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AUTO & HOME FIRE EXTINGUISHER


STEVE POLLARD

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I seen this fire extinguisher tonight on one of those automotive channels and being in the fire service years ago, I found it very interesting. Just curious if any other member here has purchase this product ?

 

" Element Fire Extinguisher "

 

Steve

 

 

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I have two dozen of them. I have Halon in every car.....yes Halon. It’s still available but expensive. I have the Element in every car also......and the tow vehicle and trailer. The Halon units are small, and will handle 90 percent of any problem. The Element is the back up. They are small, easy to store, and work well. Also, If you have ever had a fire in a trailer.......I have had one and helped with another one, you just toss the element unit in and close the door. Works great. I keep an Element in the door pocket on both sides of my pick up truck at all times. The dry chemical units will damage paint and upholstery and make a mess beyond belief. It gets into the dash gauges and switches.......the powder often causes much more damage than the fire.

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One additional note......they are NOT UL approved. Only for one reason. UL requires a pressurized container with a guage for inspection.  They are working on getting it approved. Thus a Element Extinguishers are NOT acceptable for DOT or most judging events. While they should be accepted with today’s insane tort laws, it will probably take years of approval, even though the technology of the Element unit is fifty years old...........they use it in NASA on Skylab and other human occupation units.

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2 hours ago, edinmass said:

I have had one and helped with another one, you just toss the element unit in and close the door. Works great.

 

Somehow that reminded me of the night I slipped off the deck of a Navy Destroyer and someone tossed the brass end of a 2 1/2" fire hose next to my head to help me out.

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Yes, Halon and the Element extinguishers are expensive..........but they are very cheap compared to fire damage. Safety doesn’t have a price. 

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I have issue with how close you have to be to use this "extinguisher". The example video is a good example of this. The user is right in the smoke inhaling all sorts of toxins and in most fires the heat would make this a useless option. This is the benefit of a dry chemical extinguisher vs a CO2 extinguisher.

 

 

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That’s why I run Halon and an Element. The Halon will take down 95 percent of all fires. (My unit is two pounds,) Since I don’t like to carry big bulky pressurized extinguishers this gives me the best of both worlds. With proper maintenance you would normally never have a fire. With an electrical cut off switch, the chance of fire is further reduced. I have the 100 series Element units in the car........two minutes of working time........that in top of the halon gives me better fire fighting ability than just about anyone else.

Edited by edinmass (see edit history)
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Further to Edinmass's points about prevention, having any extinguisher is great, but knowing how to use it is just as important.  If you can, take a lesson from you local fire department, almost all are more than happy to show you how to correctly use an extinguisher, it's not as simple as you might think.  I realize that this forum is in relation to classic and antique vehicles and fires in those are a completely different issue than in modern cars.  Honestly, if you have a fire in a newer vehicle or come across one, once you know the occupants are safe the best thing to do is get away from the vehicle.  Between the toxic smoke from all the plastics and the risks from exploding bumper assemblies, tires and glass blowing out, it isn't worth your personal safety for what at the end of the day is just stuff.  I'm sure that there are some current or former fire fighters on here that could chime in but IMO a fire extinguisher is only good for a fire that has just started or in buying you time to get out.  

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