Fire Extinguisher Mounting Position

I observe most fire ext. in Fcars are mounted horizontally (have mine the same way). My extinguisher manual and others I've read say that it should be mounted in a vertical or upright position. For the meantime, I just remove my ext.
from the car after every use. What do you guys do? Would appreciate any comment. Thanks.

 

You read the manual? Leave it horizontal, and don't worry about it....

 

BTW, I just went on line and read the manuals for several different types/brands of fire extiguishers and haven't found one that specifies or recommends vertical mounting only. What brand/type do you have? Does the manual explain what would be the problem?

Personally, I would not worry about it. When you USE it, it will be vertical, that should be what counts.

BTW, I have Halon units in my cars, and dry chemical in my garage and home.

 

Dave, I use a 2.5-lb Halotron by Badger Fire Protection. It just says "Mount your ext. upright in a location that is easy to reach." I guess I'll just not 'worry' about it. Thanks anyway.

 

When I purchased my Halon Extinguisher from Everett Carbonic I was told that it was okay to mount my dry chemical extinguisher horizontally but to try to keep the Halon between 45 degrees and straight up as much as possible. He said that when the Halon extinguishers are left in the horizontal position continuously the valve/fitting assy becomes severely corroded making the bottle unservicable when it comes to recharging, (every 5 to 7 years). Time to buy a new bottle.

In essance, it's okay to mount the Halon horizontally while driving but to remove the extinguisher at the end of the day and store upright.

DJ

 

It has become harder to get a Halon unit recharged,
and most times I just buy a new one... Cheap Insurance.

 

Dave,
Info on the mount, please?

 

I made it out of aluminum stock,
it is my own variation of this...
http://www.tradetutor.com/raceprep/

 

Thank you, kindly.

 

Well, interesting info...I called my local fire safety supplier (where I purchased by Halon extinguisers) and he says it IS preferable to mount both Halon and dry chemical extinguishers vertically. For Halon, it is because the Halon can corrode the aluminum (most common in use) valve over time (takes years) and possible leak out. With dry chemical, the issue is the that it will settle on one side and "cake" up, such that when you try and use it, it will not push the powder out.

I'm not going to sweat it for now, as vertical mounting is not an option in any of my cars. (two Halon units in the f-car, two dry chemical units in the BMW)

Thanks Spasso!

 

My pleasure Dave, Merry Christmas
DJ

 

I just went through this (recharging) last week, and what they say about the corrosive effects of Halon on the valve assembly is absolutely true.
Probably good advice to store it vertically between track days, and hope you don't need it other times.
I'm still going to keep mine in the car, but will look into a vertical mount in the boot.

 

Dave,
Thank you for the info on the mount. I am going to use that idea, but I can't seem to find an extinguisher with a decent mount to bolt to the bracket. They are all flimsy plastic. Yours looks great. Do you remeber where you got it?

 

I should have posted this in the tech forum
http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3135

 

That one looks good too, but I still can't find an extinguisher with a metal mount to get started. Home Depot, Lowe's, Pep Boys, Checkers all have plastic mounts in the box.

 

I purchased one a while back from Competition Components (down in South Florida). It looks similar to the one Dave posted, except that mine is stainless w/ the decal and it came with black metal mount bracket as well. Haven't had a chance to securely mount it in the 308 yet, but I was very pleased with the item.

They usually advertise in the back of Forza (classifieds) from time to time. I plan on ordering one soon for the TR also...

 

Try a marine store, the ones they have are coast guard approved. Another source might be a fire extinguisher servicing company.

 

Found the ad in a Forza from last year, but not recently. So you are happy with the bracket as a starting point for a mount?

 

The one I have is a Kidee dry chemical extinguisher from Home Dept. It came with a cheezy plastic mount, but next to the extinguishers on the shelf were metal brackets that fit them. I bought one of those and it's worked fine.

 

On a side note guys, be careful which type fire extinguisher you install in your car.
Using the wrong type could do more damage to your engine then the fire you are putting out.
And some insurance companies will not pay for the damage after you have sprayed corrosives on the engine.

 

I have seen Halon, ABC, and BC in the stores. What is the "wrong" type?

 

Mule: Sorry for the delay in responding to your question...

The halon unit from Comp. Compon. came cradled in the mount, but I currently just have it sitting upright behind the seat and not bolted or anchored to anything. The mounting bracket has mounting points to where you could fasten it to one of the brackets attached to the seats as mentioned earlier, or using some other method.

The fire extinguisher from Comp. Comp. is a refillable Halon 1211 unit available in either 1.25 or 2.5 pound sizes -- polished stainless steel made in the U.S. and come complete w/ bracket and F-logo decal. Price is either roughly 110.00 or 150.00 respectively. Their phone is 888-741-5542.

I purchased the smaller size for the 308. Hope this helps...

 

Halon or similar is the best, being an inert gas when expelled, and will leave no residue. Wet chemical extinguishers will corrode engine metals, common dry powder retardant is corrosive to aluminum...

 

We sell these too, for a bit less:

http://www.drivewerks.com/catalog/Safety/H3R.htm

Anyways, my question is on the passenger seat mounting position, if you have a GTS car, how do you keep that thing from getting stolen? I've stuffed mine under the seat (one of the minis from the above page), but it does sometimes roll around because it's just sortof wedged there...

Any suggestions on that? I also have another Halon unit in the truck. No carb'ed car should be without one!

-Wayne

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Regarding pilfering in a GTS, I guess it's no worse (actually probably not as bad) as other pilferable items, such as a radar detector, extra CDs you might have in your door pockets, the shift knob, or the actual targa itself, etc. If I'm going to park the car with the top off, I generally put the windows fully up, and have the alarm on. Of course, if it's going to be parked for any length of time, I put the targa top back on before I lock up the car.