What size fire extinguisher is ok for your 4x4 or van?

[Hedgehog]

Wookies' fire ext service request made me wonder what is deemed an adequate size bottle if your Kuga starts burning, or your pap on your vans stove starts smoking?

I have 2 x 2kg bottles. One in the bakkie and one in the van. Is this enough?
I heard that they will be as effective as a two year old trying to blow out 80 year old grandpa's birthday cake candles..

[david bfreesani]

I have 2 x 1kg in my van, but I don't trust them much. They last about 10 seconds, and then its game over. Besides the annual servicing that is a pain in the butt.

I have 3 of these I also carry around. They are way more portable. I had 4, but lost one to an old man I came across on the N12 a few months ago with smoke coming out under his bonnet. You simply chuck it in, and it takes care of the fire automatically. Five year shelf life, and has the advantage of not being a pressure vessel, That said, it is not designed to be a replacement to a normal extinguisher.

Sorry for this foto, I'm not at home, so just snapped this pic in my SILs shop. He has the sole supply rights on the mines in our area.



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[mplester]

Not what people want to hear, but I have a 1kg in my van, and nothing in my car. Honestly if it starts to burn I don't want to save it. Been there before and I would rather walk away and phone the insurance company

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[david bfreesani]

Quite pricey those fireballs.

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Unfotunatel so. When I was working for him, I was involved with setting the deals up. They weigh in at 1.3kg, and courier costs need to be added to move them around.

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[david bfreesani]

Not what people want to hear, but I have a 1kg in my van, and nothing in my car. Honestly if it starts to burn I don't want to save it. Been there before and I would rather walk away and phone the insurance company

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In many cases, I would probably agree with you. Where we found the Fireballs to save the day, is in agricultural equipment. In a harvester, the operator does not even know his vehicle is burning when the Fireball deploys. I know of farmers that have up 6 Fireballs in a Harvester. Remember, the vehicle is operating in his crop, so he wants that fire out before it causes residual damage. Same on the mines in the electrical boxes.

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[mplester]

Fully agree in business its a must have, no mater what business your in. Equipment is expensive and manpower just as much so, I just won't on my personal kit

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[Paul#25]

All my cars have a 1kg or 1.5kg dry powder extinguisher permanently in them and there is a 1kg unit mounted in the caravan. When we go away for a 4x4 trip or with the caravan I always load one of my bigger dry powder extinguishers from the garage into the back of the Disco so that is the first thing I see when I open the rear door. A bit of advice that I was given by someone that does a lot of driving in grassland areas was to have a 5l garden spray bottle full of water in the vehicle. When driving through long grass to do regular stops and check for any grass stuck in places under the vehicle that could become an ignition point. The water spray will probably work better than a dry powder extinguisher on dry grass if you catch it before it gets out of hand. A lot of us carry such spray bottles on bush trips to use as a shower so just keep it full of water and easily accessible.

[Wooky]

I have had the misfortune of having to fight two vehicle fires neither of which were mine but just happened to be on scene.

The first one was put out with a 1KG, in about 20 seconds, as it was close at hand.
The second took two 4.5 KG extinguishers and we only just got it.... it had been going a while (not sure how long)

What I have taken away from those incidents is the following:

1/ Any fire extinguisher is better than nothing
2/ Fight the fire as ASAP. The longer you let it burn the harder it will be to put it out.
3/ Keep the extinguisher in an accessible place.
4/ Do some research on fighting vehicle fires

[ThysleRoux]

Not what people want to hear, but I have a 1kg in my van, and nothing in my car. Honestly if it starts to burn I don't want to save it. Been there before and I would rather walk away and phone the insurance company

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I agree 100% - OT, but I feel the same about a submerged vehicle, especially in seawater

[Rabbiddog RIP 7/6/21]

I have had the misfortune of having to fight two vehicle fires neither of which were mine but just happened to be on scene.

The first one was put out with a 1KG, in about 20 seconds, as it was close at hand.
The second took two 4.5 KG extinguishers and we only just got it.... it had been going a while (not sure how long)

What I have taken away from those incidents is the following:

1/ Any fire extinguisher is better than nothing
2/ Fight the fire as ASAP. The longer you let it burn the harder it will be to put it out.
3/ Keep the extinguisher in an accessible place.
4/ Do some research on fighting vehicle fires

Your 4 points are extremely valid, especially the second and fourth.

In the Navy we learned to put out fuel fires with extinguishes filled with water with no fancy stuf, if you could not do it, you could not do fire & rescue.
Then kitchen fires without an extinguisher, and so it progressed.

From what I have seen the approach to fighting the fire is normally the wrong one, opening the bonnet, or not turning off the engine and killing the electronics, and not knowing the basics of how to kill a fire.

I have killed an engine fire in a Renault engine with a water soaked towel, a VW Beetle engine with sand, some random car with a 0.5 kg that I was following.


The Fire Ball, I would haply mount in my engine bay, even at the cost as it serves the purpose of allowing the removal of the goods within the 4x4 without added knowledge of fire fighting as it gives you time.

My view is that if you have never been on a fire fighting/OHS fire fighting course you may not have the knowledge on how to use the equipment apart from hear say, in which case size does not matter.

[grips]

We have 2.5kg extinguishers in all our 4x4`s. My company vehicles need to have 9kg dry powder extinguishers as per mine spec.
Over the years I were involved in many vehicle fires luckily none owned by me.
In one case a BMW 325i went ablaze on start up after filling up on the forecourt. Worn injector seal showered the engine with fuel. Although we acted fast three 9kg extinguishers were needed to put out the fire.

I would prefer to have a 9kg at hand incase of a fire but they are bulky and space like in an overlander is always a problem.