I did some research about fire extinguishers for cars about a year ago -
after my own fire. A few notes:
- Halon: it is currently illegal to produce or import halon or halon
extinguishers in the U.S. Those that were already produced can be sold.
- Halotron is being made as a substitute. It's being billed as a good
halon substitute. I haven't found any statistics, but this is what I
bought. (post fire)
- Your extinguisher should be at least 5 lb. (dry chemical variety)
- Your extinguisher should have a metal (not plastic) nozzle. The
plastic variety also have plastic tubes that go inside the bottle to
reach the chemical. Those plastic tubes can, and do, degrade so that
they no longer reach the powder when you need it. Not good.
- Get an extinguisher with a hose to spray with - you may need to angle
the chemical spray under the hood from a wheel well or under the dash.
It will be much easier with a hose to aim, reach and still keep your
distance. Distance is a good thing.
- Inside the car or trunk? I can see either way. A fire is least likely
to start at the back of the car. It may start inside, and you need to
get yourself out quickly. There isn't much room in there. Mine's in the
trunk, but I can see advantages either way. I just don't feel that I
have room inside where, with two drivers, we're always moving the seats.
My car fire started under the dash, so the trunk would have worked great
for that - I wouldn't have sprayed it inside with me in the car anyway.
Oh, one more thing - got your insurance up to date? Car fires are VERY
expensive!
Pat Fischer
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