Fire extinguishers

BigClay

BigClay

Knower of useless ZJ things
Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Location
Winston-Salem
So with the two fires (or is it three now) in rigs at URE, lets talk about fire extinguishers in your trail rig. How big of one do you keep handy, how many, where do you keep them in your rig, etc.?
 
I keep 2, one in the front and one in the rear. A 2.5 up front and 5lb in the rear....
 
What about the halguards? I know they are expensive but way cheaper then watching it burn to the ground. I was thinking of getting two 2.5lb with the quick releases. Currently have a 2.5lb dry chemical that you see mounted on forklifts. Are these worth it? Im thinking of all the youtube videos ive seen of guys throwing dirt on the fire.(some of those videos u can see a fire ext on the truck and they still were using dirt lol)
 
Lambo429 said:
What about the halguards? I know they are expensive but way cheaper then watching it burn to the ground. I was thinking of getting two 2.5lb with the quick releases. Currently have a 2.5lb dry chemical that you see mounted on forklifts. Are these worth it? Im thinking of all the youtube videos ive seen of guys throwing dirt on the fire.(some of those videos u can see a fire ext on the truck and they still were using dirt lol)
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I bought one of those, a 5 lb. Never had to use it thankfully. The nice thing is, it's just gas output so there is no huge mess to clean up.
Downside is that if its windy, it's not going to be very effective. So really they are only good for interior fires.
In my race rig I kept 2, 1 of those and 1 of the normal ABC one.
 
always kept a 2.5 lb in the cab of the old rig.
the new truck will have a 2.5 in the cab and a 5lb on the back.
fire sucks big time.
 
Two. One 2.5 mounted beside the driver seat and one in the engine bay.
 
From everything I have read and the course I just took the best type to have out there is a : B-C type.

I am getting a few more as these fires have hit a little too close to home.
 
Glad this thread was posted. After the last couple of weeks i would think everyone would be going out to get a fire extinguisher and a helmet.

What about mounting the extinguisher? Mine is currently mounted with a bungee cord, lol.
 
There are a few potential issues with cheap BC extinguishers.

Plastic pickup tubes that fall out.
Powder that clumps together.
Plastic valves that bleed off pressure.

In a pinch, you can unscrew the top and pour out the powder, which addresses all of the above issues.
 
I've got a BC extinguisher mounted near the drivers seat and a foam unit mounted in a metal bracket over the driver's side rear wheel well.
 
Please give consideration to the brand and quality of the extinguisher as well.

The typical Kidde brand with plastic handles are frequently useless.
 
I went with a cheap abc in the floor board but a good sized cold fire extinguisher in the back for the reason of watching buggies burn to the ground
 
2.5lb on my trans tunnel and a 5lb on the driver side rear wheel well. About to mount another 5lb on the pass side rear wheel well.
 
I have 2 2.5lb in the Yj, one on roll bar behind each seat, one in tow rig @ btm of driver door.
 
I've always had one in the rig ever sense I had an issue on Slick Rock in 07. Now with the latest chop/build I added one more and am seriously considering a big one on the back tubes.
 
Ron said:
Please give consideration to the brand and quality of the extinguisher as well.

The typical Kidde brand with plastic handles are frequently useless.
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What do you recommend?
 
I've personally witnessed 2 plastic handled Kidde extinguishers fail to work because the head was melted. I held one in my hands at the time.

When I bought fire extinguishers for my rig they had to have an all metal head. The last year I was in ECORS with Rob we strongly considered changing the tech rule to mandate metal heads for this reason.

Seems like mine were Amerex brand? I think I paid $100/each for them, but they were refillable so there is some trade off.

It is also possible to talk to the big FX service companies and get the outdated ones donated. Usually too big for in car use, but if you are having an event a couple would be good insurance for a central area.
 
UTfball68 said:
I have a couple CO2's...seen too man class A extinguishers just push around the gas/oil fire in an engine bay.
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CO2 is going to be useless outside if there is any hint of wind.

shawn said:
There are a few potential issues with cheap BC extinguishers.

Plastic pickup tubes that fall out.
Powder that clumps together.
Plastic valves that bleed off pressure.

In a pinch, you can unscrew the top and pour out the powder, which addresses all of the above issues.
Click to expand...

This is true, I actually found a brown paper towel in one the other day. Was 1 year old and leaked down, took apart just for curiosity.

Ron said:
Please give consideration to the brand and quality of the extinguisher as well.

The typical Kidde brand with plastic handles are frequently useless.
Click to expand...

The plastic head fire extinguishers commonly leak, they are also not rechargeable reliably. I am in the fire safety business. We sell Amerex fire extinguishers, they have all metal construction and fully serviceable. An ABC fire extinguisher is going to be the hands down best for a trail rig application. I sold 2 to a member on here, he decided on a Halotron for inside the rig and a 5lb ABC for everything else.

If anyone has any questions please feel free to contact me. I will also be glad to help any of you guys out anyway I can.
 
I keep a 2.5 behind the seat of my truck at all times, and i think I'm gonna start bringing a 5 in the bed. So many things have burnt to the ground.
 
Now that I think of it... I bet this string of car fires was a secret project by the fire extinguisher manufacturers to boost sales.
 
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