Car Fire Extinguisher
As a car contains flammable fuel such as petrol or diesel and has multiple potential sources of ignition therefore car fire is one of the very common forms of fire hazards. Fire hazards in cars can be due to fuel leakage, or electrical short circuits etc. A fire extinguisher is an active fire protection device to extinguish fire. It has become a necessity in home and offices and even in automobiles such as cars. These car fire extinguishers that are generally used in cars are portable and are easy to carry and use. However these portable extinguishers have certain limitations as they are not designed to fight large fires or fires that spread quickly. These types of fire extinguishers are rated according to the type of fire you are fighting. There are many types of portable extinguishers available in the market and they use variety of fire extinguishing agents.
Today all the automobile companies are taking care of this fact that there should be appropriate built-in car fire extinguisher in it. Generally there are two kinds of extinguishers that are marketed for use in automobiles. These two car fire extinguishers are Dry chemical extinguishers and Halon extinguishers. Dry chemical extinguishers can be purchased form anywhere at very cheap rates whereas the halon fire extinguishers are harder to find and are expensive then others. The dry chemical extinguisher works by blanketing the fuel and interrupting the chemical chain reaction at the fuel's surface. It dilutes the oxygen content of the air around the fire and absorbs heat. But there is a big disadvantage in using these old types of fire extinguishers. The old dry chemical car extinguisher will destroy aluminum or magnesium and will probably damage most of the plastic components in your car. This car extinguisher is great for kitchen use but it is not a great option for cars.
Halon car fire extinguishers are very versatile and can extinguish almost any type of fire. It is also highly effective even at quite low concentrations. They are widely used in vehicles especially cars and computer suites. This fire extinguisher actually interrupts the chain reaction of fire and is termed as a process of "chain breaking". It offers some of water's cooling effect and some of carbon dioxide's smothering action and works on the combination of both. But again there are a couple of disadvantages of these types of car fire extinguishers that cannot be ignored. The first problem associated with them is that they are physically very large. The whole extinguisher weighs about 12 pounds and is 15inch long. The second most important issue with halon extinguishers is that they are very expensive. Moreover these halons are chlorofluorocarbons that can cause damage to the ozone layer. It is not just important to install these fire extinguishers in your car but there maintenance is equally important. Lack of maintenance can lead to an extinguisher not discharging when required, or rupturing when pressurized. Three types of maintenance is required for car fire extinguishers such as: Basic Service, extended service and overhaul.