Question for those with fire extinguishers

We just had a small fire here at the house (it was easily put out and everyone is ok) but it made me glad that we had a fire extinguisher on hand. I've been thinking about getting one to keep in my truck and now I'm seriously considering it because I would not like to get caught without one..

My question though is that I have a double cab and cannot think of anywhere to keep it that it would be in the way for me or my passengers. Is there anyway to mount one in the bed? Also, reading the side of the one I have in my hand, it says to now expose the extinguisher to temperatures more that 120F, and considering it gets into the triple digits sometimes during the summer here, I'm not sure if that is a problem. Are there different ratings/is that something I should really be worried about? I know next to nothing about fire extinguishers besides how to use them. Haha

 

Just make sure you get one rated A,B,and C. I just have a little one stuffed in the rear door pocket of my access cab with a rain jacket bundled up in there to keep it from rattling. Most of them come with a cheap little mount but they probably wouldn't be strong enough for a bed mount.

 

how big is it? like full size or small like a boat fire extinguisher?

 

I had mine stuffed under the front seat for a while. Then I made a few different mounts for the bed.

This one from the mount that came with it, a bracket, a strap and some Velcro.



Then made this one from a quick fist and a metal bracket. It's held on with the existing bolts on the bed cubby.




It's looks a little cleaner than that now. The ends of the straps are tucked away so they're not flopping around.

 

Defined Engineering makes some sweet mounts

http://www.definedengineering.com/products.html

 

I have a couple of those. One for my extinguisher and one for my Nitrogen bottle for my ARB. They work awesome. I'm on my third fire extinguisher. My truck seems to be a pyromaniac. Maybe it's just me, but it spontaneously combusts on occasion, or maybe I'm a sloppy welder, one of the two. I get mine at walmart. I have not had an issue with high temps, and I lived in the Mojave desert with ambient temps above 120F. I don't know how hot it got in the cab, but hot enough that you could fry bacon on the dash. Extinguisher did not blow the over pressure valve.

 

Hm, I'll have to look into some of those mounts. From what I can see on my phone the defined engineering ones look pretty sweet.. I was planning on just going with a 2.5 pounder from Walmart or advance auto or something.

 

Mine takes up most of the room in the glove compartment, but it's there.

 

Mine is attached to my cage behind the driver seat with a Smittybilt neoprene cover. Easy to slip in and out of needed.

 

Mine is under the rear seat in my double cab.

Don't forget to have it serviced every year

 

Where do you get yours serviced Leo? Mine is coming up on a year, display still shows good, but want to have it checked.

 

The fire department will usually do it for free.

 

The reason you need to have them serviced every year is the power will tend to settle inside the extinguisher. Also with the difference in temps on the outside and inside of the extinguisher there can be some condensation buildup that will not allow it to flow adequately.

Ours doesn't.

We have 2 fire extinguisher companies in the city that takes care of all the personal extinguishers. One thing to remember, if you buy yours at Wal Mart or some place like that and it has a plastic top it can not be serviced. It must have a metal top and "generally" you can not get those unless you go to a company that deals in fire extinguishers.

One other thing to consider, if you have never used a fire extinguisher it will most likely do you no good. Depending on the size of the fire (in a vehicle) you will most likely be fighting a losing battle especially if the fire is in the engine compartment. Not always but usually that is the case in a actual vehicle fire. By the time we roll up the car is usually engulfed in flames with 4-5 spent extinguishers setting on the ground beside it. If you do decide to get one make sure you get a A, B, C, extinguisher. It will taste like shit when you blow it off but it's better than nothing.

Speaking of... my extinguisher in my kitchen is due.

 

2.5# Kidde ABC behind the rear passenger (driver's side) seat.

Matt

 

I forget the name of the company but I sneak mine in with all the state owned ones we do every year

 

The ABC extinguisher is what you want.
If you do get one make sure you have a good mount for it, don't want it bouncing around in your truck.

A guy at work had one rolling around in his truck and the thing discharged.
Scared the S%&t out of him and he had a mess to clean up.

 

If you don't mind spending a few bucks more, do get a C02 extinguisher. There will be no powder to clean up after use.

We use these exclusively.

 

Ditto on getting a good mount.

We have extinguishers in the trunk of our police cruisers, held in by the standard metal straps. It seemed for a while that about once every two weeks one would break out and go off the trunk, with the dust substance coating all the medical and response gear we have.

Not such a big deal in the back of the bed, but not good in the passenger compartment.

 

I need to carry one for work, they do sell truck brackets and covers. Every year I let the young/new guys fire it off, and just buy new. I write it off as training and hope that's all we need them for.

 

Thanks for all the info guys! I think I'll be picking up a small kiddie one tomorrow and will start looking around at different mounting options. I'm still leaning towards a bed mount in case of accidental discharge and at work if I need one, I'll need it quick and I think it'd be easier to access from the bed.