Carpokes Porsche Forum

dr bob wrote: Sat Jul 01, 2023 8:55 pm Any first or even reliable second-hand experience or testimony about them actually putting out a fire? I have a 2.5lb red bottle now, not enough space to put a sufficiently accessible 5lb. The Element units sound great if they actually work as claimed especially on fuel/oil fires in the engine bay.

Appreciate the help!

Thanks Tom, those sorta reinforce my suspicions. Oil/fuel fire in the engine bay needs a lot of cooling plus starve oxygen at the same time. Best solution is usually a couple big buckets of cold water unless there's a lake of fuel underneath. Not exactly convenient to carry around.

dr bob wrote: Sun Jul 02, 2023 3:54 pm Thanks Tom, those sorta reinforce my suspicions. Oil/fuel fire in the engine bay needs a lot of cooling plus starve oxygen at the same time. Best solution is usually a couple big buckets of cold water unless there's a lake of fuel underneath. Not exactly convenient to carry around.

I wish they hit those fires with a 'regular' extinguisher after the Element failed, just to see if/how much better they did... Those videos suggest I've had a false sense of security with my puny little extinguisher in front of the passenger seat.

Fires do happen so best to have something that works!

New post here:

viewtopic.php?p=21026#p21026

I never really thought if the Element would be good or bad. I found another video that seems to compare regular extinguishers with the Element.

These videos are pretty definitive, and seem to rule out the element as anything more than a decoration for false comfort.

Gasoline fires under the hood will go out if you stop the fuel flow, but that doesn't solve the other stuff that catches fire from the fuel. Oil, power steering and transmission fluid are the other popular fuels for car fires, and are likely to continue burning from spontaneous combustion at a heat source like hot exhaust. Assuming that the flow stops when you stop the engine, you get to deal with the residual fuel and the residual heat. I know there's a lot of popular guidance on not using water on an oil fire, but that's related more to lots of oil and the risk of spreading the burning oil on top of the water. But there are some cases, like in the driveway or workbay, where a hose leak onto exhaust causes a fire. A garden hose might be enough if you catch it early. Better though is a couple 5-gal buckets of water, The large mass of water instantly smothers the flame, but at least as importantly it cools the heat sources to less than that spontaneous combustion temperature.

My 1989 car has 35-plus year old plumbing in it. The fuel and power steering hoses have all been replaced. The ATF cooler hoses have been replaced already. I have two engine oil cooler hoses that need to come out for rebuild, and that will bring all the rubber fuel and oil bits to less than ten years old from end to end on the car. Prevention is certainly the method of choice. Closest Pirtek store for hose rebuilds is in Portland. There's a good local hydraulics shop that can do the bigger crimping and probably supply the rubber oil cooler hose itself if it comes to that.

Back to the subject here though -- I won't waste time or $$ on the Element extinguishers to ride in the car.

I used to carry a HALON extinguisher in my cars, but lately there's nothing in the 718 to put out a fire. Engine fire? How do you access the fire to extinguish it? 924/944/928 front engine or 911 rear engine yes, but a Cayman or Boxster? I think it would be false comfort.

Bill in Bama wrote: Tue Jul 04, 2023 4:24 am I used to carry a HALON extinguisher in my cars, but lately there's nothing in the 718 to put out a fire. Engine fire? How do you access the fire to extinguish it? 924/944/928 front engine or 911 rear engine yes, but a Cayman or Boxster? I think it would be false comfort.

My 992 is basically the same. No access to the motor at all from the top.

I have a 718. If I had an engine fire, could I extinguish it by driving into a lake?