71RedCoupe

I have checked some of the past posts and have found nothing conclusive on what size fire extinguisher everyone has mounted in their vettes. A 1lb extinguisher only seems large enough if you get to the fire quickly, otherwise it seems way too small. So how much is enough??

So you have the size extinguisher that gives you a good confort level, where do you mount it?? I've seen the C4 mount from LAPD and think I can make one for far less. I've read several threads on where some have mounted fire extinguishers and they seem to be all over the place.

I have several ideas, which some of you may be using, if so would you reply with your experience. Anyway what do you think about these locations:

1) Mounted to a bracket attached to the front seatbolts of the seat rail (either passenger or driver side)...Would it interfere in any way?

2) Mount between the seats on the storage compartment bulkhead...I think it might be too tall unless you have a very small bottle

3) In the storage compartment with the jack

4) There is two stiffener strips on the rear window shelf. What if you reinforced them and mounted it so it hung from the shelf? It still should provide vertical room for storage (especially t-tops), out of the way and fairly easy access. Any thoughts?

5) Either side of the door post (on coupes). Easy access but makes access to the back even more difficult.

6) Kick Panels... I would think it would interfere and not good for kick panel speakers.

7) Rear bulkhead... Would it be too hard to get to?

Seems the easiest access would be best so that it doesn't interfere too much with comfort. I am thinking about either the front of the seats or hanging from the window shelf.

What's the thoughts?

MELVIN

As an Exp EMT-P and Fireman, the first concern is the capability of the ext you want to use. Buy cheap, thats exactly what you will get. Typically, the smaller, cheap ones for cars are made to fight wood/paper type fire, not flammable liquids, and trust me THERE IS A DIFFERENCE, big time. Also, the cheap, little ones have very little capacity, regarding how much material there is inside the bottle. Class a is for wood/paper, b for flammable liquids, c for metals/electrical. I would go b.

Also, watch the type of substance that will be shot out of your extinguisher. Is it powder, or gas, like Halon or Co2, or liquid? I would go with a gas form, since it doesnt leave a hell of a mess to clean up afterwards, like a powder, or liquid will , and a gas type tends to extinguish better in confined spaces, like under the hood/inside.

As far as mounting location, its tough in the C3's. You dont try to hide an extinguisher. It should be close and ready to reach, unhook, and put into operation in a split second

SmokedTires

Mount any extinguisher you get in a easy to get location. You want time on your side when reaching for it. Maybe under the front of the passenger seat if it's not too big. A 1lb extinguisher is better than none, but again the sooner you get to the fire the better. :cheers:

Eddie 70

I got the auto fire extinguisher at Wally World. Small and compact. But like you said if it was much of a fire it would be too small. I bought mine when someone posted pics of his car setting in his garage with most of the garage wasted not to mention his vette. That would truly suck. :sad:

Wrencher

I'm mounting my 3 pound Halon to the rear speaker box I'm building for my 'vert.

Hans

MELVIN

Smoked tire looks as if he has the right size to fight a small car fire. Yes, it is sorta big for the inside of a vette.

Those Wally world ext are made for stove top fires, like a burning fire pan

Halon is the industry standard

I remember that guy that posted a pic of his burnt vette. Sad pic, makes you think

SprintCarDriver

Under the seat is not a very good place to place a fire extinguisher. I have a friend that has a major spine injury when the seat compressed and hit the exinguisher. Spine to the impact... Not a good idea.

427_Roadster

Just a note on halon, it has been banned. If you do have a halon extinguisher, you cannot get it refilled anywhere. There is a substitute now called Halotron or something like that that's supposedly safer to the environment. Also, I'm not sure how effective halon would be in putting out a fire in the engine compartment. It puts out fire by depleting oxygen - usually used in computer rooms or confined spaces. Oxygen will enter the engine compartment from top or bottom so it could be hit or miss.
I would go with an ABC extinguisher that uses a nonstaining chemical compound. Yea, you'll have to clean up, but it's gotta be better than the alternative.
Just my $.02
:cheers:
Tom

MELVIN

Tom, You are correct. There is a substitute for Halon, forgot the exact name. And you are correct, it works well only in confined spaces, which is why its perfect for under the hood. In an engine fire, dont open the hood. You just pop it open from the inside, shoot the materil into the engine bay thru the gap

Opening hood will; Give oxygen to the fire
Fry your fingers when reaching for the latch
Give your face a seriuos blast of hot air or flames

Brutus

Melvin... Excellent advice. I couldn't convince some clown a while back here on the Forum that opening the bonnet (hood) was the last thing you should do in the event of a fire there!
I work in a major oil refinery here and am on the front line fire crew and as such I like to think that we're fairly well versed in handling fires of all kinds.
I have a dry chemical extinguisher mounted between the seats to my sub woofer box. It's completely accessable by either driver or passenger and is the correct extinguisher to use in the case of a vehicle fire given it's limited size.
Just buying an exitngiusher from a store doesn't guarantee you the you're automatically protected from having your car burn to the ground while you stand by and watch helplessly. For the price of a refill or even a new extinguisher it would pay to become familiar with how it works as well as your own ability to handle a fire with it.

427V8

I have mine mounted in front of the passenger seat. I made a bracket from some heavy sheet metal. The passengers legs go right over it and it's easy to get to...

I don't really like the cheap plastic strap that holds it there tho :(

427_Roadster

Not a point I would argue either. Very good tips. I'm also a firefighter, and as a rule we'll only open the hood on an engine compartment fire after initial knock down through a gap in the hood/fender.
What I'm saying is that an engine bay is not a confined space. When you use halon in a computer room, what takes the place of the oxygen(besides halon itself)? Nothing. Fires out. Which is also why they mandate oxygen masks every 10 feet in a room protected by halon for escape purposes should the system misfire.
An engine compartment is completely open on the bottom. Use halon on top, air rushes in to replace it from the bottom. Will halon work? Might, might not.
I am curious to see if it would, have you ever seen this used on an engine fire?
No flames intended here...halon is attractive because it's so clean...I'm just wondering if anyone has used it successfully in this situation?
Tom

Wrencher

A race team I used to work on had a rod jump up and out of a SB chevy (in a sprint car) going down the front straight at full song. The ensuing fireball was way scary, but the driver slammed the fire button on a Halon bottle and it was OUT, and I mean right now. I've been sold on it ever since! :yesnod:

Hans

427_Roadster

Well, I'm a dumbazz! :D
We had a good debate on this at the firehouse, here's what I learned...
Apparently, halon does not need a strictly confined space to be effective. It is a heavier than air gas that will actually 'blanket' the area it is applied to. So even with a source of oxygen, the halon can create a barrier and work. One of the guys was saying that it's common in NASCAR to protect the car with the safe form of halon.
Oh well, live and learn. Melvin, I owe you a :cheers:
Tom

71RedCoupe

:) Couldn't get on last night after I posted. It looks like quite a response in several areas. Thanks

MELVIN - Agree totally, I 'assumed' everyone was using the correct rated extingusher, but you never know. Well aware of the advantage of Halon type extingushers, had them in our airplanes for years because of their effectiveness. We took our boy scouts to the local fire station for hand-on use of fire extinguishers, a very valuable experience for everyone involved.

SmokedTires - I like your mounting on the roll bar, looks like it meets all criteria. Unfortunately I don't have one so that's not an option for me. You done great things with your car,I like it.

Edie - You mentioned you had one but didn't say where you've put it.

SprintCarDriver - Agree under the seat is not a place for a fire extinguisher. I meant attached to the front of the seat crossways between the seat rails. If done right it would slide with the seat.

Wrencher/427_Roadster - Knew there was talk about banning Halon but had not heard what the substitite was going to be. Thanks for the update.

Brutus - Good advise

427V8 - With it mounted in front of the seat, I like the access but concerned about it interfering. I guess it depends on the size. What are you using?

Nobody had any thoughts about mounting it to the window shelf? Thanks


[Modified by 71RedCoupe, 8:21 AM 2/13/2002]

427V8

I don't remember what size it is ( and the car is in storage), but there is room for a pretty big one there. 5 lb comes to mind...or is it 2lb? and it's rated for oil, gas and paper fires...

Having it in front of the seat prevents the seat from being moved forward, but why would you ever move the passenger seat of a Vette forward??

I do not like fire extingushers mounted to the rollbar, or anywhere behind me for that matter, to me they look like projectiles. Think about what that bottle would do if it came loose in a head on collision! bouncing all over the place, smacking you in the head, spraying all over!:eek:

Edit:
Mine looks a lot like VetteDans below, but on the passenger side...


[Modified by 427V8, 8:44 AM 2/13/2002]


[Modified by 427V8, 8:58 AM 2/13/2002]

vettedan

Heres a picture of my set up-
Dan





[Modified by vettedan, 8:45 AM 2/13/2002]

MacA1979

Having owned numerous older muscler cars and Corvettes, I have learned the hard way to always carry a small collection of tools and a fire extinguisher with me any time I drive my "toys"! If you don't have an extiguisher......Get One!!!

I keep my "emergency" tools and a fire extinguisher in a narrow zip up nylon bag. This way I don't have to modify my interior to mount the extinguisher and it is easy to remove if I am at a car show (or in the event of a fire!! :eek: ). The particular bag that I use will even fit next to my T-tops when they are stored behind the seats.

BTW, Great advice provided above!!! Thanks for the "expert" information!! :cheers:


[Modified by QikStik, 9:56 AM 2/13/2002]

still-learning

Well, I am sad to admit but I went w/ a bubba way to use the front passenger seat. It was after reading the post about a couple of car fires. I bought the larger fire extinguisher designed for campers / RV's. I then used a bungy cord to connect it to the front of the passenger seat. It pulls right out and doesn't look all that bad.

It is on my 'list' of projects but seems to keep getting pushed down...

Tim M.

P.S. I am a FF in training. I am a volunteer in Fairfax County and I am going through Fireschool as we speak. Pretty embarrasing to have my car burn up... :eek:

mayberg

Hey Dan! Where can I get a bracket and extinguisher like that?

Like some of you, I've read too many stories about Corvettes going up in flames. I'd like to put an extinguisher in ALL my cars - even the non-vettes that I drive.

GM