Fire Extinguishers from Lidls

[Steve King]

From Thursday 16th August Lidls are flogging 2kg dry powder extinguishers for £9.99

Here

Steve

[najw]

From Thursday 16th August Lidls are flogging 2kg dry powder extinguishers for £9.99

Here

Steve

Just be aware that dry powder isn't acceptable should you ever want to partake in motorsport.

It 'clumps' particularly when kept in a vehicle used off-road and as such is reluctant to come out when you need it most.

[Mark90]

And AFFF isn't suitable if you want to partake in putting out fires

Agree about the powder settling though.

It's a shame someone thought a vehicle burning and all the rubber/plastics releasing noxious gases into the atmosphere is more environmentally friendly than letting a few little halons out

[russ3120]

And AFFF isn't suitable if you want to partake in putting out fires

Agree about the powder settling though.

It's a shame someone thought a vehicle burning and all the rubber/plastics releasing noxious gases into the atmosphere is more environmentally friendly than letting a few little halons out

beg to differ

AFFF (aquious foam forming film) is used on class b fires - flammable liquids and it can also be used on small class a fires - solids

Russ

[Mark90]

You can use it on them, but whether it actually puts the fire out is a different matter.

[Steve Hiatt]

Beg to agree with Mark90

courtesy of NAJW/Chris Nunn

I couldn't put this out with a 2.4 AFFF, I had more luck dampening it with my jumper! I flagged down the next driver who lent me a little powder one which put the fire out straight away.

There was also an engine fire at 7 Sisters earlier in the year during which about 8 AFFF's, to little effect, were used and the car was finally extinguished with a halcon, after the rear of the car had melted. Huge amount of damage.

If you think AFFF will stop your car fire, think again.

[Mark90]

Hi Steve

Your recent little incident was one of the things I had in mind when making my comments, and I thought you might comment.

[Les Brock]

Hi Steve

Your recent little incident was one of the things I had in mind when making my comments, and I thought you might comment.

Nige , been at the wiring Eh ?

[BogMonster]

It's a shame someone thought a vehicle burning and all the rubber/plastics releasing noxious gases into the atmosphere is more environmentally friendly than letting a few little halons out

Yes you have to wonder what genius thought banning an efficient extinguisher was a good idea in the name of 'mentalism.

[mmgemini]

I wouldn't trust a dry powder extinguisher to work if it's been down the road in a car....

I haven't had the "pleasure" of trying an AFFF yet.

I do know that BCF is super at putting out fires.....

mike

[jules]

Yes you have to wonder what genius thought banning an efficient extinguisher was a good idea in the name of 'mentalism.

That would be the HSE chaps again

haylon is toxic untill mixed with fire..

smoke is prity dangerous to the humun lungs as well...

[najw]

You know what they say...

carry an AFFF to pass scrutineering

and a H*l*n to put out the fire

[russ3120]

I do know that BCF is super at putting out fires.....

mike

I would have to agree BCF is tops at putting vehicle fires out, used them loads in my job, shame the MOD removed them from service and have replaced them with dry powder.

BCF, Halon and Dry powder only put the flames out, they DO NOT stop the heat which can cause re-ignition.

If you can carry an AFFF aswell, they are water based, so aid with the cooling.

If you want any more info, let me know. as part of my job i am a qualified fire putter outer

Russ

[russ3120]

and dry powder are a bugger to clean up after, it gets every where

Russ

[Steve Hiatt]

and dry powder are a bugger to clean up after, it gets every where

Russ

This is true but at least you have something left that's worth cleaning up!

I found a steam clean got rid of most of the powder and I stripped the carb as a precaution.

[western]

I have to carry a 9kg Dry Powder as part of my MSA listed recovery kit, if it settles just turn the extinguishers upside down & shake, you'll hear the powder move, I do mine before every event or long journey.

http://www.lidl.co.uk/uk/home.nsf/pages/c....guisher_2kg.ar6

[101nut]

It used to be an accepted practice as a fire marshall to run to an accident with the powder extinguisher basically upside down. When you got there and flipped it right side up to let it off it was less likely to be packed.

Oh and the quote I got from somebody just before the MSA finally withdrew BCF was that to put out a fuel fire on average you need 9 litres of AFFF where 1 of BCF would do ... That's assuming the AFFF isn't frozen and that it's a good quality extinguisher that hasn't internally corroded ...

AndyG

[western]

Yep, also have a 9 gallon AFFF in the kit too & fully serviced by my local Chubb engineer, my 9kg DP is on rent from them @£48 per year includes refills/replacement if used & annual service.

[Orgasmic Farmer]

I had a serious kitchen fire a few years back which i put out with a couple of 6 kg dry powder extinguishers (good job as the fire engine got stuck on our bridge for 30 minutes!). But we cleaned up for months afterwards. It even got inside the fridge past the seals and rendered every last Rizla paper in the room completely useless.

[Roverdrive]

Don't understand the issues with DP settling. We use them on ships, which are also subject to a great deal of vibration with no "clumping" evident after a year. ( We tend to set a couple off for excercise and refill them at this time - all others are opened up and checked)

Luckily the only vehicle fire I have been a party to was quickly extinguished with a couple of squirts of Halon, though as it was brake fluid dripping on an exhaust manifold it kept re igniting. AFFF would have given the vital cooling effect as well.

I think Russ would probably agree a combination works well. DP to knock the fire down quick, and AFFF to blanket and cool it.

No point bi*ching about the mess DP makes if it does the job. I'd rather jet wash the inside of my RRC than scrap it after a fire.

[mmgemini]

Don't understand the issues with DP settling. We use them on ships, which are also subject to a great deal of vibration with no "clumping" evident after a year. ( We tend to set a couple off for excercise and refill them at this time - all others are opened up and checked)

Luckily the only vehicle fire I have been a party to was quickly extinguished with a couple of squirts of Halon, though as it was brake fluid dripping on an exhaust manifold it kept re igniting. AFFF would have given the vital cooling effect as well.

I think Russ would probably agree a combination works well. DP to knock the fire down quick, and AFFF to blanket and cool it.

No point bi*ching about the mess DP makes if it does the job. I'd rather jet wash the inside of my RRC than scrap it after a fire.

Tell that to the owner of the rally car that the DP extinguiser wouldn't work on. That was the reason for the RAC as it was then for bringing in BCF.

mike

[q-rover]

I work for a company in the 'Firewater and Deluge' department and we design, service

install extinguishing equipment offshore.

In my expirience these handheld extinguishers are merely a comfort blanket

and you have to be lucky or trained to put a fire out with one.

the reason AFFF isn't good in a handheld is because it is designed to be used

in great volumes. 9 L isn't enough.

However you will find that most firefighting equipment has a limited ability to

put out fires over a limited amount of applications.

For a vehicle fire you can't really beat water as well as possibly DP a close second.

The reason being is the water will cool the source of ignition and put out the flames,

it would not be very good on an oil fire though but depending on the nozzle could be used.

DP will put out the flames but do nothing in regards to re-ignition/ heat.

You just have to realise the limitations of the extinguishing medium and possibly

carry 2 different types of extinguisher.

I personally don't carry anything in my car, as if it did catch fire, I would just get out,

run upwind and get clear. Fires are just too unpredictable to start tackling them with a

little can of DP/ water/ foam etc.

[Roverdrive]

Do the MSA ( RAC) require annual testing?

g-rover agree with what you are saying, but the storage becomes a problem with some cars. A case of accepted risk I think.

I have a Halon ( minus two squirts!) and an AFFF in the RRC, which might be OK as a first aid extinguisher but that is about it.

I guess it boils down to how the car is running on the day. If it is jumping out of low box, and only running on 6 1/2 cyl I would probably follow the run and get upwind school of thought!

[western]

Roverdrive -- Do the MSA ( RAC) require annual testing?

for Motorsport Rescue & Recovery units extinguishers Yes, don't know about the competitors on board gear, but I would hope they were checked annually.

[Projectblue]

Feel like I'm preaching to the converted here as half the thread posters seem to be involved in the prevention of flames getting worse (just put the word fire in a thread and they will all come running like pyromaniac moths to a flame )

Foam is best on fuel spills and is rubbish on multi surfaced 3 dimensional stuff like engine bays because it cannot form a seal to keep the oxygen out.

The other extinguisher is CO2, but you really don't want to use that on engine blocks because you can cause spot cooling and crack the block of an aluminium engine.

As Russ said, nothing, BUT NOTHING, puts out a fire like BCF (aka Halon, which is the propellant). I still have one, and if neccesary will use it to save life where and when required.

I last used a 1.5kg BCF to knock out an engine fire in a helicopter, and then we damped down with water to prevent re-ignition.

When Trumpton rolled up they went off on one about using BCF, but finally backed down when shown a copy of the CAA manual that says we can still use BCF in emergencies (not for training).

Russ, are you RFFS or ex DFS or County?