Fire Extinguisher-which one

[MJN]

The halotron extinguishers peaked my interest and just doing some google searches I found this site- it says it was written by a firefighter. Just some additional reviews/food for thought.
https://firefightergarage.com/best-c...-extinguisher/
Interesting they note that it would take 11lbs of halotron to do the same work as 2.5lbs of dry chemical.

[Zeroman]

68OrangeSunshine - I have a family member in the business, and it had reached its expiration date, so I got it for free. I will probably have to purchase my next one as my family member is in a different position now. They are much more expensive than a dry chemical extinguisher, but IMO worth every penny and dollar.

Halon(no longer produced) and Halotron extinguishers cannot be recertified, so when their expiration date arrives they must be replaced even though they are perfectly operable. If you can find someone, or a company, that has them as their fire safety protocol you might be able to snag an old one.

MJN - Yes, Halotron requires more "chemical", however, have you ever tried cleaning up a vehicle from a dry chemical extinguisher incident? It is quite a mess.

But, as stated earlier, any extinguisher is better than none. Get what you can afford, and keep it handy.

[custom10nut]

I have one in each truck, one on the Tractor, and one in the Garage. As soon as I get the shop up I have two standing by for it.
One time years ago, I had to run to the shop to get an extinguisher to put out a fire under to hood of the car I had at the time. I did get it out with minimal damages, but that will never happen again.
Check them every year to make sure they’ll work if you ever need it.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by Zeroman

68OrangeSunshine - I have a family member in the business, and it had reached its expiration date, so I got it for free. I will probably have to purchase my next one as my family member is in a different position now. They are much more expensive than a dry chemical extinguisher, but IMO worth every penny and dollar.

Halon(no longer produced) and Halotron extinguishers cannot be recertified, so when their expiration date arrives they must be replaced even though they are perfectly operable. If you can find someone, or a company, that has them as their fire safety protocol you might be able to snag an old one.

MJN - Yes, Halotron requires more "chemical", however, have you ever tried cleaning up a vehicle from a dry chemical extinguisher incident? It is quite a mess.

But, as stated earlier, any extinguisher is better than none. Get what you can afford, and keep it handy.

Looks like Amazon has a 5 lb Amerex Halotron for only $268.80.
I should get 2.
Or wait until I find a better deal.
Great to have friends in good places.
Thanks

[seafoam68]

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pr...asp?RecID=7024
I'm going to use a system like this. Little over 400 bucks,but if you invested 50 grand in a nice ride that's cheap. As stated by others,anything is better than nothing though. Also,learn how to properly use one. The small ones don't spray long so you have to make it count.

[Overdriven]

As someone in the fire extinguisher industry, I caution against those stick things or other non standard fire extinguishers. I haven’t researched them but there are many so called fire extinguishers on Amazon and other markets that have no UL certification or any other certifications. Maybe they’re good, maybe they’re not, no regulating authority in the USA would accept them without a UL or other certification though. You also won’t find many fire extinguisher companies willing to certify and take liability that they are in working order. There’s always a few willing to take your $ and risk it though.

Yes ABC dry chemical is corrosive, but you could save more of the vehicle than the chemical damaged. ABC is better than nothing IMO. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) works great on liquid fueled fires and it gets into the blocked corners of engine compartments nicely because it comes out as a cloud of gas. That cloud of gas is easily blown away by wind though so better for shop or garage use. You also need more CO2, 5lb CO2 you have one shot, no margin for error. 10lb CO2 gives you some wiggle room and an extra shot for tackling reignition but isn’t what I’d call tucked away in a vehicle portable. CO2 cost is also closing in on Halotron. Halon is no longer manufactured but can be recycled and reused like R12, Halotron has an expiration date on when it can no longer be manufactured not sure when that is. Halotron costs a bit more than CO2 but it can be used outdoors, doesn’t quite get into blocked corners like CO2 but close and you don’t need as much. IMO a 5lb Halotron is better than 5lb CO2 and 2.5lb ABC.

[Overdriven]

Fire extinguisher maintenance. You should always at least check the gauge on your fire extinguisher yearly. All fire extinguishers have a date of manufacture on them, usually on the bottom of the cylinder or bottom of the label. ABC, BC dry chemical and clean agents (halon etc) are required to have 6 year maintenance and hydro testing done on the cylinder every 12 years when in commercial applications.

One of the main reasons for the 6year maintenance is verifying the accuracy of the gauge! These are cheap gauges and when a fire extinguisher is refilled a calibrated gauge is used to verify the accuracy of the fire extinguisher gauge. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve discharged a fire extinguisher, even ones only 6 years old and the gauge never moved from FULL.

If you have a Kidde fire extinguisher and the valve is black plastic get a new fire extinguisher. They were recalled because it took people dying for the world to know what we in the industry have known forever. Sorry, but pretty sure you missed your chance to get a free replacement. I’d avoid Kidde altogether if possible. A 2.5lb abc is better than nothing but 5lb abc is the same height and not much fatter so can still be tucked away pretty easily. Well worth the few extra $ in my opinion. If you have that much invested in your vehicle to worry about possible corrosion from the ABC chemical extinguishing the fire in your vehicle then go with Halotron. The cost is what? Maybe 1% of what you have invested total or in your engine alone?

[70cst]

I got my Element E50. It is stored in my 1970 Craftsman Tool Box ... I will likely get another one to keep in the cab.

[03BlkZ]

Just yesterday I bought an Element E100 for my truck.

[Davidf]

I think I am going to stick with proven ABC dry chemical as I don't want to be playing with fire.