The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Fire Extinguisher for your truck

Another subject near and dear,... Part of my job in the Nuclear Canoe Club is aircraft FX systems, so I get alot of fun info. As a lifelong VW nut, I also know all about the horros of engine fires, esp. what happens when they get hot enough to light off your magnesium block!

ANYWay,... Agent of choice is halon 1211 all the way. Works on A, B, & C fires, is not corrosive, & not harmful if you breathe the vapors (might get a lil light headed). This is the agent that they use for the interiors of comercial aircraft and in the big 150lb roll-a-ways on the flight line. It's also the stuff you can get in ceiling mount bottles that go off automaticly like a spriklers, good insurance if you have a lot of $$ invested in the contents of your garage! Regardless, it's good stuff and ozone freindly.

I'd carry a minimum 10lb bottle. Those small FX's are cute, but all they can do in most fires is ensure you can get everyone away from the vehicle then call to fire dept. I have seen many a burnt out car/truck with an empty toy FX or two next to it.
My preference is a 15 or 20lb, but it's really about where you want to put it. In trucks the best place is in the bed behind the driver, or in the case of a big bolt like mine, on the frame behind the driver.
What gets you in old trucks is all the air space around the engine. Given a decent breeze, CO2 or Halon agent may disperse quickly and must be used in short bursts, a dry agent may be blown about & go on too thin to coat the fuel source.

Look in your local Yellow Pages for fire sprinkler & extinguisher companies. Most of them carry a wide varaiety of bottles in different sizes & weights for whatever application you may need. Talking to your local fire house would be a good source of horror stories and info on what NOT to do, but FX sales people would be the best to talk to about what you want and where you'd like to hide it.