Bought these....and hope never to use them

[Peter Cobbold]

After two fire-related threads I'm feeling smug to have invested in precautionary measures.

Five 6kg powder extinguishers fro £140 i/c p/p seemed good value:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/POWDER-EXTINGUISHERS-WAREHOUSE-OFFICE-INDUSTRIAL/dp/B00N93QWAW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474909162&sr=8-1&keywords=6kg+powder+extinguisher+five

 

They'll need a good shaking every so often, but better than nothing, bearing in mind the FB will take at least 20 min to get here, and probably longer. Especially if they get lost.

Peter

Edited September 26, 2016 by Peter Cobbold

[stillp]

Don't forget, the main purpose of a fire extinguisher is to help you to escape the fire in safety!

 

Pete

[Clarkey]

Hi Peter

You will only need to shake them just before use, just keep an eye on the pressure gauge as they can depressurise after a while.

When I was Driving Petrol tankers we had one of these types in the cab, as you can imagine being shaken in the cab when the vehicle was moving they used to settle out.

I have had to use one in anger, turn it upside down a couple of times, remove the pin and aim at the fire.......... if its not two big then she will be out, also if out side be mind full of the wind direction

[RogerH]

Hi Pete,

be careful where you place them in the car.

On my 4A I put one between the two seats with the nozzle at the rear. The gauge was sticking out sideways.

 

For some reason I knocked the gauge off . There was powder going everywhere. The whole inside of the car was covered.

If the back seat was on fire I'm sure it would have gone out.

 

Roger

[Peter Cobbold]

Don't forget, the main purpose of a fire extinguisher is to help you to escape the fire in safety!

 

Pete

Pete, Yes, true. The FB advisor told us all that matters is fire alarms working and exit routes. No mention of extiguishers. But he also lost his way here, twice, and didnt know how to test smoke alarms for interconnectedness. So he lost a bit of credibility, and belt and braces it will be, hence extinguishers. Peter

[stillp]

Roger, I once had a 1,5kg dry powder extinguisher let off inside my Singer Chamois while taxiing a drunken stag party. The groom's wedding suit was ruined, and I was still getting the powder out of the car 3 years later...

 

Pete

[Peter Cobbold]

Hi Pete,

be careful where you place them in the car.

On my 4A I put one between the two seats with the nozzle at the rear. The gauge was sticking out sideways.

 

For some reason I knocked the gauge off . There was powder going everywhere. The whole inside of the car was covered.

If the back seat was on fire I'm sure it would have gone out.

 

Roger

Roger, Agh, messy . These are for the house and garage, a bit bulky for the TR. I do have a small one pointing a the DIY T-piece under the SU jet, cable-operated from the cockpit. Other-wise I plan to jump out and run awaay....

I like the idea of a plumbed in extinguisher with a heat-frangible (?) nozzle-tube fitted around the fuel tank, but the cost...

Peter

Edited September 26, 2016 by Peter Cobbold

[Peter Cobbold]

Hi Peter

You will only need to shake them just before use, just keep an eye on the pressure gauge as they can depressurise after a while.

When I was Driving Petrol tankers we had one of these types in the cab, as you can imagine being shaken in the cab when the vehicle was moving they used to settle out.

I have had to use one in anger, turn it upside down a couple of times, remove the pin and aim at the fire.......... if its not two big then she will be out, also if out side be mind full of the wind direction

Thanks Martin, good to known they will work in anger, without regular shakes. I suppose you weren't facing up to 5000litres of Shell's best on fire? Peter

Edited September 26, 2016 by Peter Cobbold

[JohnG]

After two fire-related threads I'm feeling smug to have invested in precautionary measures.

Five 6kg powder extinguishers fro £140 i/c p/p seemed good value:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/POWDER-EXTINGUISHERS-WAREHOUSE-OFFICE-INDUSTRIAL/dp/B00N93QWAW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474909162&sr=8-1&keywords=6kg+powder+extinguisher+five

 

They'll need a good shaking every so often, but better than nothing, bearing in mind the FB will take at least 20 min to get here, and probably longer. Especially if they get lost.

Peter

Got a couple in the garage Peter, next to each access

If the worst happens, my plan is to run out through the door, away from the fire.

 

The extinguishers are only for if I can't get out without help.

[stillp]

I prefer CO2 extinguishers, because:

 

A) they cool whatever they're pointed at very rapidly, so there's less chance of re-ignition from say a red-hot welding seam;

they don't make a mess; and

C) I acquired (nice elastic word...) several for nothing.

 

Pete

Edited September 26, 2016 by stillp

[john.r.davies]

The FB advice is always, get out, stay out.

Good insurance will secure your housing and belongings, eventually, are even precious mementos worth the risk?

 

If you could have a fire in a place that could trap you, revise sleeping arrangements, install fire ladders etc.

John

[Peter Cobbold]

Two in garage, halfway back. (only one exit)

One in kitchen. (not that I spend long in there).

One in sittng room (log/coal fire)

One near door to oil boiler room. Thinking of drillling a hole in the door for the nozzle.

No Samsung smart phone.

And I dont leave the lap top charging unattended, likewise the faulty fumble drier.

So that pretty much guarantees a squirrel will eat through a loft cable.....

Peter

 

 

.

[Peter Cobbold]

Got a couple in the garage Peter, next to each access

If the worst happens, my plan is to run out through the door, away from the fire.

 

The extinguishers are only for if I can't get out without help.

Better to crawl....fast.

I had a basement lab' that was filling with smoke from a burning High Voltage transformer. The fireman had breathing apparatus etc but I was worried he'd electrocute himself.( And so was he after I told him what was down there !) So I crawled in under the smoke and switched off the power to the HT. No animals were hurt in this experiment, but the cockroach population plummeted. Peter

Edited September 26, 2016 by Peter Cobbold

[Peter Cobbold]

The FB advice is always, get out, stay out.

Good insurance will secure your housing and belongings, eventually, are even precious mementos worth the risk?

 

If you could have a fire in a place that could trap you, revise sleeping arrangements, install fire ladders etc.

John

John,

That's fine but most people dont work on cars, petrol, welding etc - their risk of fire is less than ours. To me its sensible to have to hand a means of tackling the very earliest stages of a fire.

The FB advisor who visited us - a retained fireman who had lived all his life in the next village- could not find his way here in daylight. So how a tender from 6miles away will find us... I dont know. So if we cant tackle a tiny fire and stop its spreadwe will be burned out, almost certainly,

He also did not know that to check interconnected smoke detectors, pressing the test button on one does not work, you have to have use a smoking match.

Beware of leaving batteries in hand tools charging unattended. This is a friend's experience in the next village:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/garage-fire-re-ignited-burnt-down-2019471

 

 

Peter

Edited September 26, 2016 by Peter Cobbold

[North London Mike]

Our cars are much more likely to go up than our houses which have fire retardant materials, 30 minute fire doors, smoke detectors etc etc which the average TR lack.............

 

I had a fire in Moby, emptied a 1Ltr bottle into the base of the flames, went out........... but had nothing left in the event of a flash re-ignition. Now carry two, in both Moby & LNK

 

I have one of these JE-50 units in LNK, new tech, non maintenance, full pressure and NO WHITE POWDER. Here it is being tested side by side with BIG 2/3Lts extinguishers

 

 

Perfect for TRs

Edited September 26, 2016 by North London Mike

[Guest]

I prefer CO2's! Powder is highly corrosive and will ruin your car!

 

Menno

[Peter Cobbold]

Our cars are much more likely to go up than our houses which have fire retardant materials, 30 minute fire doors, smoke detectors etc etc which the average TR lack.............

 

I had a fire in Moby, emptied a 1Ltr bottle into the base of the flames, went out........... but had nothing left in the event of a flash re-ignition. Now carry two, in both Moby & LNK

 

I have one of these JE-50 units in LNK, new tech, non maintenance, full pressure and NO WHITE POWDER. Here it is being tested side by side with BIG 2/3Lts extinguishers

 

 

Perfect for TRs

Thanks Mike, bookmarked for Xmas list.

Interesting, fighting fire with fire, the propellant is Russian solid rocket fuel I gather

http://www.firetool.co.uk/JE-50-Instruction-Manual.pdf

Peter

[Alfrom]

The other day, I found that the safety pin in my extinguisher had dropped out, meaning that any pressure on the release handle would have activated it. As it's mounted on an accessible part of the roll bar, it was also vulnerable to pressure from anything weighty in the space just behind the seats - could have been embarrassing. The pin is now held in place by a strand of cotton - dead easy to break but the pin won't fall out.

[Clarkey]

Thanks Martin, good to known they will work in anger, without regular shakes. I suppose you weren't facing up to 5000litres of Shell's best on fire? Peter

Hi Peter

No it wasn't some of shells finest, but another quality fuel, thankfully it was an issue in the cab and not the payload

[PaulAnderson]

Interesting quote from a work based H&S document

 

"Because of the risk of reduction of visibility and breathing impairment when dry powder extinguishers are discharged within buildings BS 5306-8 2012 suggests that powder extinguishers should not be specified for use indoors unless such is justified by a risk assessment'

 

So, it would seem sensible to carefully consider where you have these and in situations other types of extinguisher may be more appropriate.

 

Paul

[Lebro]

Co2 for me

 

Bob.

[Peter Cobbold]

Interesting quote from a work based H&S document

 

"Because of the risk of reduction of visibility and breathing impairment when dry powder extinguishers are discharged within buildings BS 5306-8 2012 suggests that powder extinguishers should not be specified for use indoors unless such is justified by a risk assessment'

 

So, it would seem sensible to carefully consider where you have these and in situations other types of extinguisher may be more appropriate.

 

Paul

Paul,

The MSDS for the powder type doesn't flag up anything particularly nasty:

http://www1.mscdirect.com/MSDS/MSDS00019/05633672-20160319.PDF

Regular exposure to the mica might be the worst, but I dont plan to use the extinguishers often

The combustion products in a burning garage will be much worse to breathe in.

Peter