Time to get rid of our old fire extinguishers and get some new ones. I thought it would be a piece of cake. I'd just go to Mac the Fire Guy's website and he'd tell me what I should get and sell it to me. But his website doesn't seem to be maintained and there is no store on it anymore. I can't even find the info he gave at a couple presentations I attended where he said have 5 extinguishers, what kinds and where to put them. My fingers are getting sore from all the googling I've done.
SO I'm here for your advice. I don't want dry chemical extinguishers because of the mess and potential damage. We have a 35' motor home. Here are my questions.
What other than dry chemical are you using for fire extinguishers? How many extinguishers do you have and where are they placed around your rig.
Many thanks for you help.
Sherry
Neil and Connie said
05:40 PM Nov 28, 2017
Buy dry chemical extinguishers…sure, they make a mess but if you have a fire you want it out. We have a bunch of Kidde brand that Mac the Fire Guy sold us before he retired but there's a recall on Kidde's if you have them.
We have one by the door in the 5ver, one in the bedroom, one in the truck and one in the front under the bedroom storage compartment.
TXRVr said
10:41 AM Nov 29, 2017
HalGuard Premium Clean Agent extinguishers. They are definitely not cheap but you said you didn't what to clean up a mess.
I have one HalGuard near the door of my MH, one ABC Kiddie in the back. I carry another Kiddie in the tow vehicle.
LandYachty said
09:03 AM Dec 13, 2017
We had a small fire this last summer, thank God we were home and put it out quickly with the outdated extinguisher we had. We spent more on new extinguishers than the repairs cost - very cheap insurance. We now have 4 in the rig including a large one in the bedroom part of the escape plan, one in the ATV, and one in the truck all dry chemical. The fire was started by a short from the DirecTV box to the dish! 25 volt DC got things flaming after enough sparks!
Hdrider said
06:01 AM Dec 20, 2017
We have 1 right by the front door of the motorhome, one larger one right by the captains seat, one Fire Fight Products under our kitchen sink, one by my side of the bed and one in our rear bath.
I have been talking about adding one in the basement but have not done that yet.
Terry and Jo said
01:31 PM Dec 20, 2017
Dave and Diane,
If considering an extinguisher for the basement, I'd suggest one on each side of the RV so you wouldn't have to run clear around the RV to get one.
Terry
BiggarView said
06:20 AM Dec 21, 2017
Sherry, if you are trying to stay away from dry chemical extinguishers... basically, you can't. The dry chemical extinguishers are the best all round to actually put out a small fire of any type (A,B, or C) that you are likely to encounter. CO2 extinguishers (which are "cleaner") will knock down a fire from combustible material like paper, wood or liquids like oil (though using CO2 on a oil based fire is likely a really bad idea since it will tend to spray the flame onto other combustible material not what you want when fighting a fire) are comparatively and noticeably less effective than dry chemical. Take the mess. Even foam extinguishers leave residue and generally are not effective or recommended against class C fires (electrical). CO2 is great against electrical once the power source has been shut off otherwise an electrical fire can/will reignite even when attacked with dry chemical. Electrical fires (class C) turn into class A or B fires by spreading to surrounding ignition sources. That is why multipurpose dry chemical extinguishers are the preferred choice for most small fires. Once a fire gets going to any significant degree, meaning it has spread substantially to something other than where it started... in most cases, copious amounts of water is the usual final solution and by then the choice should/must be to save yourself, everything else is replaceable.
The best way to avoid the mess is preventative. Routine inspections of electric circuits, proper storage of combustibles, keeping items away from heat, etc,... do all these things diligently and it's likely you'll never need to worry about the mess that the "alternate cure" will cause. As to where to place them and how many, I'll leave that to the "RV pros" 'round these parts, but it seems reasonable to have at least one in or near the kitchen, one near the exit door, and as Terry suggested at least one on each side of vehicle or trailer in an external compartment or storage bay.
JMHO, Brian
-- Edited by BiggarView on Wednesday 27th of December 2017 04:52:22 PM
RonC said
06:21 PM Dec 26, 2017
I had a halon fire extinguisher in my airplane ... they are the best IMO, but no longer manufactured due to environmental restrictions. Halon is a gas, so no mess, but is only available from existing supplies that are very scarce now. Second best is the dry chemical but of course it leaves behind a mess. So I would say Halon if you can find them (and choke down the cost), otherwise it’s dry chemical. Nothing else really works in th RV environment.
-- Edited by RonC on Tuesday 26th of December 2017 06:23:46 PM
mb36912 said
10:11 PM Dec 26, 2017
HalGuard and Halotron are great extinguishers. And as RonC said, Halon is an incredible fire extinguisher....although it is a CFC and its manufacture is now environmentally banned. It also can pose health hazards in certain circumstances. The NFPA recommmends personnel evacuate closed spaces before using it.
Another alternative Mac recommended and sold were the foam type extinguishers. Prior to taking one of his classes (years ago), all our extinguishers were of the dry chemical ABC type. After his class, we purchased four of the small foam extinguishers and two Halons. The foams are kept in the garage, kitchen, and bedroom. One Halon is kept in the basement and a Halon and a dry chemical ABC are kept in the truck. We still have the original dry chemical ABC's in the 5'er but they were kept as a last resort.
Sherry said
07:15 AM Dec 27, 2017
The problem is solved. Mac the fire guy is having some health problems and not updating his website, but when we called him he was more than happy to tell us that there is a new product now for both types of fires, smoke and flame, that does not make a mess or damage the things you spray. On his recommendation, we got 4 Foam extinguishers from Fire Fight Products and have one by the door, one in the bedroom, one in the propane bin and one in the car. Luckily we were very near Orlando where they are located so David just went over and picked them up. I think we're all set now. Thank you all for so much good information. You guys are the best. Wish we could be out west to attend the reunion rally.
PIEERE said
10:35 AM Dec 27, 2017
TY for the Information Sherry! I used a Halon on a car engine fire one time, no mess and the owner onlt had to replace some wires and plastic attachments! It smothered the flame! Seems that when something works well the Federal agencies ban it, or sue the manufacturers!
-- Edited by PIEERE on Wednesday 27th of December 2017 10:36:14 AM
dovenson said
11:56 PM Feb 14, 2018
We have 3 Halguard fire extinguishers. One under the sink, one by the door and one in the back closet.
They replaced all 4 of ours including one that was 25+ years old. It’s gage was still in the green and I think we serviced it once but they happily sent us a new one.
TonyM said
11:05 AM Feb 17, 2018
Thank you for the information. I checked our fire extinguishers and discovered two of them were on the recall list.
Time to get rid of our old fire extinguishers and get some new ones. I thought it would be a piece of cake. I'd just go to Mac the Fire Guy's website and he'd tell me what I should get and sell it to me. But his website doesn't seem to be maintained and there is no store on it anymore. I can't even find the info he gave at a couple presentations I attended where he said have 5 extinguishers, what kinds and where to put them. My fingers are getting sore from all the googling I've done.
SO I'm here for your advice. I don't want dry chemical extinguishers because of the mess and potential damage. We have a 35' motor home. Here are my questions.
What other than dry chemical are you using for fire extinguishers?
How many extinguishers do you have and where are they placed around your rig.
Many thanks for you help.
Sherry
Buy dry chemical extinguishers…sure, they make a mess but if you have a fire you want it out. We have a bunch of Kidde brand that Mac the Fire Guy sold us before he retired but there's a recall on Kidde's if you have them.
We have one by the door in the 5ver, one in the bedroom, one in the truck and one in the front under the bedroom storage compartment.
HalGuard Premium Clean Agent extinguishers. They are definitely not cheap but you said you didn't what to clean up a mess.
I have one HalGuard near the door of my MH, one ABC Kiddie in the back. I carry another Kiddie in the tow vehicle.
I have been talking about adding one in the basement but have not done that yet.
Dave and Diane,
If considering an extinguisher for the basement, I'd suggest one on each side of the RV so you wouldn't have to run clear around the RV to get one.
Terry
Sherry, if you are trying to stay away from dry chemical extinguishers... basically, you can't. The dry chemical extinguishers are the best all round to actually put out a small fire of any type (A,B, or C) that you are likely to encounter. CO2 extinguishers (which are "cleaner") will knock down a fire from combustible material like paper, wood or liquids like oil (though using CO2 on a oil based fire is likely a really bad idea since it will tend to spray the flame onto other combustible material not what you want when fighting a fire) are comparatively and noticeably less effective than dry chemical. Take the mess. Even foam extinguishers leave residue and generally are not effective or recommended against class C fires (electrical). CO2 is great against electrical once the power source has been shut off otherwise an electrical fire can/will reignite even when attacked with dry chemical. Electrical fires (class C) turn into class A or B fires by spreading to surrounding ignition sources. That is why multipurpose dry chemical extinguishers are the preferred choice for most small fires. Once a fire gets going to any significant degree, meaning it has spread substantially to something other than where it started... in most cases, copious amounts of water is the usual final solution and by then the choice should/must be to save yourself, everything else is replaceable.
The best way to avoid the mess is preventative. Routine inspections of electric circuits, proper storage of combustibles, keeping items away from heat, etc,... do all these things diligently and it's likely you'll never need to worry about the mess that the "alternate cure" will cause. As to where to place them and how many, I'll leave that to the "RV pros" 'round these parts, but it seems reasonable to have at least one in or near the kitchen, one near the exit door, and as Terry suggested at least one on each side of vehicle or trailer in an external compartment or storage bay.
JMHO, Brian
-- Edited by BiggarView on Wednesday 27th of December 2017 04:52:22 PM
I had a halon fire extinguisher in my airplane ... they are the best IMO, but no longer manufactured due to environmental restrictions. Halon is a gas, so no mess, but is only available from existing supplies that are very scarce now. Second best is the dry chemical but of course it leaves behind a mess. So I would say Halon if you can find them (and choke down the cost), otherwise it’s dry chemical. Nothing else really works in th RV environment.
-- Edited by RonC on Tuesday 26th of December 2017 06:23:46 PM
Another alternative Mac recommended and sold were the foam type extinguishers. Prior to taking one of his classes (years ago), all our extinguishers were of the dry chemical ABC type. After his class, we purchased four of the small foam extinguishers and two Halons. The foams are kept in the garage, kitchen, and bedroom. One Halon is kept in the basement and a Halon and a dry chemical ABC are kept in the truck. We still have the original dry chemical ABC's in the 5'er but they were kept as a last resort.
The problem is solved. Mac the fire guy is having some health problems and not updating his website, but when we called him he was more than happy to tell us that there is a new product now for both types of fires, smoke and flame, that does not make a mess or damage the things you spray. On his recommendation, we got 4 Foam extinguishers from Fire Fight Products and have one by the door, one in the bedroom, one in the propane bin and one in the car. Luckily we were very near Orlando where they are located so David just went over and picked them up. I think we're all set now. Thank you all for so much good information. You guys are the best. Wish we could be out west to attend the reunion rally.
TY for the Information Sherry! I used a Halon on a car engine fire one time, no mess and the owner onlt had to replace some wires and plastic attachments! It smothered the flame! Seems that when something works well the Federal agencies ban it, or sue the manufacturers!
-- Edited by PIEERE on Wednesday 27th of December 2017 10:36:14 AM
I did not see it mentioned, but FYI, Kidde fire extinguishers are part of a huge recall from 2017.
They replaced all 4 of ours including one that was 25+ years old. It’s gage was still in the green and I think we serviced it once but they happily sent us a new one.
Thank you for the information. I checked our fire extinguishers and discovered two of them were on the recall list.