Official Fire Extinguisher Club Thread

[nazrat]

In response to the Trunk Triangle thread I thought that I'd start this one. My motivation was to prevent the feeling of helplessness that one has while watching a car burn to the ground with little more in your hands than a pair of car keys.

Each of our cars has a fire extinguisher now. Mounting them can be a problem though. In my Troopers I've mounted them inside the rear doors. In the past I've had them mounted to seat bases but most modern cars have plastic trim around the bases that makes that location difficult.

In the 300TD I decided to see what I could do to mount it like the factory did, that is just in front of the driver's seat. While I had the seat out to replace the seat springs I made a small bracket out of two angle brackets that I had sitting in the metal bits bin. Yes I may have put in a few more screws than necessary.


Here is the fire extinguisher during a test mount:


I ended up moving it to the top of the 3" brackets. Here it is in the car:


It really doesn't get in the way. It is possible to kick it, but as you can see I keep the seat back far enough that the extinguisher sits above the hump in the floor. My wife hasn't complained about it with the seat forward either though.

Hopefully I'll motivate someone else to buy an extinguisher to keep in the car.

-Tad

[CamelotShadow]

Vundeba



I have to check my extinguisher to make sure its charged.
While engine fires are sort of rare
it sure is great to be able to save the engine if ever there were one.

I am short & seat is very foward
There is not way that the back of my legs won't contact it.
At first it was strange
but now its comforting
sort of like a calf rest

LOL

Heck I was charging my battery in the car
not recommended & I smelled something burning
wasn't sure where it was coming from
it was around car
I was panicking sniffing around the engine
trying to determine if perhaps the charge has touched soem wires & they were smouldering.


Gosh it was scary & I realized I don't even know how to use it yet.
I waited around a half hour sniffinh my engine to make sure it was ok



I guess it was a bbq or something.

I keep mine mounted in the trunk.

[CamelotShadow]

Originally Posted by ForcedInduction

I keep mine mounted in the trunk.

Actually thats a good idea
I should do that
Just in case
It;s good to have a new fully charged entinguisher
therby saving the coveted origiinal...

[Jeremy5848]

I have carried a fire extinguisher in the trunk of both cars for many years. Have never needed it but have used fire extinguishers twice in the house to put out fires that would have caused considerable damage had they not been caught early by the smoke alarms, giving me the time I needed to put them out. One was a pan of French fry oil on the stove (my fault) and the other was a pressure switch in the garage (part of our well pump wiring).

If Halon is still available, I recommend it for engine compartments as it doesn't make the mess that the white powder extinguishers do.

The powder can cause some major damage if the engine ingests it.

Co2 is best if you must use it around a running engine. But, they can be difficult to find.

[lietuviai]

What's the likelihood of a diesel engine fire? IMO not very likely unless it was electrical in nature. It'd be good to have in case someone else needed a fire put out for them. Sort of like the helpless guy with only keys in his hand scenario.

[DZL_Damon]

Originally Posted by Jeremy5848

If Halon is still available, I recommend it for engine compartments as it doesn't make the mess that the white powder extinguishers do.

Good stuff, but can't buy or recharge portable extinguishers. Only fixed systems.

I used to keep one in the tool box and under the hood (a small one) of my truck. And as far as fires in a diesel engine room: the 2 car fires I've responded to in my vol. fire dept both involved spilt motor oil. I'm just good enough at playing with things under my hood to make myself dangerous!! I always get 3 or 4 projects going on under the hood at a time, and I can forget to tighten a bolt or two FREQUENTLY!

[frankjnjr]

i have the origional front seat mounting bracket and fire extinguisher holder from a 123 euro. the problem is, i can't locate an extinguiser sized to fit the holder. local dealer claims they can't order euro parts. phil said he has no listing and no on-line supplier lists one of the proper dimensions. no luck at walmart, home depot, pep boys etc. the holder measures 3.75" wide by 10.5" high. anyone have any suggestions where i might obtain such an extinguisher?

[Boardmonger]

Factory bracket (126 part number) and an extinguisher from a 116. Its not charged but it does look cool.

As far as finding the proper extinguisher (with the black head), good luck. I called the Classic Center to no avail. The old ones are discontinued, and the new ones are a bit small and about $100. I've seen one or two on ebay.de and filipino yahoo, but thats it. I'm always looking though.

[Jeremy5848]

Originally Posted by frankjnjr

i have the origional front seat mounting bracket and fire extinguisher holder from a 123 euro. the problem is, i can't locate an extinguiser sized to fit the holder....

I suspect that this will be a real challenge. eBay Deutschland maybe? If not, try to find an extinguisher slightly smaller and pad the straps to make it fit. Not an ideal solution but what else can you do?

As to halon, yeah, I thought I'd heard it was NLA in portables. Wonder why? Mine were 20 years old. I've replaced them with new powder extinguishers, alas. Then again, the chances are that if I ever have to use one, it will be on someone else's car. ("I got powder all over your immaculate 2007 Vette? Gee, that's too bad. Next time I'll just let it burn.")

[Jim B.]

Originally Posted by Jeremy5848

I suspect that this will be a real challenge. eBay Deutschland maybe?

Zack, Jeremy, and others:

Would this kind of thing work in a W123/W126? (though this one is only for bidders in Germany)

If so I would be interested in one; the price isn't too bad. Group buy for Californians like us and others?

What about a bracket for a Mercedes?

http://cgi.ebay.de/1-kg-AUTO-FEUERLOSCHER-PG-1-E-Neuruppin-NEU_W0QQitemZ250155955482QQihZ015QQcategoryZ33722QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD7VQQcmdZViewItem


"You come to our Firemen's Ball...........and we'll come to your fire!!

[bustedbenz]

I keep mine in the trunk and when I use it, it won't be an engine fire, it'll be the dashboard burning itself up from yet another stupid electrical problem.

[charmalu]

It seems to me Halon was discontinued be cause of invironmental concerns. the Ozone hole maybe??? but I do think it was approved for
around computers.

I had one go off in a dumptruck once, sure bailed outof there in a hurry.
always make sure the safety pin is ALWAYS in it`s hole, and the little
safety strap is holding it.

Charlie

[MBeige]

Originally Posted by Boardmonger

filipino yahoo

It's called "Yehey"