Fire Extinguishers - Halon vs Halotron

JohnAJohnson

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I need to put a fire extinguisher in my new [to me] plane. Last time I did this, 10 years ago, I bought a couple of Amerex A344Ts from Aircraft Spruce for $95 each. Today, they are $173. So I am looking at alternatives.

The A384T (specs) has the same form factor as the A344T (specs) but is half the cost. It is Halotron (HCFC-123), whereas the A344T is Halon 1211. Is the A384T Halotron suitable for the cockpit?
 
See the note on page 4 of the advisory. You can likely use whatever you want, though it should be suitable for the types of fires (combustible liquids, wiring/electrical, etc.) that could be encountered.
 
Either one will work. I prefer Halon 1211, it floods better. The A384T has just 1.4 lbs of agent, a 9 second discharge, and a 1B:C rating. Same with the A344T.

If I were buying for my aircraft, I would get the A354T Halon 1211 unit. It has 2.5 lbs of agent compared to 1.4 lbs in the two you chose, and it has a 5B:C rating while the two you selected are 1B:C.

The B:C rating is equivalent to the amount of square footage that the extinguisher can cover, handled by a professional.

1B:C = 1 square foot of coverage.

5B:C = 5 square feet of coverage.

C indicates it is suitable for use on electrically energized equipment.

It's also more expensive, $182.50.

I would happily pay the extra $112.50 for an extinguisher that will cover five times the area of the cheaper model.
 
See the note on page 4 of the advisory. You can likely use whatever you want, though it should be suitable for the types of fires (combustible liquids, wiring/electrical, etc.) that could be encountered.

It's 48 pages of govspeak explaining why you should use a less effective firefighting agent called halocarbon that is also more toxic than Halon 1211.

I'll skip the opportunity to stop climate change and go with Halon.
 
I've used both and both worked equally well for me. Use the biggest bottle you can. Running out isn't a good feeling. Locate it where you can reach it in flight as well as from outside.

My planes and truck have halotron extinguishers installed.
 
I’m still using halon,you have to read all the literature on both extinguishers,and make a personal choice.
 
No, not directly Stewart. I work in the chemical industry. It’s anecdotal from the research chemists that used to come into my office to bother me when I was trying to do work. The fluorine lab was right upstairs from my office. Refrigerants and extinguishants is what they concocted up there. I’m sure my life is shortened from my exposure to unknown new molecules those madmen tried to make.
 
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Aircraft cockpits are one of the few places where Halon is still legal and the most effective thing out there. All the aircraft bottles sold these days are made from reclaimed stocks (most of the large data centers that had halon flooding systems have had them removed).

Back in the Reagan era, I was working as an Electrical Engineer for the US Army. They found out one of our data centers didn't have a fire suppression system so they bought us a half a dozen LARGE halon hand extinguishers. Then they decided we needed training so the post fire department came over and set pan fires out behind our building and we all got to take turns putting them out with the halon extinguishers. I can't imagine how much that cost in terms of agent we went through and the damage to the environment.
Subsequently, I got a message from the safety office. I was supposed to tell the computer repair guys they weren't allowed in the machine room anymore (which sort of makes it hard to fix the computers). Why? Because they are fire hazards (they have soldering irons).

They also wanted me to go out and get CPR training. First off, I pointed out I was already a state-certified paramedic and went through regular recurrent training. Second, why me? Turns out because I was an EE. My coworkers were all computer scientists, and they figure an EE might get exposed to dangerous voltages. I pointed out that I wasn't going to do CPR on myself and they should send my office mates instead.
You got to love the Army mentality.
 
Halon is the good stuff, if you can find/afford it. Halotron next, but I think it's half as effective so you might consider moving up a size.
 
Got a C352TS 2.5 for mine
 
Half as effective in a test that has no relevance to the average aircraft fire. Go light your planes on fire and try both to see how they compare. ;)
 
Half as effective in a test that has no relevance to the average aircraft fire. Go light your planes on fire and try both to see how they compare. ;)
I honestly don't know what the average aircraft fire is. If it's an electrical short behind the panel, a Halotron extinguisher will require twice as much agent as a Halon.

A 1.25 lb Halon extinguisher is rated at 2B:C, you need a 2.5 lb Halotron extinguisher to get the same 2B:C rating.

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For a ground based extinguisher (fuel/oil, for example), a Purple K (potassium carbonate) is generally recommended. It's a potassium bicarb dry chemical that is not only very effective, but it isn't corrosive to aluminum. Check the extinguishers on your fuel trucks and at the fuel pumps. They are probably purple-k. I think the liquid based extinquishers are even more effective, but they won't keep well in an unheated hangar in winter.
 
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Either is WAY more than you'd use inside an airplane cabin. Chances are greater that you'll use it on the ground in the engine compartment. I'm biased after three fires. One with no extinguiser, one with Halon, and the worst/biggest fire with Halotron. My Halotron bottle worked the best. I'll stay with what I trust.

Bottom line? You guys who don't have one? Get one. Pick either Halotron or Halon. They're both good and both are exponentially better than nothing. Then pray you'll never need it!
 
My concern is always inflight electrical fires. My old plane had two Halons mounted one on the lower front of each front seat, and I think I'll just go with the same on the new plane. Gives me 2.5 lbs of Halon and a bit of redundancy.

Thanks all. Very good information.FE1.jpg FE2.jpg
 
Note that agent-to-fuel isn't the primary concern. The problem with cockpits is they're combined space that you're going to have to live in long enough to get on the ground.
 
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