After one poor member loosing his car to fire it got me thinking...

It's a bit scary just how much fiberglass is used in these cars, if you've ever burnt the stuff you'll know just how fierce it burns (don't think I'm criticizing the 7's as my own cars have easily twice as much not to mention me going berserk with the underseal ).

I wonder is there a coating that can be applied like paint that would self extinguish any flames, I'm thinking of the coatings used on buildings that kind of foam up or maybe some release CO2. These could be applied in the engine and passenger compartments.

[Edited on 25/2/08 by Mr Whippy]

IMHO...I dont think I would want anything to burn and give off any gasses in the cockpit area.....the air in there needs to stay minty fresh if you want to live!

I think you'd be better off attacking from the other direction - installing a race or aero type fire extinguishing system.

There are only so many places a fire can realistically start and get going, if any flames can be extinguished before they get a chance to catch hold you'll be in a far better position than having materials that can resist it a bit longer.

Those race extinguisher systems are very expensive - but worth it, maybe?

Intumescent paint

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Originally posted by David Jenkins
Those race extinguisher systems are very expensive - but worth it, maybe?

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Originally posted by tegwin
IMHO...I dont think I would want anything to burn and give off any gasses in the cockpit area.....the air in there needs to stay minty fresh if you want to live!

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy

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Originally posted by David Jenkins
Those race extinguisher systems are very expensive - but worth it, maybe?

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your right there, crazy prices for what?

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You can get fire retardant resin, but the trouble is it costs 20% than regular so doesn't get used by the manufacturers.

It's also a build time improvement rather than an add on for an existing car.

Doubt won't stop a petrol fire, but will give you more time to fight it.

Surely a standard CO2 extinguisher (they have screw thread for the nozzle anyway) fitted with an adaptor and some plastic pneumatic pipe (blanked off at the end) would work fine? These can be bought very cheaply and once plumbed up the extinguisher could be fired so the system is 'live' and floods the engine bay the second the pipe is burnt through.

a link to the kind of pipe I mean -

http://www.airlines-pneumatics.com/webcat/vit.asp?SubCat=29

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy
Surely a standard CO2 extinguisher (they have screw thread for the nozzle anyway) fitted with an adaptor and some plastic pneumatic pipe (blanked off at the end) would work fine? These can be bought very cheaply and once plumbed up the extinguisher could be fired so the system is 'live' and floods the engine bay the second the pipe is burnt through.

a link to the kind of pipe I mean -

http://www.airlines-pneumatics.com/webcat/vit.asp?SubCat=29

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It would also be nice to have something that cut the power to the fuel pump when the extinguisher went off.

Although I don't know the specific cause of the fire in question, a running fuel pump wouldn't have helped. After all, there's not a lot of inflammable stuff under the bonnet, once the fuel's been cut off - engine oil and brake fluid mostly. Better than a continuous stream of fresh petrol!

[Edited on 25/2/08 by David Jenkins]

well I thought have it live would be a good thing incase the driver was knocked unconsus. I'd route the pipe round things that were lible to go on on fire like the carbs and fuel pumps, indeed it could even be tie wrapped to the actual fuel pipes so that maybe the cold of the gas jet would freeze the fuel and stop the leak?



[Edited on 25/2/08 by Mr Whippy]

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy
Surely a standard CO2 extinguisher (they have screw thread for the nozzle anyway) fitted with an adaptor and some plastic pneumatic pipe (blanked off at the end) would work fine?

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I think the idea is the tube gets burnt/melted at the site of the fire and gets put out automagically. The good point is the fire fighting always happens at the right place, and works even if you are unconscious. Bad point is you have take an interest in the pressure gauge every trip and I doubt the spray pattern is optimal in any sense.

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Originally posted by Richard Quinn

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy
Surely a standard CO2 extinguisher (they have screw thread for the nozzle anyway) fitted with an adaptor and some plastic pneumatic pipe (blanked off at the end) would work fine?

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???? Blanked off at the end?? How does that work then? Unless you had enough pressure to inflate and then burst the tube...
Only kiddin

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there is a product like this used in modded computers and hard to reach places in big audio installed, its a think plastic tube (think glow necklace things) but longer, has liquid c02 in it, if anything gets very got / flames they melt the tube and the c02 is released putting the flames out / cooling whatever melted it, fairly cheap and would work on a larger scale.

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Originally posted by dan__wright
there is a product like this used in modded computers and hard to reach places in big audio installed, its a think plastic tube (think glow necklace things) but longer, has liquid c02 in it, if anything gets very got / flames they melt the tube and the c02 is released putting the flames out / cooling whatever melted it, fairly cheap and would work on a larger scale.

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In buildings the sprinkler head has a frangible bulb which breaks when it gets very hot.
Intumescent paint would help prevent surface spread of flame, not much else.

Why not a hand held, to me thats a minimum in this type of car. Prob is under bonnet fire is isolated- then a full plumbed in system is what you want.

remember to choose the correct type of course, probably an AFFF foam type best? Any comments anyone.

Tim

Perhaps something simple like a 'panic button' on the dash would help? I know the ignition key is there, but an instant shut-down might be appreciated when there's flames coming out from under the bonnet and you've got a 4- or 5-point harness to get out of - maybe an inexperienced passenger to rescue as well.

I still like the idea of a racing extinguisher though - just pull a handle and the engine compartment and the area round the fuel tank gets flooded with fire extinguisher.

Mind you - at least one F1 driver has gone off the track when the fire extinguisher's gone off unexpectedly!

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy
Surely a standard CO2 extinguisher (they have screw thread for the nozzle anyway) fitted with an adaptor and some plastic pneumatic pipe (blanked off at the end) would work fine? These can be bought very cheaply and once plumbed up the extinguisher could be fired so the system is 'live' and floods the engine bay the second the pipe is burnt through.

a link to the kind of pipe I mean -

http://www.airlines-pneumatics.com/webcat/vit.asp?SubCat=29

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Originally posted by speedyxjs

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy
Surely a standard CO2 extinguisher (they have screw thread for the nozzle anyway) fitted with an adaptor and some plastic pneumatic pipe (blanked off at the end) would work fine? These can be bought very cheaply and once plumbed up the extinguisher could be fired so the system is 'live' and floods the engine bay the second the pipe is burnt through.

a link to the kind of pipe I mean -

http://www.airlines-pneumatics.com/webcat/vit.asp?SubCat=29

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Do i detect a new book?
How to build a race car fire extinguisher system for your 7 on a budget

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