Hi gents-

I always carry a small fire extinguisher in my XJS convertible , in the back seat. Its always just there in one of the footwells, flopping around a bit......unfortunately I accidentally removed the pin when taking my rear seats out to recover them in new leather, and although the extinguisher is still good, I will be moving that one to my X type’s trunk, and buying a new one for the XJS.

What kind of compact extinguisher are you guys carrying in your XJS and where have you placed them for the most aesthetically pleasing look? Is there a place specifically designed for them in our cars? How often do you replace them?

Thanks!

 

Damn good question... I am surprised at how much wiggle room the inside of the XJS actually offers once all is said and done. I was thinking inside of my rear storage area, under a cabinet door - but who wants to be fiddling around and digging in the back, during a fire.

Really good question!

 

I went Walmart and bought 2 large white boat/marine extinguisher for the XJS and the E type and transferred the compact red one to the X type. They are all sitting on behind the passenger seats at this point.

 

My brother (a firefighter) suggests mounting one on the rear seat hump and plumbed via rubber hose into the engine bay from underneath. That way its reachable by the driver without the lost time of panicing to get out and spray. The tank pressure is sufficient to move the extinguishing 'gas' ? The 4 feet or so through a pipe at 120psi to blast the engine from bottom up.

Basically like a fighter plane ejection handle lol.

 

Can't advise on where to put it but I highly recommend getting a Halotron extinguisher, the type they use in computer server rooms. The dry chemical types leave a heck of a mess to clean up, in some cases if you get the fire out soon enough, the cleanup is more work than repairing the fire damage. Also if the dry chemical gets wet, it becomes slightly corrosive, particularly damaging plated metal finishes like zinc, or worse if it gets into any electronic components. The Halotron is a gas that leaves no residue. You use it differently than the PASS steps you might have learned in your workplace safety training. Don't open the hood all the way, rather just pop the hood, spray into the tiny gap and empty the whole bottle to fill the engine bay with gas. The gas disrupts the chemical reaction and also displaces the oxygen. Leaving the hood down keeps it from blowing away till it cools below the ignition point but also opening the hood wide open is like fanning the flame and you don't really want to do that. Its also particularly effective for under dash fires where you can't aim a dry chemical type anyway. Given the way you use Halotron on a car fire, buy one with a short hose rather than a fixed nozzle as it will be easier to use. A friend of mine and fellow classic car collector is a fireman and he also advised me to get at a very minimum a 2.5lb but he carries a 5lb. He said the little 1.5lb Halotron chrome plated units they sell in the hot rod magazines are cute, but not enough volume to be safely effective, particularly in the hands of a panicky amateur like me.

 

Thanks! I wish I would have known this before I got the extinguishers!! I see the Halotrons are a little more expensive, but not too much.

 

This (perhaps foolishly) will be a project that is aways down the road for me,,, but the plumb idea sounds like a good one - but still with concerns. If I were to, I think, strategically, placement of the initial discharge point for any plumbed extinguisher would make most sense at the top back of the engine, around the capstan, under it-ish, discharging directly into the V area, generally...

I agree, braking and stopping the car, reaching down and popping the hood, scraping up the extinguisher, getting out and OPENING the hood and introducing of a huge pool of air - well it sounds like a nightmare senerio. Strategic aim with an extinguisher really matters in a fire situation...which I think LIMITS the effectiveness of the plumbed extinguisher...

Two extinguishers...?

Good bit to think about here...

I guess one could just chill out,,, cease alllllll the planning,,, cept to have some sticks and a bag O marshmallows in a strategic place,,, and on the ready. Grahams and chocolate, too??? How much chocolate?

 

Still, having the dry chemical type is better than nothing at all. Rather clean it up than let it burn it up. But here's a suggestion/question. How's your home fixed with extinguishers? If you're like most people you don't have any at all, or maybe one in the kitchen. If that's the case, order yourself a Halotron for the car and put your now extra regular one in the living room near the fireplace or hang it next to your workbench in the garage. (And since it won't get shaken and stirred going down the road anymore, don't forget to turn it upside down and roll it around once in a while to keep the dry chemical from clumping together in the bottom of the cylinder).

 

Nitrogen. Trunk.

Planning to one day hard-line it to the firewall with a nozzle aimed down the length of the vee.