Fire Extinguishers

N2124v

N2124v

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N2124V
What type of fire extinguisher do you carry in your plane? My new to me mooney does not have one so I am looking for suggestions.
 
The FAA says Halon is the only choice.

But since the FAA is not paying my bills, and the chances that I will have an in-cockpit fire is minimal, I carry dry chemical. Yes, it can destroy your radios and cause visibility problems. It can also corrode your aluminum, but it is better than burning (IMO) and I have better things to spend my money on than Halon.
 
Halon.

I also always make sure the pin is easily removable. I've had a few where you had to fight with it for a few seconds, not something that is like to fight with if things go south.
 
Small halon on board, 6 dry chem in the hangar (I inherited most of them when I moved into the hangar).
 
What halon are you all using ? The rules changed recently and only certain models can be used.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
The FAA says Halon is the only choice.
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It's not the only choice, but having studied the issue for several years as a DoD contractor, I have to say that all the others are unacceptably poor for inflight cockpit use, and dry chemical is next to worst in front of CO2. Get a Halon 1301/1211 mix for your cockpit fire extinguisher, but make sure the amount of agent is appropriate to your cabin volume because 1211 can be toxic in high enough concentrations. For the typical 4-seat light GA plane, a 500 gram/1 lb unit will do the job properly without creating a toxicity risk.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
The FAA says Halon is the only choice.

But since the FAA is not paying my bills, and the chances that I will have an in-cockpit fire is minimal, I carry dry chemical. Yes, it can destroy your radios and cause visibility problems. It can also corrode your aluminum, but it is better than burning (IMO) and I have better things to spend my money on than Halon.
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The small halon extinguisher I bought was only about $110.
 
BTW: That is a mighty fine looking Mooney. Congrats on the purchase, and we're looking forward to drooling on it "in person"!
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
The FAA says Halon is the only choice.

But since the FAA is not paying my bills, and the chances that I will have an in-cockpit fire is minimal, I carry dry chemical. Yes, it can destroy your radios and cause visibility problems. It can also corrode your aluminum, but it is better than burning (IMO) and I have better things to spend my money on than Halon.
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I will take Halon over third degree burns any day....:yes:......:rolleyes:
 
Jay Honeck said:
BTW: That is a mighty fine looking Mooney. Congrats on the purchase, and we're looking forward to drooling on it "in person"!
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Thanks! Well, the mags are back from being rebuilt, waiting on the wiring harness to come in. Hopefully we'll be airborne early next week!
 
We have a small halon in the plane - not sure what model...I'll check.

These are cool though - not sure how well they work but I bought a few and considered keeping one in the plane...did not know there were regs on specific units. Anyone have a link?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLsCchy1u8g
 
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kenjr said:
We have a small halon in the plane - not sure what model...I'll check.

These are cool though - not sure how well they work but I bought a few and considered keeping one in the plane...did not know there were regs on specific units. Anyone have a link?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLsCchy1u8g
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Dry chemical and all of the disadvantages thereof. Plus you can't let go of the trigger and stop the flow if you knock the fire out. Seems like a bad idea.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
Dry chemical and all of the disadvantages thereof. Plus you can't let go of the trigger and stop the flow if you knock the fire out. Seems like a bad idea.
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I'm unable to parse that statement. Both dry chemical and halon have triggers you can let go of. The problem is that Halon is the only one that is reasonable for confined space suppression. Have you ever fired off a dry chemical in a confined space?

Nope, I'm going to keep my Halon and hope I never have to use it.

I've fought fires with just about every form of supressing agent out there:

Water, Dry Chemical, Halon, Purple K, AFFF. and a rake . They all have their place.
 
flyingron said:
I'm unable to parse that statement. Both dry chemical and halon have triggers you can let go of. The problem is that Halon is the only one that is reasonable for confined space suppression. Have you ever fired off a dry chemical in a confined space?

Nope, I'm going to keep my Halon and hope I never have to use it.

I've fought fires with just about every form of supressing agent out there:

Water, Dry Chemical, Halon, Purple K, AFFF. and a rake . They all have their place.
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Obviously you didn't watch the video. It was about a pyro activated dry chemical extinguisher - once you set it off, it doesn't stop until exhausted. So, you have all the disadvantages of dry chemical because it is dry chemical. You have the added disadvantage of not being able to stop the flow of dry chemical once initiated.

I've use most of the above as well (except Halon) on fires both in training and actual refinery fires.

Dry chemical sucks in a confined place or in a place where there are expensive electronics and/or aluminum structures. But it is still better than burning to death.

I don't consider the likelihood of an in cockpit fire to be high enough to warrant the cost of buying a Halon extinguisher.

Your money, your choice.
 
N2124v said:
What type of fire extinguisher do you carry in your plane? My new to me mooney does not have one so I am looking for suggestions.
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One of the Halon replacements, no dust, no asphyxiation hazard.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
The FAA says Halon is the only choice.

But since the FAA is not paying my bills, and the chances that I will have an in-cockpit fire is minimal, I carry dry chemical. Yes, it can destroy your radios and cause visibility problems. It can also corrode your aluminum, but it is better than burning (IMO) and I have better things to spend my money on than Halon.
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:confused: The price difference I pay between DCs and Halon replacement is pretty minimal.
 
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Brad Z said:
The small halon extinguisher I bought was only about $110.
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:confused: How much? I'm not getting this pricing on the ones I get, but they are second generation. Must be like the price difference between R-12 and R-134A. I picked up 10 extinguishers, the agent name escapes me at the moment but it is one of the replacements for Halon, for $200 and change last spring.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
Feel free to mail me $95 any time you want.

Is it big enough for your cockpit volume?
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The problem with extinguishers with H1211 is not being big enough, it's being TOO big. They have a minimum, not maximum, cabin volume issue due to the potential toxicity if too much is discharged in too small a space.
 
Henning said:
One of the Halon replacements, no dust, no asphyxiation hazard.
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...and only a fraction of the effectiveness combined with severe HF and HCl toxicity issues in the post-fire environment. Do not even think about these HFC or HCFC agents for cockpit use -- you really, really, really want bromine in the mix even if the brominated halogens are ozone-depleting compounds (which I'm beginning to guess is due to the same characteristics which give it the chemical extinguishing effects that HFC and HCFC agents lack, relying instead almost entirely on physical effects).

With HFC/HCFC agents, you have to dump so much, and the extinguishing effects are so slow (in chemical kinetics terms) that you get a huge pyrolysis effect on the agent creating comparatively huge amounts of halogen acids in the post-fire environment, and that stuff destroys you lungs. With brominated agents like 1301 and 1211, the chemical effects are so effective and act so quickly that much less agent is required, and very little pyrolysis occurs, so the post-fire environment isn't nearly so nasty.
 
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Brad Z said:
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspages/a344t.php

Halon 1211
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1211 alone isn't a good choice for a cockpit fire bottle because it is pretty much purely a streaming agent with little volume fill due to its comparatively low boiling point. This makes it a lot less effective at fighting 3-dimensional fires like those associated with spraying flammable liquids (think fuel pressure line pinhole). Mixing it with 1301 takes care of that problem.
 
HALON for me - and one of the first purchases after buying my bird.

Placement is another issue to consider. The big pockets on the back of the front seats make it an easy grab if something should go wrong (a little easier to get to than the emergency gear handle). Never could understand folks that strap them to the floor where you can't get to them quickly. If my feet are on fire, I want to take action immediately...
 
brian];1580992 said:
The big pockets on the back of the front seats make it an easy grab .
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Not a good place to put a fire extinguisher. In any kind of accident..........


1400709141000-1.png


..............it will be flying around the cockpit, crushing your skull.

It should be properly fastened down.
 
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kgruber said:
Really a dumb place to put a fire extinguisher. In any kind of accident it will be flying around the cockpit, crushing your skull.

It should be properly fastened down.
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Hmmmm. Interesting point.. I'll review..

The pockets on my seat backs appear to be hand made and I'm pretty sure it will stay put. But something to consider review next time I'm in the airplane...

Regardless, it shouldn't be in the baggage compartment like I've seen with one owner / operator....
 
brian];1581160 said:
Hmmmm. Interesting point.. I'll review..

The pockets on my seat backs appear to be hand made and I'm pretty sure it will stay put. But something to consider review next time I'm in the airplane...
r....
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How about on the hump between the rear seats? I think your mechanic can install the bracket for you.
 
brian];1581160 said:
Hmmmm. Interesting point.. I'll review..

The pockets on my seat backs appear to be hand made and I'm pretty sure it will stay put. But something to consider review next time I'm in the airplane...

Regardless, it shouldn't be in the baggage compartment like I've seen with one owner / operator....
Click to expand...

They all come with a mounting bracket, find a good place within reach, they exist.
 
I mounted a small halon to the front of each front seat. $108 at Spruce.

 

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N801BH said:
I will take Halon over third degree burns any day....:yes:......:rolleyes:
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How valuable is a fire extinguisher in the cockpit? There isn't a person in this forum that wouldn't trade their life savings/net worth for an extinguisher if they had a cockpit fire at =>1000' AGL. So yea, $110 is a bargain.
 
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