Published on 2022-08-09
Last updated on 2023-06-19
General
On the Internet, you can always see photos and videos of burning classic cars. For this reason, I had already bought a fire extinguisher some time ago and mounted it by the driver’s seat.
The following videos show impressively how quickly the car flares up and the small fire extinguisher, used too late, can no longer save anything.
The cause of such fires can be a worn-through cable in the interior or engine compartment, which leads to a cable fire, or a poor clamp connection that becomes hot due to high currents. Excess gasoline from old carbureted engines, oily air filters, porous hoses, etc. can also cause a fire in the engine compartment.
If the source of the fire is not quickly smothered, the fire spreads and the car is lost. The vehicles in the videos are just scrap metal afterwards. The heat causes body parts and frames to glow and aluminum parts to melt. As a rule, the iron loses its strength.
Solution
An acceptable solution is to use a extinguishing system. This is a good two meters long plastic hose that is filled with an extinguishing gas. At high heat, a hole burns into the hose and allows gas to escape. This distributes itself in the engine or interior and smothers the developing fire directly after ignition. Installation locations for me are the underside of the hood and under the dash.
Of course, there is also a Youtube video for this.
There are currently two products on the market. Prices vary depending on the supplier and the length of the hoses.
For both types there are different suppliers in Germany and Europe.
I chose a 2 meters long hose from Proteng. Small and easy action in the morning. One hose is attached to the underside of the hood with cable ties as planned. The second hose is threaded just as quickly under the dash.
I hope that the hoses never have to do their job.
