Fire Extinguishers - Part 2 - Types/Sizes/Styles

[willhf1011]

In addition to the thread on mounts for extinguishers, I thought it might be good to get some discussion going on the types/sizes/brands/etc of extinguishers.

Most common are the 2.5 lb that can be found at most autoparts stores/home depot, walmart, etc.

They are a convenient size, easy to carry/store, but limited in effectiveness.

[Lil Whitey]

At Harlan, it was also clear that sometimes those little extinguishers don't do shit for a fire like Duane's. Certainly better than nothing, but a plan B could be a good idea too.

[willhf1011]

At Harlan, it was also clear that sometimes those little extinguishers don't do shit for a fire like Duane's. Certainly better than nothing, but a plan B could be a good idea too.

Agreed. I would like to carry a pair of 2.5 lb ones as well as a 5 lb somewhere on the back of my rig. Also, I plan to make another thread discussing the extinguishers themselves, but the type seems to matter almost as much as the size. Standard ABC powder ones (like what we used on duanes rig) tend to destroy wiring as we found out.

[willhf1011]

The typical powder ABC's make a huge mess of a rig and the powder is corrosive to wiring. That is something to be factored in when choosing a type. There are some really good threads on pirate discussing this topic exactly.

Most non corrosive extinguishing agents seem to be either less effective or significantly more effective. However, in many cases I think the extra cost for the clean agent style will be less than the cost of replacing all of the wiring that you happen to hit with the powder style. I know in my rig that is the case.

Most autoparts stores only carry the ABC powder type, Fire suppression specialists typically need to be contacted to get the better stuff. There's a place in cburg that deals in them, I'll be contacting them soon to price out options/availability of different style extinguishers

[alk1174]

The place in Cburg is good to work with. Also of note is that most of the dept store models arent nearly as sturdy as the refillable ones from a fire supply place. Another thing to think about is that the extinguishers primary goal is to save your life not your rig. That is secondary.

[Arya Ebrahimi]

There are a couple of good posts on PBB on the topic of extinguishers. They go through the finer points of the innards and the fact that some have plastic tubes that are merely pressed on, whereas others have metal tubes that are threaded and much more resilient to the abuse our use inflicts on them.

I believe by and large the Kiddie units are cheap crap and the ansul units are much better quality, but confirm that before taking my word for it.

[Lil Whitey]

Will if you find anything out about getting some decent quality extinguishers, I'd be game to go in on it. Based on what we saw last fall it's definitely worth being prepared.

[BadAssEddie]

This is good info. Until last night, I was completely unaware that cheaper ABC powder was corrosive and I like the idea of having a few fancy extinguishers. They are something I would have no problem spending a bit more on.

In regards to size, I am thinking about at least dual 2.5 lb extinguishers. The one time I used one, I was surprised how fast it emptied so I know I wouldn't be comfortable with only one.

What's out there in regards to 5 lb unit mounting? I'm kinda busy today so I don't want to get lost in fire extinguisher tech/shopping all day haha.

Link to good Pirate thread/s?

[willhf1011]

What's out there in regards to 5 lb unit mounting? I'm kinda busy today so I don't want to get lost in fire extinguisher tech/shopping all day haha.

Link to good Pirate thread/s?

Specifically:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/general- ... nting.html

The nice thing about the fancier ones as well is they are refillable, so you don't need to replace them (i.e. pay for a new one) every time its used, not that it should be frequent anyway.

[willhf1011]

Also:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/general- ... ech-2.html

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/general- ... -ones.html

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/2010-fire/index.php

[Lil Whitey]

All kinds of good information there. I'm curious to see what we might be able to get around here that's of decent quality.

[redneckrapunzel]

bump, WJ was asking bout what to get