Diet Taco... trying to keep things light

I have ColdFire extinguishers in the truck (aerosol cans in each door since they are small) and the 1.5 gallon refillable for home or when camping/longer trips. They work great. One thing I learned from their literature is that for the refillable extinguishers at least, the solution is a concentrate so depending on what ratio you mix it, it can be used for various types of fires. I can't remember the exact information, but I have it all at home. I would strongly recommend them. My only pet peeve on their website is that even though the dimensions are listed for each of their prodicts, they are not very clear. I ordered the 1.5 gallon refillable thinking it would be a good medium sized tank, but the measurement provided do not take into account the handle and nozzle on the tank so it ended up being much larger than I'd hoped. Not a huge deal for me, but since you are meticulous in your space saving and organization, I though I should mention that. I may order another one- but I'll wait until I get some travel time with the one I have now and see how bulky or bothersome it is. For now it resides under the kitchen sink at home.

 

@GHOST SHIP thanks for the detailed info! Yeah I'm leaning towards just having one of their spray cans in the door rather than a BC extinguisher. I was looking at that 1.5 gallon for the back and the dimensions on their site sure don't seem believable! If you have a chance sometime to measure the overall height I'd greatly appreciate it! I think it should be fine where I want to put it in the back but I'd like to be sure ahead of time.

 

I can do this for you later tonight. The cans are good to have but they go fast. You'd probably get 10-20 seconds of continuous spray (I never timed it) out of one which is why I keep multiples in the truck. Doesn't sound like much, but the product does a much better job of extinguishing fires than a dry extinguisher does. One key that makes the difference (as cold fire claims) is that their chemical absorbs heat and removes it from the object that is burning. Whereas the dry extinguishers work to remove oxygen from the fire and extinguish that way. The heat remains so there is a greater chance of reignition. Cold fire claims their product basically smothers and cools. I dunno how else to explain it- I'm no scientist with their fancy book learning. But I know it works.

 

Cool, thanks!

I'm aware of the short duration of the cans, they would be to aid in exiting the vehicle rather than saving much. Given the truck is 12V and fused I'm not too worried about using them on a class C fire if it really came down to it. I like your idea of one in each door.

Their marketing material occasionally uses odd terminology attempting to explain how it all works. Basically it is just a water based extinguisher with a wetting agent. Water is of course really good at putting out fires (smothering, so depriving of oxygen) and removing heat (vaporization removes enormous amounts of heat). The main issue with water is getting it to soak into the material to be extinguished so it can effectively smother the fire as well as keep the water in contact long enough to vaporize to remove heat. Wetting agents facilitate that by reducing the surface tension of the water (i.e. so the water won't bead). With the lowered surface tension the water is much more readily absorbed into whatever material is burning. If you didn't have the wetting agent less of the water sprayed would actually end up in the material fighting the fire - it would run off onto the ground.

So any sort of wetting additive effectively make a water extinguisher of a given capacity more effective as more of the water actually ends up going to good use smothering the material and removing heat by vaporization. The Cold Fire stuff just seems to potentially be more effective on certain fires than other wetting agents and more environmentally friendly at the same time. The whole wetting agent thing is well understood fire fighting technique, this particular product just claims to be a better wetting agent in some ways.

Having watched a friend fight an oil fire on the kitchen stove with a dry chem ABC and the resulting cleanup I'm thinking of getting one of the Cold Fire cans or smaller units for our kitchen at home...

 

Here you go Ken:

 

That's the 1.5 gallon tank from ColdFire. Their description on the site states that it is 14" high and 6.5" diameter. In reality, you can see it is closer to 18" tall including the handle (can't even see a reference point for where they got 14") and 7" diameter exactly. I also showed the charge gauge (it's currently empty as I had my girlfriend do some test-shots with is so she knows how it feels and sounds- which is yet another advantage to refillable extinguishers) and what is not seen is the schrader valve on the opposite side of the gauge with aluminum cap- nothing really to see there so I figured it wasn't worth showing.
Here's a link to the actual product I ordered:
http://www.coldfiredirect.com/1-5-gal.-Extinguisher

Two things I did not like so much about the tank was:
1: the hose seems a bit cumbersome as there isn't a way to stow it close to the body of the tank. The rubber in the hose feels thick and stiff, which tells me it's probably high quality rubber for longevity, but it is something you will need to persuade when storing to keep out of the way. I'll most likely keep it strapped in with the quick fist I plan on using when it gets mounted to the truck.

2: the pull pin feels really cheap in comparison to the rest of the tank. It literally falls out of place if you lean it over. I am thinking about adding a small kink (bending it with some pliers) to the end of the pin to keep it secure in the handle, but ultimately I'd like something with more positive retention so it'll stay put and prevent accidental discharge. (insert ejaculation joke here)

Other than that, it seems well built. I may hit the surface with a scotch bride pad to knock down the chrome and give it a satin finish. Since it will most likely accompany me on trips to the desert, I'm sure the shine would be annoying in the desert sun. Really more of a preference, but I suppose I could sticker bomb the thing or pinstripe/letter it like a 60s gasser just for some pizzaz.

If you do plan on buying one let me know- they have a "refer a friend" program that may knock the price down for you a bit and give me store credit or something. Not exactly sure how that works, but who doesn't love free swag?

 

If you have not purchased a safety vest yet; Please, please please get one that is OSHA/NFPA rated, meaning that while it may zip up, it has velcro shoulder and abdominal tear away points.

 

Owlshead Mountains DVNP
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Hopefully this time next week I'll be somewhere in that picture above hiking across one of the valleys in the foreground! Only been out around the Owlsheads for one night and one day hike a few years back. Told myself I really needed to come back and finally getting around to it (fingers crossed trip doesn't get cancelled for some reason).

While I'm out with the truck first thing I need to do is a little maintenance and mods though. Besides oil change, rotate tires, grease propeller shafts, new air filter and the usual routine stuff I am also finally going to anti-seize the LCA cams and replace that rear shock bolt I lost last year with OEM fasteners. On the mod side of things going to swap out the radiator bushings, extended the AC drain line and add a RAM mount to the A pillar for the phone. Last but not least despite the truck only being two years old NV requires a smog test before registration so I printed out the drive patterns to get OBD-II to self test as fast as possible since I disconnect the battery for storage which clears all the OBD data.

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Hopefully this time next week I'll be somewhere in that picture above hiking across one of the valleys in the foreground! Only been out around the Owlsheads for one night and one day hike a few years back. Told myself I really needed to come back and finally getting around to it (fingers crossed trip doesn't get cancelled for some reason).

While I'm out with the truck first thing I need to do is a little maintenance and mods though. Besides oil change, rotate tires, grease propeller shafts, new air filter and the usual routine stuff I am also finally going to anti-seize the LCA cams and replace that rear shock bolt I lost last year with OEM fasteners. On the mod side of things going to swap out the radiator bushings, extended the AC drain line and add a RAM mount to the A pillar for the phone. Last but not least despite the truck only being two years old NV requires a smog test before registration so I printed out the drive patterns to get OBD-II to self test as fast as possible since I disconnect the battery for storage which clears all the OBD data.

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What size barbed connection and ID hose are you using? Lots of guys slip a 5/8" ID hose OVER the drain line, but I would prefer to use a barbed fitting and some clamps for a more durable and professional fix. I can't find a reference to the ID of the drain line.

Also, I have the bushings for the core support in the garage - life got in the way, but I'll get them installed in the spring. Anyway, if you install them with the small "puck" in the top position, which is the closest to the stock bushing thickness, the larger washers on the larger bottom puck can contact and vibrate on the mounts. You'll see what I mean when you start test fitting. I suggest either buying 2 washers that match the small ones that came with the kit as replacements for the big ones, or grinding the the big ones down to match the small ones. I don't think the big washers will work on top, but I'm not sure. I have seen that some folks put the bigger bushing in the top position to get a little extra clearance for aftermarket bumpers. I'm not doing that.

 

3/8" ID. And of course when I eventually Googled to figure it out what finally had the answer was a post from @Crom.

In this case my bushings aren't the generic

$28 9.4101G UNIVERSAL MOUNT

9.4101G set that people have been trying various orientations on. Instead I got the full set including body mounts designed specifically for the Tacoma -

$103 8.4109G Body Mount Set-Reg, Access & Dbl Cab

8.4109G. I'm not going to do the body mounts at this point, just the core. So in theory they should just fit following the instructions from ES. I'll see what happens in reality next week!

 

Haha thanks for finding that post from 2014. I forgot to incorporate into the build thread. My drain extension has been working great since that time. It's remarkable just how much condensation is generated by the compressor, especially on humid days.

Fingers crossed for your upcoming adventure!

 

I used a brass barbed fitting on mine, and I remember my concern at the time was the small amount of condensation that could potentially be trapped between the tapered end of the barb and the inside of the factory hose. Could cause some corrosion on the brass which would eventually clog the drain and cause a malfunction upstream in the AC unit. I bought brass because that's what I found at the time, but have since purchased a nylon fitting, just haven't gotten around to replacing. Thanks for the reminder. I should do this tonight since it only takes a couple minutes.

I remember last summer, a neighbor told me that they thought my truck was leaking oil when they saw the large puddle under the truck. There is a surprising amount of condensation that is evacuated by the hose. Makes you wonder why Toyota chose to have it terminate directly over the frame rail and a bundle of wires.

 

I stopped by HD first and they only had brass but I couldn't find tubing I liked anywhere. So I went down the road to Ace as they usually have better hardware selection that is more sensibly organized rather than spread hither and yon across a four acre building. Found 3/8" ID fuel line and nylon barb sensibly in the same aisle...

 

HD has gotten horrible over the years. I worked there when I was younger for several years and had the pleasure of opening two stores in my area. They have both since deteriorated in organization and customer service. I avoid them unless it's for very specific things that I know they have and where they are. I now shop at Lowes or spend the extra buck and go to OSH or DoItCenter since they seem to carry more of the random harder to find items.

 

I think Toyota wanted to save $0.50 in tubing.

My plan if ever stranded, with no water, and desperate, was to collect the condensate to survive. Only as a last resort though! Lol

X2 I still go there but it has gotten worse and pricing isn't competitive depending on product.

 

Can I get a link to this?

Can't seem to come up when I google it.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/air-conditioning-drain-hose.172179/#post-9079408

 

Thanks!
On my to do list now

 

@DVexile send me a PM if you need help working on your truck or a place to do it when you're in town. I have a little time on my hands right now.

 

this x100000000000000000 ive had my work vest ripped off of me several times and im glad it did, getting sucked into a moving conveyor belt is not how id like to go