fitting vertical powder extinguisher in engine bay

[Mags]

After reading about the right type of extinguisher to get for the engine bay I ordered the VW Heritage Daus power one. What I didn't realise was it had to be mounted vertically in the engine bay which looks to be a bit tricky.
Having a search this morning I see that the Firetec one supplied by Cool air is mixed AFFF (aqueous film forming foam extinguishant, recommended for vehicle applications over gas or powder)
Have I bought the wrong one and how have people mounted theirs vertically?

 

[Sydney1]

We have a Firetec in our Crossover and have mounted it successfully against in the back LH corner behind the leisure battery

 

[gagvanman]

Mine is a FireBlitz mounted in the back left hand corner of the firewall.

 

[Mags]

Thanks, I think I'm going to try for the same place as gagvanman has shown. Wish I'd done this before fitting the engine though, I don't want to attempt to drill the firewall panel.

 

[BRAD]

You don't have to mate, that's mounted to the near side wheel arch.
That's where I have my second one and a maples fuel filter, mark the mounting points on the left, drill the holes with a cordless drill, fit the bracket along with some nylon nuts and bolts and your done.

 

[Mags]

Cheers brad

 

[Mags]

Hmmm, I offered up the extinguisher today and its a bit too tall for the engine bay, see the pic below. I'm not sure its a good idea to have the pipe bent over so much. I haven't fitted it yet, I might end up looking for a refund, undecided.

 

[Pickles]

Its not really going to help but that is the corner where I fixed my Firetec.

 

[Alex VW Heritage]

Crappy Pics I am sorry but there is the correct place, or easiest to fit the system in.

 

[tiki171081]

I have purchased the exact same DAUS system (recommended by VW heritage and a magazine I won't name for publicity reasons),but I have yet to install it.

The installation procedure doesn't dictate the fitting to be upright.

"Unit should be fitted upright but must be fitted at no more than a 45degree angle. "

So it seems to me a slight incline should be OK.

Is there any other way to install it though? I mean besides drilling holes in the wheel well?
And did the kit contain the bracket? Or did you get one somewhere else?


The only thing I hope is that the tubing won't melt when the engine is not on fire. It gets pretty hot in there. Sure, they state to keep the tubing at least 15cm away from hot surfaces, but I have yet to find out what these hot surfaces could be. For example, the fan housing gets pretty close to the top of the engine bay. Does this get hot? What's the best area to thread the tubing?

If anyone else could post pics of such systems in their engine bay, I'd be greatfull!

 

[Pickles]

I have purchased the exact same DAUS system (recommended by VW heritage and a magazine I won't name for publicity reasons),but I have yet to install it.

The installation procedure doesn't dictate the fitting to be upright.

"Unit should be fitted upright but must be fitted at no more than a 45degree angle. "

So it seems to me a slight incline should be OK.

Is there any other way to install it though? I mean besides drilling holes in the wheel well?
And did the kit contain the bracket? Or did you get one somewhere else?


The only thing I hope is that the tubing won't melt when the engine is not on fire. It gets pretty hot in there. Sure, they state to keep the tubing at least 15cm away from hot surfaces, but I have yet to find out what these hot surfaces could be. For example, the fan housing gets pretty close to the top of the engine bay. Does this get hot? What's the best area to thread the tubing?

If anyone else could post pics of such systems in their engine bay, I'd be greatfull!

here's another picture showing where I've run the tubes for my firetec ... not sure if that helps you though

 

[tiki171081]

That helps a lot! Thanks.
So I shouldnt be too scared the tubes will melt prematurely?

 

[Shaunb]

My job entails for me to have firefighting training, now I'm of the understanding that powder fire extinguishers have to be tipped upside down to agitate the powder before use. This is because over time the powder settles at the bottom of the extinguisher and compacts into a solid type lump, especially in something that vibrates i.e a vehicle. My personal preference would be to use a foam (AFFF) extinguisher, one it's makes a lot less mess of your engine and more importantly it will extinguish a fire and cool the area significantly reducing the possibility of re- ignition something which powder and CO2 will not do.


[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com

 

[tiki171081]

So I was about to install the firetrace system in my engine bay, when a passage in the manual got my attention:

Do not install the extinguisher in a space where the ambient temperature exceeds 80°C.

I figure the melting point of the tubing must be between 80 and 100°C?
I have actually no idea what the ambient temperature in my engine bay is, but opening the engine lid after driving for a while reaveals some pretty hot air. (and 80° doesn't seem that high to me!)

Has anyone attempted measuring the ambient temperature in his engine bay?

I'd really be bummed if the tubing melted prematurely, ruining my engine for no good reason.

Am I being too cautious here?

 

[Mags]

Not sure where I read this but I believe the red pipe that all these systems use is only made and sold by a single company/person and they hold a monopoly on this which is also why you can buy an extinguisher cheap, but the automated version with this pipe is ~£200. If that is true then I don't see why yours is any different to any other automatic system unless the extinguisher itself is not happy to be operating at these temperatures?

 

[Nugsy]

Same as all those above, bracket is screwed through the wheel arch, not the firewall.
When buying the firetec one you had to select horizontal or vertical mount, as the vertical one comes out the top at a right angle

 

[tiki171081]

Based myself on the pics Amex posted to fit the firetrace system. I drilled the lip of the wheel arch to mount the bracket.

 

[Mags]

Finally got this fitted now, one bolt though the wheel arch lip and one in the spare wheel well.