vehicle fire extinguisher?

[scrotcaster]

Was driving on the interstate this morning and came across a vehicle that was on fire. I stopped and helped the guy call the fire dept and whatnot but this has got me thinking. How many people carry a fire extinguisher in their vehicle with them? I never have but will be going to the store today to pick one up for my vehicles.

 

[KDM]

Yep!! Saved my azz when I started long grass on fire with a hot truck. Took a 12 pack to come down from that OH SHRITE SPHINCTER SLAM!!!!

 

[FishReaper]

1 smaller one in every vehicle, 2 in my daily driver

 

[tikkalover]

Had a guy do a demo on these yesterday at work. They are the cats ass of fire extinguishers. But a little on the expensive side.

 

[DirtyMike]

Lov2hnt, what's your recommendation

 

[LOV2HNT]

Lov2hnt, what's your recommendation

It's a personal choice.
Yes you can buy extinguishers at Medards/Lowes..etc, but make sure you buy one that can be recharged. Also if your going to putting in your vehicle it pays to spend the extra money and buy one that doesn't have plastic components and comes with a vehicle mounting bracket. If a extinguisher discharges in your vehicle because it was rolling around and the pin fell out you will be hating life. Powder is so fine that it gets everywhere even if it's a short discharge.
Also I would recommend not wasting your time purchasing those little 2 1/2# ABC extinguishers, the discharge time is less than 10 seconds. Purchase a 5# ABC if you got the room.
Those Stop Fyre extinguishers Tikka mentioned are nice, I like that they are a filled with a gas and not powder but for $300 bucks I would rather buy a 5# cleanguard (gas - no powder) from a vendor in town that can recharge it on site rather than having to send it in to be recharged. Each their own though.

 

[JayKay]

It's a personal choice.
Yes you can buy extinguishers at Medards/Lowes..etc, but make sure you buy one that can be recharged. Also if your going to putting in your vehicle it pays to spend the extra money and buy one that doesn't have plastic components and comes with a vehicle mounting bracket. If a extinguisher discharges in your vehicle because it was rolling around and the pin fell out you will be hating life. Powder is so fine that it gets everywhere even if it's a short discharge.
Also I would recommend not wasting your time purchasing those little 2 1/2# ABC extinguishers, the discharge time is less than 10 seconds. Purchase a 5# ABC if you got the room.
Those Stop Fyre extinguishers Tikka mentioned are nice, I like that they are a filled with a gas and not powder but for $300 bucks I would rather buy a 5# cleanguard (gas - no powder) from a vendor in town that can recharge it on site rather than having to send it in to be recharged. Each their own though.

So, what does one of these 5# things cost, and where are they purchased? When you "in town" are you talking Bismarck?

 

[LOV2HNT]

PM sent

 

[Allen]

Yep, I've seen the end result of a fire extinguisher that wasn't affixed to a good surface in a vehicle. What a mess!

 

[dewey89]

I have for the last several years in all my vehicles

 

[FishReaper]

Yep, I've seen the end result of a fire extinguisher that wasn't affixed to a good surface in a vehicle. What a mess!

Dry Chem make a huge mess. Clean up is pain in the ass. but they are still better than watching your property burn.

 

[JayKay]

PM sent

Thanks!

 

[johnr]

make sure to secure it, as if you ever have a situation, ie accident as such, taking that chunk of metal to the noggin would be less than neat.

 

[weedy1]

I used to recharge fire extinguishers a good number of years ago and I would agree that a 5 lb. model would be a good choice. Under duress you may not be able to aim the unit very well or be close enough at initial discharge to do much good. The extra put out power would come in handy. Mounting the unit is important so it is always where you put it rather than having to look for it. The powder units tend to settle with vibration and many times I would discharge a unit and very little of the powder would actually come out. You can't tell if settling has occurred by checking the gauge as the pressurized gas is still there. But you can get an idea by handling the unit. If you grab it and rotate it back and forth in your hand and it feels like the bottom of the unit is heavy or has a dead weight you may have a problem. Full metal versus any plastic is always a good choice. Having any one rather than none is also a good choice!

 

[cavedude]

We have 20lb fire extinguishers in our work pickups and I had to use it last winter. A guys fuse panel was on fire while he was throwing out his belongings. Flames creeping across his dash and reaching a few feet out his door. I didn't have to use the whole tank to extinguish the flames. The guy thanked me, started his vehicle, then drove off while I sat there scratching my head.