Our group here in MI had this discussion yesterday during lunch on our little pre-mother's day run. I thought it would be interesting to see what the thoughts of the BBS folks are on this. Please share your stories.

Have a Halon.........

i carry a Halon in the CIS cars. it'll get transferred to the Subie (EFI) when i dismantle the last of the CIS cars, and then probably to the 911 when it's running and they're both in the same state. i used to carry one in the /6 since the competition rules required it and it didn't seem to make sense to take it out ... while the risk is lower, the stakes are higher :-)

but even if it's never used on -your- car, there is the chance that someday, you'll be first on the scene and be able to help someone else...

Always have one within reach inside the car.
On trips another one goes under the hood with the rest of the "trip stuff"'

Yes, guy told me a story of how his 914 caught fire and burned as he was leaving a picnic,,, got me one right away just in case,, small but sweet

How small is too small? I have seen the Halon extinguishers I believe as small as 1.5 lbs., is that more than enough to put out a match? What size does everyone have?

i got one in my front trunk.

Mine's mounted where I can get to it in a hurry.

I always carry one in my 911. My wife has one in her car as well as my sons truck.
Last year I bought my 914 on ebay. I live in So. Cal and may wife and I flew up to Monterey to pick up the car. We made it home ok but couldn't drive above 60 cause the steering wheel shook to hard. We stopped in Paso Robles and she wouldn't go any farther until I bought a fire extinguisher. Don't leave home without one!!!! If you don't need it someone else might??!!
Cheers, Elliot

I always carry a fire extinguisher in the trunk but probably should move it to the
passenger compartment as soon as possible. In the trunk it's just one of those useless things like altitude above or runway behind.

john

I aways have one with me. It looks pretty cool and fast too.

where would you put one in the cockpit, where it wouldnt get in your way?

hey elliot, where in orange county you live?

Who has the best prices on the halon fire extinguishers? Can you buy one at home depot? I assume a fire extinguisher in a car should be mounted so it doesn't crack you in the head, right?

You could put an eye bolt through your targa top and then hang the fire extinguisher from a short piece of rope

I haven't checked at Home Depot, but hand-held Halon extinguishers are going for around 40-50 bucks on evilBay.

-Rusty

i keep two in each boat and two in the porsches. if the diesel truck catches on fire, i will throw gas on it to keep it lit. .


there was a special on crown vics the weekend. seems the rear tank is killing police officers. they showed one officer that lived and it was quite sad. his kid did not recognize him as his father.
ford is denying fault, but the pinto syndrome is back.

Got one in my Ghia. Heard too many "horror stories" about engine fires.

Lucky for me, it matches the color of my car. Go figure. A red fire extinguisher. . .

Yes, have a car extinguisher at the back of driver seat of the 914. Also have one below passenger seat of daily driver car. True. It may save your car or someone else's car. One or more for home use might be good too.

Look at Halotron as an alternative to Halon.

What's halotron?

-Rusty

I found this:

http://www.h3r.com/products/halotron_standard.htm

probably no home stores, Halon has a fairly low rating for the kinds of stuff that burn in houses and lots more total capacity - the one near my kitchen is a 2A:10BC and it's of the size typically issued to turn marshalls at a weekend autocross. too expensive for your average home use.

i got mine during a Rennlist special from OG Racing (FL ?) and was $60 delivered with a nice bracket.

if you're lucky enough to have a garage, be sure to have 2 of the best you can afford - mounted on opposite sides of the garage. you do not want to have to walk through the fire to get to the extinguisher ...

Lake Forest flymach86@yahoo.com

i think halon was banned for a while for ozone depletion properties. after further testing, someone figured out that the halon was consumed if shot into the flames. i carry two incase one does not work or is out of reach.

How big of a fire extinguisher does one need for a car? I see that Pelican sells 1.25, 2.5, and 3.5 pound models. There's no guidance on which size is appropriate.

Halotron

just big enough to put out your fire :-) ...
in practice, it boils down to how much room you've got, and how much you want to spend.
most competition rules that require extinguishers on board specify a capacity. SCCA SOLO-II does not require onboard, Zone 8 PCA DE/TT did when i was doing it, i have no idea nowadays. i recall (fuzzily) that the requirement was 2A:5BC which was met by a 5-lb dry checmical or Purple K unit or a rather smaller Halon one (which was quite new, then...). yes, i know, dry chemical is bad news but most of us carried one anyway because it was the best ofthe available options then...

so: read your rules, find the A:B:C rating required, get one at least that size. remember that a 5-lb extinguisher will weigh 200 lbs in a 40-g crash and make your mounts accordingly...

Good point, Rich

I believe that you need a larger Halon extinguisher to get the same rating as the smaller dry-chem.

I still have unanswered questions about "Halotron". Namely, is it corrosive to aluminum alloys, and does it eat the insulation off of wiring? Dry-chem does, which makes it an unhappy thing to use. (Even more unhappy is needing to use it and not having it around.) It's a b**ch to clean up thoroughly enough to stop the above-mentioned side effects, too...

--DD

If my car was on fire I wouldn't care what kind of exting. I had as long as it put the fire out, worry about the rest later.

have needed the bottle twice and have driven away away both times. have a 9.95 home depot special in everything i own. yes, they are very messy but worth every nickel.

Here is the pdf with tech info about halotron.
The guys at the 356 Registry turned me onto it.
Haven't used it on anything.

Halotron PDF

Extinguishers are rated based on several factors.

For class A the ratings are based on the amount of extinguishing agent (water) and the duration and range of the discharge. 1-A = 1 1/4 gallons of water, 2A = 2 1/2 gallons or twice the 1A capacity

Class B: the rating is based on the approximate square foot area of a flammable liquid fire that a nonexpert operator can extinguish. IE 1 square foot for each numerical rating

Class C: No rating for extinguishment except that the extinguishing agent will not conduct electricity.

Class D: Varys on the type of combustible metal being tested.

Multiple Markings IE: 4A20BC extinguisher will extinguish a Class A fire that is 4 times larger than a 1A fire, extinguish app: 20 times as much Class B fire as a 1B extinguisher and extinguish a deep layer flammable liquid fire of 20 square foot area.

A 2A10BC extinguisher will be good enough for most car fires. Biggers better tho.

Best advise is to read the instructions before you have to use one.

Pull the pin

Aim Low: aim at the base of the flames

Squeeze: lever or button

Sweep: from side to side. moving carefuly toward the base of the fire.

Extinguishers with a gauge (refillable) should be inspected every year. The powder can pack down and when you go to use them only the propellent comes out. Check your operators manual for instructions.

Just got this months copy of Excellence and there is an article about older Porsches.... 914 included....fuel lines being a time bomb waiting to explode unless you replace them......that article will make you want to carry a fire extinguisher.

I burned a 1.7 to the ground, ala Herb Meeder's avatar.

Ok, this is embarassing. I think I told Bruce, and maybe Aaron.

About a year ago, I had done some work, and had to take my bottle out of the floor.. well, it was rolling around a few days later..

I came out of the bank, and I look down to see that the safety pin had worked it's way out, and was sitting in the floor... too far away to reach, I was in a hurry..

Anyone have a clue where this is going?



So, out of bank, to the redlight, blinker on, look left, nothing coming too fast... turn, and FOOOOOOOOOOOOF!



i can't breathe


M

Yes.... got 2.. probably should upgrade though. Steve

Some people suck... you suck lots...

DAMN THAT IS A NICE INTERIOR!


M

In between the seats:

do I smell a group buy?!