

Pelican sells a couple Halon FEs. You should only need a 2.5 lb bottle for a car fire. Pelican was also the least expensive that I found in a recent search.

[campbellcj]

I think Halon has been proven hard to beat in enlosed or semi-enclosed areas (such as an engine compartment or trunk.) It works by displacing air (consumable oxygen) and essentially suffocating the fire. For more open areas and potentially for passenger compartment use, the non-gaseous (i.e. AFFF) types are supposedly a little better as they are less toxic, and less likely to "fly away" as a gas, in simplistic terms.

I'm gonna go with an AFFF plumbed-in system and already have a portable Halon bottle. To me that seems the best combo.

[brant]

Rusty,

yeah.. what Chris said.
for an open car some of the other products disapate less than halon. So debatably they are better at smothering the fire in a windy environment.

brant

[Jeroen]

I don't get it. Why are you guys always using Halon?
Halon is banned here in EU since forever...
And there are way better alternatives specifically intended for race car applications
If you're racing (car2car) get a BIG plumbed in system, not some flimsey hand held bottle

cheers,

Jeroen

[TimT]

You should only need a 2.5 lb bottle for a car fire

A 2.5lb bottle is about as good as a fart in a high breeze..

My friends car caught fire, and out he jumps, grabs the 2.5 lb halon bottle and blasts away at the fire (gas, fibreglass type fire) didnt do a thing.. The emergency crew arrived quickly, and opened fire with the 25(?)lb extinguisher and took care of the fire..

The best thing to do if your car catches fire, is get it as close to a flag station as possible..and let them use the mega extinguishers.

what would you guys do?

[Jeroen]

Get a 4 liter AFFF (foam type) extingisher system
The foam is not harmfull to you expensive parts and leaves a film after the fire is out
That helps reduce the chance of the fire starting again (which halon won't)

cheers,

Jeroen