Engine bay fire extinguishers

I have the same units installed in my 308. IMO it is better having them than not. Having the fire reflame up is always a possibility, but I believe shutting down the engine would cut off the fuel pump and oil circulation and would deminish that possibility somewhat.

I also carry a halon extinguisher in the passenger compartment, but I believe that the possibility of using that one is low, and the possible necessity of opening the rear deck lid during an engine fire would be unwise. So far I've only used the Handheld fire extinguisher for other peoples cars.

I definetly would recommend any type of self activating extinguisher in the engine bay.... If I do ever have to replace my units I going for the 170deg as 155deg is too low, and 286 a bit high imho.

I really can't attest to their effectiveness as luckly I've never had a fire. All of the fuel lines have been changed and I'll have them inspected from time to time.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

How would you know what temperature trigger to get?

 

Get one with either and electric button trigger or a pull cable like in race cars. Trust me, you'll know when to turn it on. Just get a system with AFFF in it. It will destroy the finish on everything in your engine compartment but it will stop the fire. There are some alternatives that don't do as much damage as AFFF.

 

Electrics are better than nothing, but less reliable than the automatic extinguishers. A fire that has burned through the electric wire that connects the extinguisher, for instance, means no fire protection. Press the button and you'll get: nothing.

Manual extinguishers are great for inside the passenger compartment, where you need to make a judgement call on using them (e.g. will I suffocate from using the extinguisher in a closed compartment, or will I get burned up if I don't).

The automatic fire extinguishers, in contrast, are best for the engine bay. They use a piece of metal with a low melting point (on the units pictured in posts above), or use PVC pipes to contain pressurized fire retardant. Either way, the laws of Physics mean that a fire will melt the trigger, activating your fire protection.

This is especially important if you've been knocked unconscious in a wreck (i.e. can't manually activate an extinguisher) or away from your car (e.g. fuel leak drips onto your still-hot catalytic converter while you're away).

Whether or not such extinguishers save your car, of course, is beside the point (that's what insurance is for). What matters is that they give you and your passenger more safe time to exit a vehicle...which might be problematic and time-consuming if you've been pinned in by a cell-phone texter in an SUV that just rammed your door.

 

Fire systems in general: http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/advcat.asp?CategoryID=FIRESYSTEMS and Halon specifically (personal preference) http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productdetails.asp?RecID=5023

 

A manually operated cable release cabin mounted is frequently used for engine bay installations here in australia. Know of several engine fires nipped in the bud by early activation before temp operated systems would fire.
Stopping a fire before any significant damage occurs seems important otherwise you may be better off if it'd burnt out.

 

I have been trying to buy some firecharger systems for a race car I have.

http://www.firecharger.com/

Unfortunately no one will send one as they have a compressed CO2 cartridge and can't be posted I have not been able to locate the cartridges in Australia. The reason I like the foam system is although when they go off (all though they make a hell of a mess), the foam tends to cover everything and surpress the likelyhood of re-ignition.

I do like the idea if the automatic systems if some thing happens when you are not around.

 

The stuff is extremely caustic. If ingested by your engine well ... Keep in mind that the goal is your save your life not your car!

There are a couple of alternatives that I think are used by the drag racing community. Fireade2000? and one other one I forget now. Do some googling.

Bob S.

 

On my car the electric trigger with battery backup is less than a foot from the valve and very close to my right hand. If it melts before I decide to activate it then it probably doesn't matter.

If you want an automatic switch for the passenger compartment I guess I might go for that. It's just that the automatic stuff always worries me. If it goes off inadvertanly while I'm driving then that isn't too helpful.

If it goes off inadvertantly in then engine compartment that too could be extremely dangerous unless it's just Halon.

But I agree that you do have to think about protecting the wiring if you're going to have the canister & valve remote mounted. But that can be done too. Get some professional help as in a pro race shop.

Now some of these solution smay be objectionable in a street car, especially AFFF.

Bob S.

 

It's not just the wiring from the button to the extinguisher, it's also the wiring from the battery to the alternator to the button.

No power means no electric-activated push-button extinguisher.

Ever had a dead battery?! Well, your engine fire might come after a wreck or engine failure, in which case your motor may not be running (i.e. no alternator). So you are depending on your battery being good and on your wiring not being burned.

Might work fine.

But why bet your life on it?

The automatic extinguishers go off using the energy of the fire to melt the trigger. They *can not* fail to go off. Fire will always melt the trigger.

Moreover, such extinguishers will activate even if you are unconscious.

For a *track* car, an argument can be made that you are checking the battery/wiring/extinguisher before every race, so the push-button activation has some advantages...but for a street car...the automatic extinguisher is the way to go.

 

All electrically fired systems I have seen and/or used are powered by a nine volt battery contained in the power pack, there are no connections to the car battery or alternator.

On the race car I have a push button on the instrument panel and a pull handle which triggers the electric firing under the roll bar.

I have never heard of a system not firing because of wires burnt through, though it may have happened.


http://www.hrpworld.com/index.cfm?form_cat_id=294&action=category

While there may be an argument made for an automatically firing system I suspect the under hood temperatures of a 355 on a hot day at the track may well exceed the activation threshold of an automatic system.

The problem with a manually fired system is that often the first indication of a fire that the driver gets is another driver or corner worker pointing at him, but the first priority is driver safety, that's why I still prefer a driver actuated system.

In normal everyday use I would definitely want a driver actuated system because I would probably know there was a fire and I could activate before serious damage could occur.

I'm assuming/guessing that the number one instance of fires happens during refilling, I 'd rather not wait until it gets hot enough to activate an automatic system.

 

You have to make the distinction between race and street cars.

You are going to check that little 9 volt battery before every race for a race car, but a street car driver is *not* going to test a 9 volt battery before every daily drive.

So the trade-offs of advantages versus maintenance/risk for a race car makes the electric push-button sometimes acceptable...whereas that is not the case at all for a street car.

Crash on a track and you'll have immediate outside fire help from friends and track workers, even if you have been knocked unconscious such that you can't pull the handle or push the electric button.

You want an automatic fire extinguisher for the engine bay of your street car, however, because that same aid won't always be available.

 

I'm assuming street and track, not necessarily race cars

On the power pack there are two LEDs and three position switch. Switch to "Check Battery" and it checks the battery, leave it in center, push the button and it checks wiring, switch to the next position and the system is armed.

You just have to remember to arm the system, that's why I have a Dymo label "Arm System" on the steering wheel

 

I don't mean to be argumentative but have your ever had a race car with a fire system in it?

Do you think the FIA is that stupid?

These systems have their own battery as a backup means of activating the valve. But yes, you do need to check that backup battery out periodically just as you need to check the charge level of every system regardless of how it's activated.

A brain IS required here.

Nothing is fool proof but the potential flaws you're bringing up have been addressed years ago.

Now here's another issue to think about. If you want a system that keeps the fire out like the foam systems then if you're rolled over you better hope that however the fire system is triggered, the tank better not be one of those simple gas charge types with a sprayer that simply has a pickup tube inside the tank. Can it be fully functional upside down or will it simply discharge the gas and not the liquid? You need an internal bladder for that.

If you're trully worried about covering all of these serious potential conditions then your probably want a full race system installed. I doubt most people want that for a street car. So you cover the most like one's for street driving.
I
probably wouldn't try to plan for a rollover where I'm unconcious in a street car. My street cars all have Halon extinguishers in them. I've had to use one once and I'm really happy it was Halon. My track car has a foam system covering the engine and the driver. Thankfully I've never needed it but it has leaked (before I owned the car) and that stuff is nasty!

Bob S.

 

Well done! And hey, any fire extinguisher is better than none. Most drivers have nothing.

 

Sorry, I didn't see that you'd already covered this. I just took too long to post! ;>))

 

According to Ralph at Firefight they did testing and found between 170 and 286 it was only 2 or 3 seconds. His recommendation is 286 in light of 'false' activiations. I'm using some heat strips to test my compartment before deciding which temp trigger to employ.