GT40 on fire or how to prevent

manta22 said:

In my race are I have two automatic Halon extinguishers for the engine bay. I strongly recommend putting a 5 lb (minimum) Halon bottle in a car you care about.

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"Halon is banned in Europe for decades. Its very bad for the ozon layer.
Halon is not pretty safe for humans trapped inside a car also. Where a cloud of halon sits, there is no oxigen to breath. It did a good job putting out flames.
In Europe thell use foam, which is just soapy water. Its FIA mandated to. "

Believe me, if I'm sitting in a car that is on fire, the Ozone layer is the last thing I care about!

While Halon may be "banned" in Europe, it is still used in some aircraft and military vehicles in Europe. "Halon" comprises a family of compounds, some of which are more harmful than others. Obviously, the ones with the most effective fire retardant properties together with the lowest toxicity are the ones used in racing fire extinguishers. Yes, all Halon compounds are toxic in some degree- so is water. I'd rather risk eventual health problems from Halon than being burned.

As Halon is banned in Europe, it means its not available, its not for sale, you can not buy it. By EU mandate its forbidden since january 1th 2004.
When I was in the service for years at the Royal Dutch Army, we never had Halon.
Holland had a big collection of these systems end of the 90's.
Yes its still alowed in aircrafts.
But its forbidden by EU law to have such in your GT40 or in your possesion.

If you like it or not. As simple as it is.

Howard Jones said:

Frank can you please post a link to that device. I'd like to install one in my racecar. Something like that should be considered a requirement for a fuel-injected car.

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Hi Howard, please send me your E address rather than doing it here ! Frank

I'm thinking of a gasoline-safe 12VDC motorized ball valve that returns to the normally open position with power off. This could be plumbed into the pump outlet side and use a separate fuel tank return line. That way it would dump all system fuel pressure when power is turned off. I'll post what I find.

Frank PM sent

For carb systems, single Holley or quad Webers, any fuel return will do. For these returns, use a .5mm restrictor just after the carb, as found inside regular carbs with return.
This also prevents boilover after shutdown as the fuelline behind the float needle aint pressurised after shutdown.

Does anyone know a place in New England that will refill a Halon 1211 extinguisher? My father gave me one of his old extinguishers that lost pressure.

So far, the closest place I've found is in Ohio.

The manufacture of Halon was been banned in 1994, but not the sale or recycling of existing stock.

While Halon is bad for the environment, I doubt a burning car is any better.

Sent you a PM BenL

Much happier since Frank fitted this to my car. Also solved the problem of having to wait for the engine bay to cool before restarting.
I use 97/99 octane fuel which is recommended as E5, painful on the wallet at U.K. prices but well worth it!
Renewing fuel lines? Definite food for thought.
Renewed my extinguisher system this year but also carry a hand held fire stick in driver’s door pocket - belt and braces maybe but peace of mind.

Can anyone comment on the “Element” brand of fire extinguisher. Seems to be a good setup to keep in the glovebox of the daily driver vehicle.

Their website is very misleading. They say

"Element uses a tested and proven technology, created for the space program, that fights fires on the molecular level. By chemically interrupting the chain of combustion, Element safely and effectively puts out fires without the mess, toxicity, or danger associated with a traditional extinguisher."

This is an almost verbatim description of a Halon system. They also claim that the Element is "up to 80% smaller with almost 5X the discharge time of a traditional fire extinguisher". What are they comparing it with- a soda-acid extinguisher? Discharge time is no way to evaluate a fire extinguisher; a weak little discharge will extend the time but reduce its effectiveness. Of course anything is better than nothing but I'd avoid this gimmick. Buy a decent 5 lb FE-36 extinguisher.

they are called fire stick in the U.K.

ian

That's a rather odd demonstration. They never showed the "Fire Stick" putting out a fire!

Are they approved for racing by any sanctioning body? If not, why?

Bought a bunch from these guys www.firesafetystick.com at Silverstone Classic a few years ago
I also found a trader of these in Holland now. www.fss-nederland.nl

Seems you guys are more intent on putting a fire out -----------

Preventing a fire is much better than putting one out ?

I found these:


I sent them a email and asked if they could be configured to normally open so that if power was lost then it would dump any fluid pressure and if they were comparable with gasoline.

Here was their response: I think this would work with a separate return line to the fuel tank.


Hi Howard,

You can absolutely configure this to be normally open however these ball valves consume such a negligible amount of power to remain open that it is usually unnecessary. For example many people use these on their vacation homes and have them powered open for months at a time while they are there.
Here are the steps:

1. notate the position that the actuator is in upon opening the box for the valve
2. remove actuator
3. under the actuator is a coin size disc that you can take a flat head screw driver and twist the ball manually to open.
4. put the actuator back on but at a 90 degree turn.
5. Test the valve.

We have had quite a number of customers successfully do this. One of our customers also created a document outlining these steps in more detail. I've attached a file outlining how to convert these.

These valves are compatible with fuel.


Thank you,
Rob Donahue
Ecommerce Operations
Electricsolenoidvalves.com
Phone: 800-983-8230
Address: 85B Hoffman Ln, Islandia, NY 11749
http://electricsolenoidvalves.com/

Very interresting, automated system.