[BMWCSRegistry] Going crazy looking for clean fire extinguisher

[knowtree at aloha.com]

Re:

> From:    Coupecs at aol.com
> Date:    Thu, 15 Mar 2007 16:32:11 EDT
> Subject: [BMWCSRegistry] the silence of the lambs
>
> It seems to have coincided with the new DaylightSavingsTime change. 
> Where are you guys and girls? I miss the chatter, the light banter, 
> the screaming in all caps, the bad jokes, the expert advice
..

Still here, but have been working (too much) on my Lotus. Here is a posting
I made a few days ago to a Lotus-specific list which has spawned an
interesting discussion on the merits of fire extinguishers. Specifically,
is an in-cabin unit mearly a toy, and should any real fire start the best
thing to do is to get away and let the professionals with Big Guns deal
with it?

Here is my original post; what do you think?

Subtitle: You can't get there from here.

Before getting to my long story let me ask a simple
question: if you have a fire extinguisher in your car,
where did you put it and are you happy with it?

Now, on to my story, with another question at the end.

What I have been "told" about fire extinguishers:

1. Dry chemical rated A-B-C leaves a thick crust that
ruins what it touches, not suitable for classic cars.

2. Dry chemical rated B-C leaves a powder (sodium
bicarbonate) which makes a big mess and can be
difficult to clean; better than A-B-C.

3. "Clean" extinguishers use Halon or Halotron or
similar, cost more but are more effective and leave no
residue. Ideal for classic cars.

My decision: get a clean extinguisher for my Europa.
Small enough to mount in the cockpit, 1-2 lbs.,
attractive finish if possible.

I called Hawaii's leading Hot Rod shop, Ron's, and
they only have dry chemical. I called other car
places, they said to call Ron's. I called several fire
extinguisher companies, they have nothing small enough
and only dry chemical.

We have a local West Marine store. Their national web
site lists clean extinguishers, but only in heat
activated automatic types to be mounted in a yacht's
engine room.

I found exactly what I want at Griot's Garage, Summit
Racing, and JEGS. None of them will ship to Hawaii
because fire extinguishers are considered hazardous
material and as such cannot be shipped by air on a
passenger plane. Virtually all air freight to Hawaii
moves on passenger planes.

Aircraft Spruce did offer to ship a 1.3 lb. Halon unit
(model A344TC)
<http://www.aircraft spruce.com/ catalog/pspages/ halon1211. php>,
priced at $109.95, to Hawaii by sea:

> Gary,
> I asked our shipping manager about this and he said
> we would have to ship ups freight about $425.00 12
day delivery.

I can ship an entire car to Hawaii for about twice
that.

The irony here is that the same commercial jets that
cannot carry my package are required to carry the same
type of extinguishers in the cabin!

QUESTION: Is a B-C sodium bicarbonate type safe
enough, or should I spend $425 on a plane ticket and
smuggle in a Halon type disguised as a bottle of
champagne? Oh, wait, that's a liquid and cannot be
carried on ...

Gary Dunn
Honolulu
73 BMW 3.0 CS 2213583 (rust repair research project)
74 Lotus Europa TCS 4654R (on the road)