Not since I was an active Firefighter. When I did it was a 5 lb ABC fire extinguisher.
I use to keep a 20 lb ABC fire extinguisher mounted in a bracket in my work truck.

I too have had the discharge in the trunk experience. No fun to clean up.
I dont carry one. But probably should.

Yes,
Had to use it once , 22 years ago on a four day old Mercedes Benz.

B.t.w.

My neighbor who is a fire extinguisher professional ,
Told me that 90% of the extinguishers sold will
eat all of the wiring under the hood of a car,

In a short period of time ,due to the corrosive interaction when electricity passes through it.

If you cover the entire engine bay, it's close to impossible to wash it all off.

quote:

Originally posted by .38supersig:
Got a Halon extinguisher bolted down in the truck.

Figured if the engine caught fire, I could shoot the extinguisher through the wheel wells and grille if nothing else.

Someone will confirm, but I believe the recommended approach is to pull the hood release, then direct the fire extinguisher into the opening between the hood and the radiator support bulkhead.

No. Not concerned about my cars or truck catching fire or the contents in them. Have them around the house for obvious reasons tho.

Late 70's a friends girlfriend bought a used Pinto. They dropped me off at my apt.
got out of the car and saw an orange glow underneath. Yelled at them to get out.
By the time I got my extinguisher, too late. fully engulfed in no time.

I do. I’ve seen multiple vehicle fires and had a friend lose his pretty new truck to one as well. Though I was too late to help in any cases, it put enough fear in me to start keeping one in my vehicle.

Even if you aren’t worried about your car catching fire (which is strange because they are all at risk) I used mine a few years ago to extinguish a fire that was started by tailgaters in a parking lot. Fires don’t just happen in cars.

I only carry one in my old 1985 GM Squarebody pickup because it seems the most likely to spontaneously combust from an electrical gremlin or gas line leak, I don't carry full coverage on it, plus side saddle gas tank in case Dateline tries to kill me.

Five pounders in all our vehicles.

Even though I'm on the EMS side of the house, I have to do NASCAR fire training every couple years. We get lots of opportunity to use the live fire race car trainer. You can put out a bunch of fire with a little purple K

quote:

Originally posted by rscalzo:
The size most would carry would do little for a car fire. We had a rather large one in our patrol units and they were useless in car fires.

Yep. The personal-sized models are just to put out the small stuff/delay the in-cab stuff to add seconds to the escape.

Nope. If it catches fire, burn baby burn. I don’t want some shit repair. Total loss and on I go.
I also have zero deductible on comprehensive. So that’s in my favor.

No, I carry two of them.. One a dry chemical for your car and a Halon for use on mine. If you donate your extinguisher to someone else, well, good for you. They never pay you. You're just out the cost.

On one of my car's or jeeps, I want the best because I'm the one that has to fix it. The Halon 1301 is pretty big, maybe 10#. Don't worry, unless someone is about to die, I'm not using it. Yes, I'll freely use my dry chem. The Halon came from the old computer room.

As I understand it now, you can't buy halon. Someone correct me on that if I'm wrong. I don't have one in my wife's toyota. It can burn for all I care, its insured.

I have seen 2 vehicles burn including a Porsche. I put the Porsche fire out with a portable. I also had a friend die in a motorcycle accident because the gas cap opened. No one had a fire extinguisher and just stood there and watched him die.

I also put out a garbage can fire at our son’s home after he inadvertently threw some hot coals into it. Luckily my car was right there to grab the extinguisher.

I have several in each car. I've put out 5 car fires over the years. None of them my own. Well, maybe 4 1/2. One I was able to knock down enough to get the driver out of the car. Local fire department put it completely out. Far as I know, the driver survived.

I keep one in my "racecar" for track duty but not in my regular cars.

No, but have it in the garage and various other parts of the house.

Yep. I keep Element fire extinguishers in all of my vehicles.

https://elementfire.com/

Tons of benefits over traditional cannister extinguishers, especially for vehicle use:

A) Smaller and easier to store
B) Don't have to worry about them going off due to an impact (as mentioned a few times here)
C) Won't lose pressure over time
D) No expiration
E) Unaffected by temperature swings (important for storage in a vehicle)
F) No solid agent, so no cleanup (well, from the extinguisher...)
G) Won't flood the car or otherwise further damage areas unaffected by the fire
H) The gas generated will flow to fill areas that aren't directly accessible

The only downside is that they're pricier than cannister extinguishers. But since they don't expire, it's buy once/cry once.

Something else to consider is how long they last (or don't last). Dry chem is usually good for maybe 5 years until it clumps in the canister. My 5# Halon came out of my 1979 boat. I'd guess all dry chem ones have long since become a lump. CO2 last but often aren't good even when new.

Our fire department doesn't consider it unless you have it mounted. Not in my jeep they aren't.

Now can anyone discuss the merits of Halon 1211 and 1301? They don't sell them all that much these days. Probably because of toxic effects.

Come on smart guys.

I also keep an Element fire extinguishers in all the vehicles.

Yes. Successfully put out 3 fires, albeit small ones, whilst on patrol.

Rather have and not need than vice versa. If the car is engulfed I obviously wouldn't even bother.