Hello and umm...................fire extinguishers

sueant08

Full Member
Posts
38
Likes
20
Good morning all.
Although I've been in the background of wildcamping for a while, I don't think I've posted before so, 'Hello. My name is Sue, how do you do............. (Johnny Cash 😊)
I have a swift suntor RL590 which I'm totally in love with - I'd rather sell my house than my van.
We've been to some of the UK's most beautiful places and seen some wondrous things on our travels:

20120217_214848.JPG
DSC_0232.JPG
IMG_0468.JPG


We are hoping to travel into Europe next year so will be tapping into the wealth of knowledge on here soon.
My van is of an age now where I'm happy to try do any work on it myself, and get great satisfaction from having a go.
(BTW: I sourced and fitted a Leisure battery from the lovely John at Alpha batteries a few weeks ago - using the wildcamping discount of course).
I am now looking for advice on replacing my out of date fire extinguisher (2017).
Its a 600g powder extinguisher.
Could any of you lovely people give me ideas as to whether you've got any variations in your vans.
Thank you xx
 
Should be fitted close to bed or back of van and pos one near door,always on back facing shelf so it wont come lose and wallop you in a front impact.
powder or, foam if fuel about sue.
 
i looked for the date on mine and simply cant find a date....... different countries specify different locations in the van for various safety equipment. AA foreign map books have a great deal of info on the particular country at the front of the mapbook. But a fire officer said to me ages ago... just get the hell out if you are on fire.... a tiny extinguisher like that will do nothing to stop some fires and by the time you have worked out how to use it and read the instructions you will have inhaled smoke and probably be unconscious...
 
ah kindly tell me where the little gauge is ? thanks

Most have them on the top and just show a red and green background,as long as the needle is in the green it should be fine. I suspect that extinguishers in motorhomes last better than ones in properties as they get a regular shake up of the contents.
 
i looked for the date on mine and simply cant find a date....... different countries specify different locations in the van for various safety equipment. AA foreign map books have a great deal of info on the particular country at the front of the mapbook. But a fire officer said to me ages ago... just get the hell out if you are on fire.... a tiny extinguisher like that will do nothing to stop some fires and by the time you have worked out how to use it and read the instructions you will have inhaled smoke and probably be unconscious...
Sound advice from the fire officer 😊 Thank you.
 
You can buy 2kg foam or powder 10 year life extinguisher (P50) for abou £50 which works out cheaper than annual "cheapos" if your insurance company demand "in date" extinguisher.
Also you might even put a fire out with something that size.
You need it fairly handy but as others say mount it so if you do crash it doesn't just pull out of the clip and fly forward and kill you. We have a bulkhead near the hob- sink that does the job nicely.
 
You can buy 2kg foam or powder 10 year life extinguisher (P50) for abou £50 which works out cheaper than annual "cheapos" if your insurance company demand "in date" extinguisher.
Also you might even put a fire out with something that size.
You need it fairly handy but as others say mount it so if you do crash it doesn't just pull out of the clip and fly forward and kill you. We have a bulkhead near the hob- sink that does the job nicely.
Good idea. I'll look into that. Thank you :)
 
In a recent post on a Motorhome forum (can’t remember which) there was some discussion of this water mist type of extinguisher. It claims to be safe on electrical fires and leaves no residue or mess.



More expensive than a foam or powder but perhaps a better buy in the long term.

I made a mental note of them and may consider an upgrade at some point in the future. As others have said though, I think I would evacuate first and then decide wether to fight the fire from outside. Most likely to be a kitchen fire which in my van could be tackled from the door way.


Davy
 
Thank you all. Certainly lots to think about. There seems to be a bit of a theme regrding fridge fires. I'd never considered a fridge to be so dangerous. Now my inquisitive brain wants to know what goes wrong to make them ignite :unsure:
 
fridges use heat to operate ,either from electric elements or gas flame, so a couple of sources of ignition there . good idea to have a fire blanket as fires caused by things on gas hobs can happen. no mess and effective .
a container of baking soda kept handy is a good fire extinguisher ,and won't go out of date
don't forget , your extinguisher is as much to help out other people as well,and probably more likely to be used in that capacity .
don't be too tight when buying one either, a decent sized refillable is worth having ,as opposed to the little spray can type sold in car shops,which aren't worth having https://www.screwfix.com/p/firemax-...VSbTtCh2wqg4JEAQYBSABEgIVXvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
 
When driving for a living I had to hold a Dangerous Goods Licence and the instructors always advised running like hell while calling the emergency services in a fire, because the three extinguishers we carried would be pretty much useless against anything bigger than an ashtray fire. Amazing really, a weeks course and eight exams and that about summed up the advice.
 
I've got powder, co2 and water mist extinguishers dotted around the house, garage and 'van.

Fire blanket is worth while too.
 
fridges use heat to operate ,either from electric elements or gas flame, so a couple of sources of ignition there . good idea to have a fire blanket as fires caused by things on gas hobs can happen. no mess and effective .
a container of baking soda kept handy is a good fire extinguisher ,and won't go out of date
don't forget , your extinguisher is as much to help out other people as well,and probably more likely to be used in that capacity .
don't be too tight when buying one either, a decent sized refillable is worth having ,as opposed to the little spray can type sold in car shops,which aren't worth having https://www.screwfix.com/p/firemax-...VSbTtCh2wqg4JEAQYBSABEgIVXvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
The trouble with the cheap extinguishers is that whilst they will probably be effective for many years some insurance companies won't provide fire cover unless extinguisher is "in date" and as nearly all manufacturers say annual service that means a new one every year - even though the service is a wipe down with a damp cloth and check pressure gauge is green😀
However you can get 2kg extinguisher type P50 that lasts 10 years with owner service (once you've watched the video you're fully qualified technician 😀) for about £50.

Fire blanket essential as most likely fire is cooker and once you discharge a powder extinguisher in a van you're cleaning forever!

I've got out date extinguisher here and there on house and cars now.
CO2 and FFF in garage-workshop.
 
Thank you all. Certainly lots to think about. There seems to be a bit of a theme regrding fridge fires. I'd never considered a fridge to be so dangerous. Now my inquisitive brain wants to know what goes wrong to make them ignite :unsure:
As well as 12v /230v heating element they also have a flame which heats coolent /gas driving it round a coil which in turn cools the fridge ,so a fire could happen if for some type of gas leaks somewhere in van and open flame behind the fridge sets it of,remember if you have a open vent lead acid battery which can give of hydrogen,well that a second thing to go bang if not vented down through floor,and batterys should be in a sealed box.
 
You need to be aware that powder type extinguishers have a propensity to compact on moving vehicles . The charge guage will still be in the green , but when the time arises to use they dont always operate as they should . For large extinguishers of this type part of the maintenance regime specifies that they be emptied and the filling checked for fluidity before recharging . I would suggest a choice of a water mist extinguisher as a better replacement for mobile use in a motorcaravan is now the way to go . They are also a lot less messy if used successfully to snuff a immediate risk . They are not cheap expect £45 +
 

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

Back
Top