Fire Extinguisher Replacement | FerrariChat

Fire Extinguisher Replacement

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by fga4, May 25, 2018.

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  1. fga4

    fga4 Karting

    Jan 2, 2017
    119
    SF Bay Area
    Full Name:
    Jerry Cellilo
    My F430 fire extinguisher went to a low recharge level so I called all around the SF Bay Area and no one wanted to deal with an Italian fire extinguisher. Ferrari service never got back. I saw a replacement at about $500 from Ferrari parts. Instead, a trip to Hopeless Depot showed a 4 pound ABC extinguisher that had the same width as the Estintore for about $45. Great solution for now. Not that I intend to ever hang around a flaming Ferrari and use the extinguisher.
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  2. DonB

    DonB Formula Junior
    BANNED

    Nov 11, 2003
    616
    Florida
    Full Name:
    Don Bartz
    #2 DonB, May 26, 2018
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 27, 2021
    Hi..

    And this is important to all Ferrari owners.

    A word of advice. DO NOT USE THAT FIRE EXTINGUISHER IF THERE IS A FIRE! ABC Dry Chemical (hence the cheap price) will do more damage than the fire.

    The contents of the extinguisher is VERY corrosive and harmful to everything it touches, and it's harmful to you too. Why these are allowed to be sold is beyond me.
    Your factory extinguisher was filled with AFFF (Aqueous Film Forming Foam) foam per European requirements. Also a very poor agent for this use. It's the same type of agent used in all the Ferrari Challenge and GT cars. Systems that are poorly designed and non effective.

    As an example, one of my customers had a small fire while doing service work on his 308 and used his ABC extinguisher. It did $14,000 damage to the engine as it got inside and corroded the cylinders!

    I strongly advise you to purchase a clean gas extinguisher. The best is a Safecraft that uses Halon 1211, or you can get a H3R Halotron. They're both good for all types of fires including magnesium to an extent (the Safecraft). They leave no residue and will not harm your electronics either. The Safecraft is a very nice looking unit vs. the H3R which is a commercial looking unit.

    Regards
    Don
     
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  3. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner

    Aug 10, 2002
    26,288
    socal
    There are fire extinguisher places like southbay fire in hermosa beach cali. They service bottles annually for business to meet code. maybe one of those guys can help since this is really to look factory for your car. If there was a real car fire you are out of there!
     
  4. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner

    Aug 10, 2002
    26,288
    socal
    #4 fatbillybob, May 26, 2018
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 27, 2021

    I'm not sure I would agree with that. The factory bottle says ABC on it. The cheap bottle says ABC on it. Doesn't that mean it is the same powder? You also have very little volume in the little bottle and per ounce I bet the powder can fight more fire? I have cleaned an engine bay fire and the white powder is everywhere but cleans off easily you just have to take everything out and clean it. Massive work if a concourse car! It is not a big deal on a daily
    driver. It doesn't wreck anything and I have not seen it corrode silver aluminum but will stick to the red valvecover paint and need to be repainted. You just can't clean it all off.

    AFFF is very good and has attributes halon does not have. For example if you get the right bottle system you can user recharge the AFFF system trackside and keep racing. Halon is near impossible to ship back to safecraft for recert and recharge because halon is hazzardous blah blah blah. At the least you wil have a big hazzard charge to ship it. 90% of us racers gave up on halon a while ago. And Halon does not prevent re-ignition of fire and does not work in the wind. So in a fire as you slow down to stop and get out of the racecar you can have the AFFF already triggered. You do that with Halon and the wind blows the halon away and you got nothing. There may be some new halon-like products that help with some of these problems but AFFF seems to be the best. The best thing about halon is no mess IF you can get the fire out fix the oil line or whatever and get back out on the track. But unless you have a second $600 bottle tech will not let you back out on track without a less than 5 year old certified full bottle. My refill system for AFFF is $50 bucks, done user trackside, and is a 1 pint bottle of stuff you mix with water.

    This is the mess left behind by powder. During the next service you just clean it all out and paint the valve covers like usual. Not a big deal.

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  5. fga4

    fga4 Karting

    Jan 2, 2017
    119
    SF Bay Area
    Full Name:
    Jerry Cellilo
    Good point. It is preferred to keep the original. I will give them a call and see if they know a local supplier. At worse I can ship the unit down there. Thanks


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  6. fga4

    fga4 Karting

    Jan 2, 2017
    119
    SF Bay Area
    Full Name:
    Jerry Cellilo
    #6 fga4, May 26, 2018
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 27, 2021
    Thanks Don, I will check out the Safecraft.


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  7. MalcQV

    MalcQV F1 Rookie

    Oct 11, 2004
    3,292
    Manchester, UK
    Full Name:
    Malc Holden
    I just went through this this year. Fortunately I found a small company who refilled it for £15. I would never use it on my own car. By the time I have removed it from the clips the car would be burned out anyway :D

    However I might use it on someone else's car.
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  8. kansas488

    kansas488 Karting
    Silver Subscribed

    Jan 29, 2014
    192
    Kansas
    Would you mind telling me the diameter of the OEM fire extinguisher? Trying to find a cheap alternative where I live. Thank you!
     
  9. DonB

    DonB Formula Junior
    BANNED

    Nov 11, 2003
    616
    Florida
    Full Name:
    Don Bartz
    #9 DonB, Sep 6, 2019
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 27, 2021
    Your F-430 extinguisher is filed with AFFF foam. If it's low on charge all it needs is a shot of nitrogen as that's what the propellant is. Depending on its age though, it might need to be inspected and re-certified. Check with Sube Sports as they sell Lifleline and the bottles are very similar and Lifeline offers AFFF agent.
     

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