[oranjeboven]

Hello everyone. I'd like to buy a fire extinguisher for my car...normally that's just a trip to the PX, right? Well not in an Elise I guess. I really like the idea of having it in the cockpit. As a teenager I was a volunteer firefighter and I guess those car fires we responded to have stuck with me.

I've looked through the threads and haven't seen a good comparison of placements, attachment methods, bottles (brand and type of mix), and prices. Lots of short mentions, but nothing really detailed.

If you all have experience placing a fire extinguisher in the cockpit of your car, will you please share the details with me?

...and a photo if you don't mind...after all, if it's visible in the car it should also look good

 

[O LEE O]

Bought the "bracket" from Inokinectics, bought the extinguisher and the "quick release" from Safecraft. I did have to place a thin slice of foam padding under the bracket to stop the rattling though. Been perfect since...

Good luck.


Lee

 

[Kubera]

I second the "bracket" option, it is very easy to install.

 

[ML1media]

Its been years since I last did research -- I have Halon bottles in my cars. Halon isnt generally avail any longer. Halatron (sp) was for a while and even that may be off market. Dry chemical is what you find most common in ABC class bottles ---dry chem has ALL kinds of repercussions --some of them were(are still?) caustic and did serious damage to electical/electronics when discharged (yes--the argument is that a fire would do more damage, but the goal is to stop damage, not add to it). At the very least dry chem WILL spray powder into every crack and crevice imaginable and take a lifetime to clean out...and depending on the places it lands (electro-mechanical devices) the damage from the powder alone may be as bad as fire-heat damage. If youre so-inclined, I'd look for a dry-chem(powder) alternative (if any even exist anymore). I'm still a big fan of Halon, and you can still occas find them in the secondary market.
And yes--100% on bracket. This is one item you DONT want rocketing around the interior in any situation...and given the engine loc of our cars (and the likelihood that most fires will occur THERE), a trunk mount of the exting is the last place you want to fish it out of.

 

[ML1media]

---ahhh---also---mounting it between the seats SEMMED like a good use of the space and good for access, but it also turned out to interfere with the interior/motion sensor alarm. YMMV.

 

[gbutler911]

My solution for a fire extinguisher in the cockpit...its clean and out of the way and involves no drilling into the car itself...uses a door handle hardware kit from Lowes and then the extinguisher mount is attached...the door hardware kit discs are then screwed together and hold the discs in place by the screw that attaches them to each other.

 

[Certified Lotus]

I have a fire extinguisher in all my Lotus’. Fiberglass burns easily and quickly. Just one word of advice, don’t think your going to save your car with a small handheld fire extinguisher. It’s mainly to save your a_ _ and get away.

A good friend of mine had a complete plumbed halon system with nozzles in the engine bay and in the cockpit of his Exige S. The car caught on fire (fuel line leak) and it burned so fast he barely got out in time. The halon system slowed the fire down long enough to allow him to escape, then it emptied and the car burned to a crisp.

I’ve seen 3 Lotus’ burn at the track over the years. None of them were recoverable and you didn’t want to be anywhere near the car once it started burning.

Here is my installation location of my safecraft fire extinguisher. You need quick access for it to be useful.

 

[Dr.Hess]

Having watched one of my own do that, yeah, an extinguisher isn't going to do squat. I won't post any pics. They are too horrible to look at. My plan is an aquis foam system.

 

[CALtd]

I too have seen a car burn/melt at the track very early on in life of my car. I know no system I put in the car will protect it once the fiberglass is burning. I still carry the device pictured in post #6 to be a good Samaritan. I still have my halon but this product proved to be much better.

 

[ScottH83]

I’ve seen 3 Lotus’ burn at the track over the years. None of them were recoverable and you didn’t want to be anywhere near the car once it started burning.

Scary stuff. Were they all due to fuel leaks? Whats the best way to prevent these?

I've always been nervous about fuel leaks in all of my modified cars over the years.

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[Certified Lotus]

I only know for a fact that one of them was a fuel leak. Never heard why the other two burned, but they were both street cars at the track for DE events.

 

[Dr.Hess]

Mine was, near as I can tell, an ignition system problem leading to fuel going through the non-firing cylinders, out to the catalytic converter which overheated and caught the fiberglass on fire. Two ABC dry chemical extinguishers were useless. The fire truck had issues with it. It was all over in about 3 minutes. The explosions were spectacular.

 

[JFHughes08088]

Just get one of these. Small, they dont expire and have a longer usage time. About the size of a road flare. Element - Fire Extinguishers

 

[Certified Lotus]

If you watch the video of the element fire extinguisher you will note the guy putting out the fire has his hand with the extinguisher within a foot of the flames. Way too close and if your car is on fire from a fuel leak there is no way you want to be that close. These might be good for a kitchen or garage but I’m not so sure about it’s usefulness in a car fire..........

 

[2011 chrome orange]

I used an Element to put out an electrical fire in my Model A Woody last fall and it worked very well. (The fire was behind the dash which is against the cowl mounted fuel tank.) It is no way as powerful as a typical fire extinguisher. But, it has a much longer discharge time than most fire extinguishers.

The best feature I have found is that you can strike the head to activate (similar to a flare) and then either place or toss it where the fire is without the need to hold a trigger for discharge. It just keeps going until finished. This would give you time to get another fire extinguisher, help someone move from harms way using both of your hands, go for help etc. I can see it being effective in "buy time" in getting someone out of a car at a crash scene in that it will engulf the interior of a (closed) car with the fire fighting gas (which is safe to breath). And, you do not need to have your hands on it to keep it working.

It leaves no residue, but will leave small burn marks (almost like a spitting) if the head is too close to objects as it is a burning aerosol while it discharges. Depending on the surface these marks land on, they can sometimes be wiped away. (virtually no trace was left in the Model A) It is also able to be stored in various temperatures and weather conditions, requires no maintenance and has no expiration.

With all that said, there is no fire extinguisher that will put out every fire or save every life. And, if your car is full of fuel and fully engulfed in flames, your luck probably ran out no matter what you use. But, I was impressed enough with the results that I bought more of them to put in my kitchens and other cars.

Of course, your mileage may vary....

 

[millorn]

Griots Garage has this Ultra-Compact Fire Extinguisher. It looks useful yet pricey.

 

[JFHughes08088]

Griots Garage has this Ultra-Compact Fire Extinguisher. It looks useful yet pricey.

The one on Griots is the Element

 

[odoyle]

I bought my element extinguishers directly from element and they gave me a discount for being a member of lotus talk. I think someone here had a group buy a year or two ago. I didn’t get one at the time but I recently contacted Element and they gave me the discount. I’m Not sure if they still will but it’s worth a try. For what it’s worth I’m a firefighter and I think the element is the better choice. A small extinguisher is only going to put out a small fire. If a large part of the car is involved a small extinguisher is not going to do it. The advantage of the element is it’s long discharge time compared to other small extinguishers.


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[Felgacarb]

I went with the Element as well-