how many guys HAVE a CO2 extinguisher handy ? or for that matter ANY DECENT FIRE EXTINGUISHERS THAT ARE EASILY ACCESSED?
an engine coughing back as you set timing or a bit of welding slag , a short circuit or defective battery connection, flammable solvents ,oily trash, sparks, all can be the almost instant source of huge problems if you can,t contain a minor fire very quickly, and YOU WILL eventually have a small fire start, if you work on cars ,its not a question of if.. only how bad and when!
Ive always preferred the Co2 because theres no extensive clean up work after their use required,, but having ANY DECENT extinguisher that's easily accessed is MANDATORY, in a auto garage, home or shop
Ive ALMOST always had SEVERAL fire extinguishers, mounted near every door in my shop for the last 30 plus years, because IVE seen several freinds shops damaged when little stuff , like a shorted electrical connection, fuel leaks, or welding sparks or a hot exhaust caused problems that ,quickly got out of control , and when the ready access of an extinguisher, was not available.
Id point out that while most dry chemical fire extinguishers work reasonably well, they make one hell of a mess , a C02 10 lb version may cost more and be harder to find but its so much nicer in that you don,t have a huge corrosive mess, that can,t easily be removed with soapy water and a garden hose, it your forced into using it when your done
no garage or shop should be without one of these mounted near the door where its easily located in an emergency
do yourself a HUGE FAVOR and get a QUALITY METAL TRASH CAN WITH A LID, as they are far more likely to survive stupid mistakes like flammable trash catching on fire, and have at least two good fire extinguishers as you WILL eventually have a fire from some cause, in any garage, it may be decades before you need it but when you need it youll need it badly
yes they happen, occasionally, so do electrical fires caused by faulty wiring or defective components, remember that nearly anyone working on any car or corvette can at some point screw up some component, and cause a fuel leak or an electrical fire that destroys a car.
THINK THINGS THRU!
VERIFY YOUR WORK!
and
HAVE A DECENT FIRE EXTINGUISHER HANDY IN YOUR SHOP!
Id start by cleaning the battery terminals and cable connections carefully, a great many problems blamed on battery's and fuses are basically high resistance or intermittent connections, then use a multi meter to see what your dealing with , and verify theres no fuel leaks on any car before driving it after having work done on it.
Ive occasionally used nitrous on my corvette for over 10 years now, and and never had a single issue.
anyone working on the electrical or fuel system on any car has the potential to screw things up and can cause a fire that destroys a car. adding nitrous is not the cause, a crappy install or defective components is far more likely.
one of my friends, called to thank me for constantly bugging him into buying a couple fire extinguishers "HE WOULD NEVER USE" and forcing him to mount one on the door frame of the shop,and another on his inside garage door frame.
Id strongly suggested getting two simply because if the fires between you and the only extinguisher the second extinguisher will be very handy
seems he had been trying to get his lawn mower started and had pulled the plug to inspect it and put fresh gas in the tank, and had spilled some on the engine, well like most of us he had a less than intelligent moment and tried to start the mower but had forgotten to clip the magneto wire on the plug, it arced,
and ignited the spilled fuel on the engine and the open 1 gallon plastic gas can that was sitting next to the mower, well after screaming, cussing and running around for 3 seconds in a total panic, and getting slightly burned he remembered the extinguisher hanging on the wall next to the garage door and quickly put out the mower and the gas can (which luckily for him had only blown off it screw on spout, when the fumes ignited and was starting to melt but had not burst, because it was 90% full or he would have had about 2 more quarts of burning gas running across the garage floor, total damage was minor mostly because he had instant access to the extinguisher, it could have escalated into something much worse given a few more seconds to continue.
one very simple to over look factor is the trash cans you select for the shop, that factor was brought home recently when a buddy's shop almost caught fire, he had the common plastic trash cans in his shop rather than the galvanized steel with lids that tend to be a bit safer.
now when I say that it might take a bit of explanation,
he had just changed out some batteries in a couple meters and thrown them into a trash can near his shop door where he kept the trash can, what he didn,t realize was the battery was still mostly charged even if it was 6 months old and it landed in a bunch of steel wool and paint, and sand paper from a recent project, the battery, shorted out,igniting the steel wool, paint, paper etc. and by the time my friend noticed, there were flames and the trash can it self was starting to burn along with the trash in it, if it was a metal can with a lid the chances would be far better that even if it caught fire, it would be less likely to catch the near by objects on fire than a plastic can that added fuel to the fire.
and theres a good chance a metal can with a snap on lid would not allow enough air to the fire to let it burn efficiently.
he had a fire extinguisher, luckily, and got it put out quickly but not before the trash can was mostly on fire and he swears the time between throwing the batteries in the trash can and the fire was under 7-8 minutes, way more time than you might think it required to get to burn, but it was totally UN-expected..
if you don,t think that type of stuff can happen , try dropping a partly charged ,9volt battery into a pile of shredded 0000 steel wool, mixed with paint chips and paint thinner
you might be amazed at the results.
I told him he was darn lucky, if he had thrown the battery away as he left the shop chances are good that by the time he noticed the fire it would have been a major fire, I also suggested use of both metal cans with lids and a smoke detector would not hurt.
an getting the fire extinguisher refilled would be a great idea.
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