fire extinguisher

[fulmar/88]

one of my xmas presents, a powder fire extinguisher, before drilling holes a little adice is welcome, where is the best place to fit? merry Xmas to all,

[dcw14mr2]

Hi,  In my old 51 smt i had one in a cradle fixed to the passengers foot well along side of sill,  trouble was the seat wouldn't never slide all the way forward which was frustrating!  i keep meaning to get one for mine now but would probably put it up inside passenger foot well but wouldnt know where to drill with out doing damage

[Peter Wright]

[Anonymous]

Take care as there are lots of wires just behind that panel. Pull it off to make sure you dont do damage.

[StuC]

In the glovebox?
Depends how much you use it already of course

[kentsmudger]

This is going to sound harsh, but I would not bother. From a typical 1kg powder extinguisher you will get less than 9 seconds of spraying before it is all gone.

If you have never used one before, then you will be surprised how tricky they are, and you will find learning what to do with it while standing by the pride and joy as it burns is going to be dman-near impossible. I have an annual training / practice session with extinguishers at work ( on office sized waste paper baskets etc) and still do not think I could effectively fight a bigger fire - I would only try using an extinguisher on a big fire if it was between me (or my family) and the door.

Your car is insured - It is no more than a thing - Get the hell out of the fire and dial 999.

[JudoKilli]

ummm...what if it's only a small fire that has not touched any electronics? Say for instance a fag dropped on the carpet, or the roof somehow igniting...Surely a fire extinguisher would be better than nothing?! At least TRY and put it out safely with an extinguisher!

Back on topic, I'd put it in the passenger footwell. Plenty of space.

[kentsmudger]

A dropped cigarette you can deal with without any tools, just step on it or pinch it out - A proper car fire due to an electrical short is either going to go out when you switch off the ignition, or get too big for a small car extinguisher before you have the chance to fight it. Once fuel or oil gets involved you are going to be out-gunned with a 1kg powder canister.

Proper plumbed-in, semi- or fully- automatic systems (as seen in race cars) that smother the engine bay and other high-risk areas are going to be much more effective but are much more expensive to install and will leave you with a whole heap of cleaning up to do after the extinguishant has covered all the important bits too.

I can see a case for one if you are trapped in a car by a collision, leading to a fire, but I really do not believe they will do more than buy you those nine seconds, during which you will only have one hand free to extricate yourself. In this case, you want to site it within easy reach of a seated and immobilised driver, but in an area where it will not get obscured or trapped itself or injure the occupants during the impact phase of the accident - Not an easy set of conditions to meet, especially in a small car like ours, much better to have a fully installed system that you can trigger with a lever or button on the dash but that is going to take up space too.

I believe small car fire extinguishers are a waste of time and money. They are typically too small to be of any use and may lead people into a false sense of security, and possibly to endanger themselves more than necessary in case of a fire.

[Anonymous]

Would the extinguisher be of use if someone elses car caught fire, and say a person was trapped? Better to be able to try to help than stand by helpless.

[kentsmudger]

In my opinion? Some but not much use in that case - They really are not much cop at 1kg size, better than nothing at all I guess.

Have a look at the relative discharge times for different extinguishers - Here - and consider which one you would rather be carrying, should you happen upon a blazing vehicle.

[josh279]

You might say these fire extinguishers are useless, but have you ever used one on a car? I have, twice.

Net result, both cars and I survived.

Fire one, 1979 camper van brake fire, calliper seized and pads caught fire, extinguisher saved my van, but as I had to get under the van to put it out I also got covered in foam (looked like frosty the snowman)

Fire two, beach buggy. Wiring fire under the dash, right by the fuel tank and directly over my legs, extinguisher saved my car and meant I only had to rebuild a small part of the wiring loom.  Somebody else built the car originally and a grommet fell out the firewall, wires rubbed on fibreglass and shorted

Ok they're not brilliant and they'll only last a few seconds, but those few seconds can be the difference between your car surviving and being a write off.

I always carry a fire extinguisher in my cars now

[steve-m-uk]

I also have had cause to use one of these mini extinguishers, my old mk2 turbo threw a rod through the block and the hot oil went all over the red hot turbo causing the engine bay to burst into flames , the extinguisher allowed me to put out the fire before any major damage was done, apart from some burnt sound deadening and lots of mess it saved the car.

[mrzwei]

Aldi have one on offer at £7.99 at the moment plus some other car bits (quick tyre repair, rubber mats, child booster seat etc.).

[fulmar/88]

it is the 1kilogram powder model.

[fulmar/88]

many thanks for the picture, that is the ideal place, many thanks and happy new year to all, how can I contact mattperformance?

[Peter Wright]

how can I contact mattperformance?

07432 597353