New Fire Extinguisher

[Element]

Originally Posted by rltilley

I mentioned the sale on another forum I am on and a question was raised about using these in strong winds. I'd imagine you would want to be upwind when deploying but am not sure what effect wind has on the gas.

Thank you for sharing the sale in your other group. To answer your question a windy environment would represent the most difficult situation for our extinguisher or any other gas type extinguisher (like CO2). Gas type extinguishers rely on the ability to create an isolation of a fire with the gas that comes out. Wind invariably interferes with this so having the wind to your back is an advantage. By contrast solid chemical extinguishers physically deposit a powder on a fire putting it out by smothering. Each extinguisher has its strengths and weaknesses and certainly in an open area it is difficult to beat the ability to dump a solid powder that is not as affected by wind as a gas. That said gas extinguishers shine in enclosed and semi-enclosed environments where the gas can attack a fire from all angles and get into nooks and crannies where powder needs a clean path. I hope this answers your questions.

[rltilley]

Thanks for the reply! This makes perfect sense to me.

[REF]

In case you missed out on the first go around, they’re on sale with a group buy through Pelican parts. Looks like you have to sign up and Pelican will send you info
https://www.pelicanparts.com/promos/...m_term=element

[Offroading_is_Fun]

So what's wrong with buying a big Halon extinguisher off CL for the same price?

Already have a small halon extinguisher that I keep between the front seats, been thinking about snapping up a bigger bottle in case I run into someone else who's having a car fire.

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by REF

In case you missed out on the first go around, they’re on sale with a group buy through Pelican parts. Looks like you have to sign up and Pelican will send you info
https://www.pelicanparts.com/promos/...m_term=element

Thanks for that, I've been thinking about picking up 1-2 more.


Herb

[REF]

Originally Posted by Offroading_is_Fun

So what's wrong with buying a big Halon extinguisher off CL for the same price?

Already have a small halon extinguisher that I keep between the front seats, been thinking about snapping up a bigger bottle in case I run into someone else who's having a car fire.

I would recommend you read through the thread, it’s a long one but should give you all the answers you seek....

[Offroading_is_Fun]

Originally Posted by REF

I would recommend you read through the thread, it’s a long one but should give you all the answers you seek....

Only mentions of Halon I found were on page 2 (General comment about how element flares/extinguishers work, not Element-vs-Halon), and page 3 (Simply stating that Element was 50% of the cost of a Halon bottle, which came from Element themselves, and is likely referencing the cost of purchasing a bottle brand new.).

Looking at Element's website, at the cheapest they are $65/unit. I've seen unused 2019 certified 9# Halon extinguishers for $140 on Ebay.

That said, I'll take a more in-depth read when I have more time on my hands

[JWA]

Originally Posted by Offroading_is_Fun

So what's wrong with buying a big Halon extinguisher off CL for the same price?

Sooooooooooo much wrong with that question!

Originally Posted by Offroading_is_Fun

That said, I'll take a more in-depth read when I have more time on my hands

That'd be exceptionally wise on your part! This thread is a bit lengthy because it contains a lot of good information about vehicular fire fighting.

This is NOT about cost-per-unit---trying to cheap out on saving a vehicle on fire is a bit foolish IMHO. It IS about effectiveness of whatever device or system we keep on-hand for quick easy deployment when/if the need arises. Compare the cost of replacing a total loss or worse yet repairing fire damage and the Element devices seem like mere pocket change.

The size of the Element devices is just another positive aspect they present. Traditional extinguishers are typically under-sized due their larger physical size and weight. I'd rather carry 4-5 Element's than a 20+ pound pressurized extinguisher.

Just my $0.02 worth..................

[Offroading_is_Fun]

Originally Posted by JWA

Sooooooooooo much wrong with that question!



That'd be exceptionally wise on your part! This thread is a bit lengthy because it contains a lot of good information about vehicular fire fighting.

This is NOT about cost-per-unit---trying to cheap out on saving a vehicle on fire is a bit foolish IMHO. It IS about effectiveness of whatever device or system we keep on-hand for quick easy deployment when/if the need arises. Compare the cost of replacing a total loss or worse yet repairing fire damage and the Element devices seem like mere pocket change.

The size of the Element devices is just another positive aspect they present. Traditional extinguishers are typically under-sized due their larger physical size and weight. I'd rather carry 4-5 Element's than a 20+ pound pressurized extinguisher.

Just my $0.02 worth..................

So when people are saying that Element and Halon both go after putting out fires very similarly, and neither weight nor space are something I particularly care about (I'm never at gross weight, and don't have a built-out interior), it's a valid question. Chiding my question and just leaving it at, "There's so much wrong with that!" isn't helpful.

I've looked at their videos. -- OK, they're more portable (Smaller and lighter) than a conventional extinguisher, and they have a reasonably long run-time at 60 seconds. -- Almost all of the fires put out were reasonably small and seeing halon extinguisher demonstrations, appear to do exactly the same thing.

The only thing I have seen that you can do with an Element extinguisher and not with a halon extinguisher is place it in an enclosed space, and it will extinguish the fire. That being said, there appeared to be some debate in this thread early on that it was not recommended to chuck one of these into the engine bay (The claim being the engine bay was too open, and the user didn't have enough control over it) and close the hood- so my read is that it's only good for an enclosed interior fire.



On the surface, the rest of your post dodges my question, and although I think you mean well, if I chose to read into your comment it might even seem that since I pointed out a big bottle of halon was cheaper or equivalent in price that you think I'm somehow into cutting corners and being cheap.

Guess that will teach me to pose honest questions on this forum. I think I'll stick with my bottle of halon.

[Gooseberry]

This is what I just switched to in the van.