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Fire Extinguisher

4X4HIGH said:
Do you realize that the same size halon extinguisher cost 5 times as much as an ABC dry chemical extinguisher?
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list off a few aftermarket parts on your rig, I bet many of them cost 5 times more than a stock part..


halon is 5 times more because it works..get what you pay for, fire safety is a crappy place to use this logic. I do 1-2 fire demo's a week, I had one customer wanting me to justify the upgrade after he asked about it for his servers. I came out, did a demo, used the abc..then did the same thing with a puny 2.5 halon.. 2 months later he upgraded the whole building and even got one for his house.. they work that well compared to an abc..

I myself have had a fire under the hood, used the halon and I am sold on it forever. clean guard is a great alternative however and has the same effect. I do alot of work with verizon wireless for thier cell sites. The few times that one has had to be used the guy cant shut up about how well it worked.


if you do get an abc, take a rubber hammer to the bottom once and a while to unpack the chem..

as for the coast guard crap.. on vessels that are commercial, the FX are requred to be licenced and inspected..so in that case it would matter. On that same note they have a DOT cert/stamp for a few branded FX AS well for certain applications. kind of like having dot tires, it simply stated that is meets or exceeds some standards.
 
Don't get me wrong, the halon extinguisher is by far an excellent extinguisher however it is not needed for our rigs. The pic i posted was just as a reference to an ABC extinguisher. I have two 2.5 lb. and a 5 lb. all metal ABC in my rig. I have a friend who does extinguishers for a living and whether i need to or not i have him blow them down once a year and clean and recharge them. I have no fear of the power clumping.
 
I had a cheapo in my 85 PU behind the seat, trigger got caught somehow, my truck instantly turned white. what a focking mess:doah:
 
i Carry 2 2.5lb ABC's in teh back of my blazer. They are not accessable enough, but its a DD - i carry them more for use on someone else's rig or fire than for use on my own.

If the price between an ABC and a halon is keeping you from buying an extinguisher, by all means, get the ABC. Halon would be ideal, but a crappy FX is better than nothing.....
 
Chevy305 said:
I've used dry chemical extinguishers before and I can tell you that the powder sucks. I've gone through basic fire fighting training and while both will work, I'd prefer not to use the dry chemical, especially since that powder gets EVERYWHERE.

Yes halon removes the O2 to stop the fire, but with 2.5lbs of it, its not going to kill you.

As far as Coast Guard certifications, I guess its not that important unless I accidentally drive into the ocean :doah:... and then catch on fire... :crazy:
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Here's my take:
The ABC powder extinguishers work just fine for our needs, to put out a focking fire. If you are really going to bitch about messy powder getting all over your truck you really need to take a look at the big picture and that is getting the fire out and why your rig caught fire in the first place. A dusty engine bay is the least of your concerns when you have an engine fire.:rolleyes: If your rig does catch fire you should turn off the ignition anyways to stop the fuel flow and to keep from possibly sucking the powder into the intake. What? A 5lb halon is going to cost about $175 each when your should have at least 2 of them or you can spend $50 for 2 powder units.

I'm the last one to skimp on things for my rig and the first one to bitch about about people who take short cuts or try and take the cheap route but I don't see the need for the gas type extinguishers. If you have the money then sure, get the gas type but most of us can spend that for a better part or upgrade. Just my $.02.:D
 
1980 said:
I like Halon, but I think is was outlawed a while back. Global warming.
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yes even the fire departments stoped using them.

also... keep in mind. the powder in theABC extinguishers gets compacted and caked in the bottem in about 6-7 MONTHs so be sure to "shake" them up once in a while and move them around.... =]
 
4X4HIGH said:
Don't get me wrong, the halon extinguisher is by far an excellent extinguisher however it is not needed for our rigs. The pic i posted was just as a reference to an ABC extinguisher. I have two 2.5 lb. and a 5 lb. all metal ABC in my rig. I have a friend who does extinguishers for a living and whether i need to or not i have him blow them down once a year and clean and recharge them. I have no fear of the power clumping.
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I agree. I use an ABC extinguisher in mine. It cost $10.00 and it had no problem extinguishing a very bad engine fire. I was driving up a steep trail when I still had a carb and the float bowl gasket was completely shot, gas ran out all over the intake manifold and finally ingnited. It left a mess of dry chemical behind but, I was able to wash most of it off with a garden hose.
__
 
MTChevy said:
I had a cheapo in my 85 PU behind the seat, trigger got caught somehow, my truck instantly turned white. what a focking mess:doah:
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That aint so bad... if it was a Halon extunguisher that went off, and you did not notice it.... you had your windows up in an enclosed cab you and your passenger could be dead. Or have been very dizzy and disorented. Which makes it a little hard to drive
 
Thunder said:
That aint so bad... if it was a Halon extunguisher that went off, and you did not notice it.... you had your windows up in an enclosed cab you and your passenger could be dead. Or have been very dizzy and disorented. Which makes it a little hard to drive
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it wouldnt kill you but you would definately feel it. ive had halon bottles go off in tanks while working on them.

i have two 2.5 pound ABC extinguishers in my truck. one on each side.
 
If you have money, get halon
at a minimum get ABC.

The halon powder is a poop and a half to clean up, but compared to having an engine fire go out of control, I'll take the abc.

Depending on where your fire started in the first place, And btw, unless your fire started in the carb/intake area, halon will not get into your engine, since it would still have to pass through your filter.

Fires in TBI and newer trucks dont really have this problem, as there is very ltitle overflow of gas. Even when there is a little, as long as the engine is on, the fire acutally gets sucked down inside, and is contained.

A K&N style metal mesh/cotton filter burns less readily.

You can acutally go a little redneck, if you so desire by fitting a rubber tube from a fire estinguisher to the top of the engine bay. That powder gets EVERYWHERE. Yes, I tested it, it works.. :doah:

Its about the only safe way to put it out, as opening your hood just adds more air to the fire.

Also, put a new blanket under your hood. Not only does it save your hood paint, its designed to "fall" and smother the fire on your engine.
 
MTChevy said:
I had a cheapo in my 85 PU behind the seat, trigger got caught somehow, my truck instantly turned white. what a focking mess:doah:
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BWAHAHAHAHAH

A few years ago I was cleaning my big truck and the plastic pin had fallen out of the ABC extinguisher. Well, I hit the trigger with my foot and the shiit went EVERYWHERE. Everytime I would vacuum it, I would always find some more. =]:haha:
 
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