Carry a Fire Extinguisher: A cautionary tale.

[MinnesotaEric]

Ten days ago my RZR came to a dead stop after it caught on fire when I was heading back home making a beer run for guests who were coming over to my house later that evening. I had nothing to put out the engine fire except beer until a Good Samaritan stopped by with a 5-gallon pail. After I winged a full six-gallon fuel can that was also on fire, I then created a small grass fire.

I ended up replacing the entire wiring harness, the tail light wiring harness, both tail lights, installing a seat safety bypass while was there, replacing the crank position sensor, the entire intake manifold from the airbox to the engine's intake on the head, the throttle body, intake manifold sensor, the coil pack, spark plug wires, the fuel rail because the pressure regulator is now suspect, and finally, the rotary gear position switch. In order to do the work, I basically had to strip the entire machine down to the frame.

This is the fire extinguisher kit that I just purchased after this incident.

Tusk UTV Fire Extinguisher Kit | Parts & Accessories | Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

From this

To this

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Anyway, here is what I had to do get my firebug RZR running again.

 

[Industrial Toys]

That really sucks! So much stuff is made from Thermo Plastic.

My fear is that you often can't get to the source of the fire and might use up your extinguisher before you put out the actual fire.

 

[Cataclysm]

Eric, I am glad your O.K. and sorry about the RZR.

Please tell me you weren't hauling gas in the back.

Yes I watched the video.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Fire extinguisher in each vehicle, and the ROPS if the tractor. Been that way for years.

 

[Doofy]

That is one stupidly expensive fire extinguisher. The cost would have been worth every penny, if you would of had one. I'm getting extinguishers ordered for all my vehicles now!

 

[ericm979]

The price isn't bad with the mount included.

I've been carrying a 5lb extinguisher in my Pioneer but it's just in a toolbag that sits on the floorboards. I haven't gotten around to making a mount for it.
Where did you mount the Tusk extinguisher?

 

[ruffdog]

ERIC....thanks for the heads-up on the fire wake-up call. When I was a teen, my dad decided to pull the fuel line off of a hot mower to check for flow. The mower was out in a field and the fuel ignited. He did not have a beer, pail, or water available to him and the mower never ran again. We should all ask ourselves, how would we stop a fire from destroying the equipment?

 

[orezok]

You might want to consider Element - Fire Extinguishers as its small enough to carry on an ATV and has 5 times the output of the typical extinguisher. Not cheap but neither was the repair.

 

[shooterdon]

You might want to consider Element - Fire Extinguishers as its small enough to carry on an ATV and has 5 times the output of the typical extinguisher. Not cheap but neither was the repair.

Now that is an interesting alternative. I have a few regular extinguishers in the house, garage and shop; and have never had to use one. These things are more expensive but seem a better way to go. Not sure how well they would work outdoors with a bit of wind.

 

[/pine]

I thought that extinguishers that were meant for automotive (fuel) fires were white (not red) ??

 

[newbury]

You might want to consider Element - Fire Extinguishers as its small enough to carry on an ATV and has 5 times the output of the typical extinguisher. Not cheap but neither was the repair.

There is a tradeoff - there should be no concern about replacing them after 6 years.

 

[newbury]

I thought that extinguishers that were meant for automotive (fuel) fires were white (not red) ??

Maybe wherever you live. But Kidde seems to reserve white for marine.

And in the US red is for class B - liquids
Fire extinguisher - Wikipedia

 

[/pine]

Maybe wherever you live. But Kidde seems to reserve white for marine.

And in the US red is for class B - liquids

The designation is "Marine/Auto"

 

[ruffdog]

I have a 2 1/2 gal hand pump water fire extinguisher like this I sometimes carry for field work.

Flag Fire Equipment PTP-25 2-1/2 Gallon Hand Pump Fire Extinguisher | Bullseye Industrial Sales

 

[TractorGuy]

AutoZone has a nice one with a metal mount for 25 bucks.

https://m.autozone.com/safety-and-security/fire-extinguisher

 

[MinnesotaEric]

AutoZone has a nice one with a metal mount for 25 bucks.

https://m.autozone.com/safety-and-security/fire-extinguisher

That's a good deal on an ABC (which is what you want for gas and electrical fires), but I wanted one that was specific for UTV roll cage mounting with a mount that could take a beating as a modern RZR is like a munchkin trophy truck and a driver can rock along in a ditch at 50-60 miles per hour, no problem.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Eric, I am glad your O.K. and sorry about the RZR.

Please tell me you weren't hauling gas in the back.

Yes I watched the video.

Yup. I was hauling a full 6 gallion gas can in the back and when I threw it, as it was on fire, I had the presence of mind to not that it was still sealed. Even so, I presume (but don't know) that gas leeched down the bungee cord and hit the hot exhaust. All I know is I was banging over a driveway following a ditch, heard a big *WHooPHfff* an lost power in moments. A friend's son is a Polaris tech and said his manager would like to see my RZR because there is a heatshield recall. So I'll trailer it over there within the week (if it ever warms up here in northern Minnesota).

 

[dfkrug]

Turbochargers and catalytic converters get hot enough to flash gasoline into flames. If you have either, a fire extinguisher is a great idea. My own engine fire was on the racetrack about 17 years ago. Turbo.

One fire is more than enough.

 

[oosik]

Eric - I am so glad to see that you are OK. One frightening experience.

Back in the day - about 30 or so years ago - I used firewood to heat the house. I had a LARGE 75 pound ABC on large wheels. I would wheel it out to where we were cutting & splitting.

Didn't so much worry about the tractor catching on fire. It was the splitter. Hot hydraulic oil, gasoline & hot exhaust. And actually I was not so concerned about the splitter burning up either.

The big concern - ANY fire out on my property could easily be the point source for a major wildfire.

I never had to use it. Had it recharged/serviced and sold it to a logging contractor.