ELEMENT Fire Extinguisher: An Introduction | FerrariChat

ELEMENT Fire Extinguisher: An Introduction

Discussion in '308/328' started by Element, Nov 27, 2017.

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  1. Element

    Element Karting
    Sponsor

    Oct 29, 2016
    133
    As a 308 owner I know how prone our cars are to fire. Old hoses and ethanol rich fuel are a bad combination making carrying a fire extinguisher a must. Unfortunately traditional fire extinguishers are , large, heavy, and pressurized capsules that are not easy to carry around.

    Imagine if you will a fire extinguisher that is 80% smaller, 1/10th the weight, discharges for 5 times as long, makes no mess, and never expires. Element is this extinguisher. Using a technology developed for the space program in fixed installations Element is a hand held unit that fights fires by emitting a gas that interrupts the chain of combustion. This results in a totally clean extinguisher that does not rob oxygen and is totally safe and non-toxic.

    Just like your Ferrari it is made in Italy and carries CE and TUV certifications. In addition to being internationally patented, Element has won multiple global product and innovation awards and is used by foreign Police and Military. We are bringing this product to North America for the first time and are showing it to the car community first.

    Check out our website for much more information, videos, and comparisons: www.elementfire.com

    Rated for all major fire classes it makes a great gift and is a must for any classic car owner. I keep one in the door pocket of my 308 :)

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  2. absostone

    absostone F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Jul 28, 2008
    9,182
    Wow very cool
     
  3. Element

    Element Karting
    Sponsor

    Oct 29, 2016
    133
    Thank you. We have some high profile stuff coming out in the next few months but wanted to show it here first to our fellow F-chatters
     
  4. 308 milano

    308 milano F1 Veteran

    Jan 15, 2007
    5,257
    Montana
    Full Name:
    Kim
    +1 I agree!
     
  5. absostone

    absostone F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Jul 28, 2008
    9,182
    Pricing ? Fchat group buy?
     
  6. Element

    Element Karting
    Sponsor

    Oct 29, 2016
    133
    Pricing is on the website and we have both extinguishers and mounting solutions including roll bar mounts, seat rail mounts, and a cool carbon fiber mount.

    As for group buys they are so 2005. Send me a PM and I'll give any F-chatter a coupon code for an immediate discount. Please excuse we do not just publish the code but we want to offer it to registered F-chat users only.
     
  7. rjlloyd

    rjlloyd Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 19, 2014
    438
    Brisbane, Australia
    Full Name:
    Richard Lloyd
    Is international shipping possible ?
     
  8. Element

    Element Karting
    Sponsor

    Oct 29, 2016
    133
    Regrettably we can only sell this product to the USA or Canada as we are bound to territory distribution agreement. A third party can ship it anywhere in the world but we cannot. Have any North American friends that can help you out?
     
  9. Ferraridoc

    Ferraridoc F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Jun 20, 2012
    16,070
    Gold Coast, Aust.
    Full Name:
    Patrick
    I used to tell the girls this, but they couldn't get past the 80% smaller bit :rolleyes:
     
    Crowndog, Element, tomberlin and 3 others like this.
  10. mike996

    mike996 F1 Veteran

    Jun 14, 2008
    6,685
    Full Name:
    Mike 996
    Be careful with this fire extinguisher thing.
    I have personally witnessed two incidents where an underhood fire blazed into a fireball when the owner opened the hood to put out the fire with an onboard extinguisher. In one case, permanent chest/facial burns were the result. In the other, luckily only singed hair.

    The safest thing to do if your car catches fire is to get yourself/passengers to a safe distance, call the FD, and stand back/enjoy the spectacle. ;)

    Next call would be to your insurance company.
     
    Il Tifoso and Jaguar36 like this.
  11. absostone

    absostone F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Jul 28, 2008
    9,182
    obviously,............... that can happen opening a compartment and feeding more air to the fire. But this extinguisher thing looks like a great product. Small enough to be out of of sight
     
  12. mike996

    mike996 F1 Veteran

    Jun 14, 2008
    6,685
    Full Name:
    Mike 996
    The company's video - Shows the WORST possible way to deal with an engine fire - which is exactly what happened in the two instances I referred to - dumba$$ jumps out of the car, grab the extinguisher, throw open the hood...WHUMP!. Of course, the fire in the video was staged for the advert so yeah, everything worked great! Unstaged fires are often not so accommodating, It's hard for me to take a fire extinguishing product seriously when the company ignores fire-fighting 101 in the video for the product.

    Fire departments all over the world will be glad to explain that IF you decide your safety is less important than the car and you feel compelled to put out the fire, you NEVER open the hood. You release the hood latch but NOT the safety catch and direct the extinguisher output into the grill/through the hood gap.

    I apologize for ranting but I've been involved in some of this in real life and, as they say, "Real life ain't like the movies" (or like advertisements) ;)
     
    Il Tifoso likes this.
  13. absostone

    absostone F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Jul 28, 2008
    9,182
    I understand it all. but the idea of the product is, one handed operation , longer discharge, no soot, and compact. that's all I'm saying.
     
  14. kcabpilot

    kcabpilot Formula 3

    Apr 17, 2014
    1,527
    California SF bay area
    Full Name:
    Paul
    My experience with a vehicle fire was due to the failure of a pressurized hydraulic fitting. The fire started out slow, it was mostly plastic bits for the intake that were burning and if I hadn’t had an extinguisher I suppose I would have lost the truck. So I’d rather have one as at least an option but it’s a valid argument against it because when it happens you get a big shot of adrenaline and so you might not think your actions through completely.
     
  15. Element

    Element Karting
    Sponsor

    Oct 29, 2016
    133
    #15 Element, Nov 28, 2017
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2017
    Mike996 I totally agree that opening the hood during an engine fire exposes it to a rush of oxygen that can feed the fire and lead to an increasing of the blaze. Admittedly our promotional video comes short in showing this danger appropriately and we will eventually shoot new footage that better shows how to handle an engine blaze. In fact it is our marketing plan to create a series of educational shorts that show how to best deal with fires of all kinds. It is still early days for us on the marketing side :)

    As for dealing with an engine fire Element does have a distinct advantage over a traditional extinguisher. Because of its long discharge time you have the time to direct the discharge for a few seconds through vents or openings to saturate the air around the fire. This then allows for a cautious opening of the hood while directing the discharge into the engine bay. By pre-saturating the engine bay air before opening the hood the chance of a flare up is massively reduced. By comparison a traditional 5lb fire bottle will discharge for about 10-11 seconds and starts losing steam after 6-7 seconds. For someone not familiar with using an extinguisher, you waste 3-5 seconds just getting your bearings and a feel for the unit. That does not leave a lot of time to actually fight the blaze. Again an example of where reality is nothing like the movies. With 50 seconds on tap with an Element you have that extra bit of time to get a feel for the task while still having plenty in reserve to fight the fire.

    Of course if your car is really up in flames nothing short of a fire truck will help you and in those instances it is safest to watch the show and let the pros handle it. That said the reality is that most fires are incipient fires; fires that are just growing. Fires that are (as one guy told me at a trade show) 'bigger than I can pee on' can get out of hand incredibly quickly and it is those instances where having an extinguisher is critical. By being small, light, and easy to use Element aims to make fire fighting more accessible to people in those instances when your bladder is not quite full:p
     
  16. Saabguy

    Saabguy Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Mar 28, 2012
    1,753
    Shreveport, LA
    I'm in for a discount code, look like I'll buy 3 or 4 units. I can't seem to PM you for some reason.
     
  17. Element

    Element Karting
    Sponsor

    Oct 29, 2016
    133
    PM tested and working fine. Sent you the discount code :)
     
  18. NW328GTS

    NW328GTS Formula 3

    Nov 16, 2009
    2,191
    Washington
    Full Name:
    Hal
    is there a UL/NFPA rating comparison somewhere? I dont see how to compare a 10BC extinguisher to a E50 or E25 or?

    how do you decide how big a one to buy compared to the Halon one I already have?
     
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  19. isaydingdong

    isaydingdong Formula Junior

    Apr 18, 2014
    285
    ny
    Full Name:
    Sy Sperling
    Great looking product and the size is handy, BUT is this certified for North America (UL tested) and
    can you post your insurance liability waiver (company and policy number). These types of items have to have
    insurance coverage in the case of a failure and a person dies.
     
  20. kcabpilot

    kcabpilot Formula 3

    Apr 17, 2014
    1,527
    California SF bay area
    Full Name:
    Paul
    Doesn’t appear as though it would make a very good wheel chock either.
     
  21. Element

    Element Karting
    Sponsor

    Oct 29, 2016
    133
    At present we do not have a UL/NFPA rating comparison as the architecture of the Element extinguisher is so different that UL does not yet have a standard to test it to. Their rules call for specifications on a compressed cylinder (we have none), A pressure gauge (we make no pressure), etc. We are in the long process right now of getting UL approval so we clearly tell our customers that in those places where a UL rated extinguisher is mandated by law our extinguisher cannot legally REPLACE those units. That said many of our customers have chosen to buy Element extinguishers to supplement legally mandated ones which is totally legal and a great idea. UL extinguishers for those who do not know are required in commercial buildings for instance but there is no regulation in your home, or in your car where an extinguisher is not legally required but merely a prudent option. We cover this point in the FAQ's section of our website.

    As for deciding on a size to buy we did our best to take the guesswork out and classed the models on our website. For most instances particularly in the automotive world a 50 second extinguisher is more than capable of handling any blaze you would think of tackling. I personally tested these units on more than one occasion with a 4x2 foot pan filled with gasoline and lit on fire (it makes a bloody big flame). Quite simply in 50 seconds I lost count the number of times the pan was lit, extinguished, lit, and extinguished again.
     
  22. Element

    Element Karting
    Sponsor

    Oct 29, 2016
    133
  23. Jaguar36

    Jaguar36 Formula Junior

    Nov 8, 2010
    834
    Cherry Hill, NJ
    What size is this equivalent too? A 2x4 fire sounds like it would only be a 2-B. Also, once you set it off can you stop it at all or does it just keep going?
     
    cheesypeas likes this.
  24. Rich in Panama City

    Aug 29, 2013
    124
    Panama City Beach FL
    Full Name:
    Rich Roesch
     
  25. Rich in Panama City

    Aug 29, 2013
    124
    Panama City Beach FL
    Full Name:
    Rich Roesch
    Please send me a coupon, I would consider several, also can’t seem to send you a PM. Thanks, Rich
     

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