Martin S.

"Let it burn!"

BlackOptic

Around here (the scorched West), it is more about stopping a grass burn and a fire spreading to several hundred thousand acres…

professorman

Haha. You burst my bubble. I have a fire extinguisher mount for a few weeks now that I have been meaning to install.

z168

This ^

professorman

I saved my house 2 weeks ago with a fire extinguisher from a RC car battery fire then I spent 6 hrs cleaning up the mess.

A friend lost his brand new shop when a car burned inside his shop.

Another friend saved his shop on two different occasions from putting out a car fire.

I’d rather have a fire extinguisher close by than not. Same reason I carry a spare tire on out of town trips when Porsche doesn’t think I need one. I like to be prepared.

El_Tigre

Curious how this happened. Damaged battery? Wrong settings on the charger?

RP4S911

Exactly. Imagine getting into an accident, having you or a passenger have a leg trapped and you see smoke. Better reach over for the extinguisher to buy some time.

professorman

everything was perfect. I have a very expensive smart charger that is one of the best. The battery had no signs of damage. I was discharging it from full charge to storage charge. I did 2 before and was doing my other 2 batteries. Storage charge is 3.80 volts, and full charge is 4.2volts. About 40 mins earlier, I checked on it and it was 3.87 volts. I contemplated taking it off the charger, but decided to leave it to go the extra 0.07 volts lower. Within that time, something happened and it exploded. Luckily it was on a soldering mat that is fire resistant, and a fireproof bag was next to it, which contained the fire within the small area. I went in the garage and saw a 4ft fire. Grabbed the fire extinguisher next to it, and two presses put it out. It burnt 1 battery to nothing on next to the second battery which did not burn.
with that said, I’m getting out of the RC car hobby. Ha. I have enough hobbies.

Speed2k

Fire extinguishers helped this guy.

professorman

Even though his extinguisher ran out quickly, he was able to buy enough time for it to not reach the fuel tank and explode. Now, I might add one of the small ones in addition to my traditional one.

pfbz

Couple of thoughts, especially after watching that video...
.

• Although small, at least you have a real extinguisher instead of one of those silly drip sticks.
• I primarily think of a car extinguisher as a tool to help someone else out in an emergency situation rather than 'saving' my own car.
• Getting the key/power off is #1! Your not going to put out a fire that is being fed fuel under pressure... May not of been the case in that video but hard to tell.
• Several folks mentioned 'let it burn, you don't want it back', but if its on a track, I would assume it wouldn't be any more covered than collision damage on a track. Whatever you can save, save!
• On that safety truck, it was the little guy who actually knew what he was doing and got the fire out. He didn't rush, began attacking from a distance, kept himself low and hit the fire at the base. Keep your freaking face away from the upside of the fire! A mistake made by every other person that attacked that fire (#1, #2, and #4).
• Extinguisher training and practice if possible is as important as having one...