hi all.

how many of you have an extinguisher in your cars?

i'm thinking of putting one in just in case, what sort of type should i go for? (powder,foam etc)

ideally i don't want to pay £200 odd for a fia certified car extinguisher or whatever they are that are sold by fluke and such companies, can anyone recommend a good extinguisher that can be mounted in the cockpit area, the only place i could really put one would be in front of the passenger seat (any other recommendations for positioning?)

cheers

Alex

I'd go for an automatic one. Anything with a pull handle is just asking for some idiot walking past the car to set it off.... and by the time you see the smoke it might be too late to activate a pull-handle type...

the FEV motorsport guy on her does proper plumbed in ones. not sure on price (or his user name)
but sure you can get a decent hand held one from halfords or B&Q or something.
don't think you'll get foam for that size unless you get a proper plumbed one. so powder it is

Iv got a hand held one in between the two seats but after all the horror stories on here, in constantly thinking about a proper plumbed in one. Its just the lack of money that keeps holding me back.
It will probably be a post IVA upgrade.

Aldi/lidl where doing small car ones not so long ago. Worth a check localy to see if they still got them. Powder I think

This is what i have

MK fiber glass seats
Jacko

Look at these

http://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/FIRE-EXTINGUISHERS/c97/index.html?osCsid=9606eb7362aba03370f6623a424f8d05

proper job and a decent price

[Edited on 26-10-09 by Flamez]

[Edited on 26-10-09 by Flamez]

After discussion and research it was found the plumb in manual activate kits were available for under £100.

Look in the thread about Jasper's car going up in flames... that's where all the links were IIRC.

Cheers,
James

I've just gone for one of the £39.99 (IIRC) Halfords dry powder handheld extinguishers and have mounted it under the passenger's side of the scuttle. Two reasons for mounting it here:

1. Keeps it out of sight to avoid encouraging passers by to set it off or steal it.
2. In a crash I don't want a solid chunk of metal flying past my head at high speed. Under the scuttle it is mounted on its side and rapid deceleration (ie a frontal crash) will not cause it to come loose.

Planning to fit a battery isolation switch over the winter too. At the moment I always disconnect the battery earth before locking the car in the garage but it would be handier to just turn the isolation key.

quote:

---

Originally posted by craig1410
I've just gone for one of the £39.99 (IIRC) Halfords dry powder handheld extinguishers and have mounted it under the passenger's side of the scuttle. Two reasons for mounting it here:

1. Keeps it out of sight to avoid encouraging passers by to set it off or steal it.
2. In a crash I don't want a solid chunk of metal flying past my head at high speed. Under the scuttle it is mounted on its side and rapid deceleration (ie a frontal crash) will not cause it to come loose.

Planning to fit a battery isolation switch over the winter too. At the moment I always disconnect the battery earth before locking the car in the garage but it would be handier to just turn the isolation key.

---

I would certainly agree that a plumbed in extinguisher is the better option as it will give you more time to get out of the car (I'm under the impression that that is all they can do?) for the same volume of extinguisher.
Slightly off-topic I'm thinking of upgrading the hand-held extinguisher to a plumbed in one, but how do you secure it?
Obviously the hand-held is removed when not in use, but I'm not sure how to make a permanent installation safe?

Ive got a small one just infront of the drivers seat so it is almost covered from view and at the same time doesnt get in the passengers way. Very cheap and easy to fit with bracket supplied. No one has stolen it yet or used it when parked but for the majority of the time its never parked alone long enough or where people would do stuff like that, could easily be chucked in a boot box when left anyway.

I've got a handheld one inside by me and an automatic one under the bonnet. This is what I've got...

http://www.flameskill.co.uk/flexiTec-auto-systems.php

It goes off when the hose is burnt/ruptured, rather than pulling a handle when you notice the flames. I don't know whether that system is better or worse than a plumbed one with nozzels. I'm sure the fractured pipe doesn't give as even a spray as a nozzel but it will be where the fire is. My pipe does a loop around the throttle bodies/engine, along the engine fuel feed, past the fuse boxes/loom junction and then follows the wiring loom behind the dash; The most likely places for a fire to start i think. Doesn't rule out everything but better than nothing.

It was about £160 I think (can't find the invoice). It was on an offer through CompleteKitCar when I was building. It might look expensive but it's cheap compared to the damage a fire can do once it gets hold.


What even you do though, get an extinguisher fitted! Don't just have it on the "To do" list.

adrian

[Edited on 26/10/09 by adithorp]