I have a good sized Halon 1211 extinguisher in my car at all times. It rides with me daily, and has ridden in my cars and my dads cars during all drag and roadcourse trips.
That being said, Halon is nasty stuff. It puts out the fire by displacing oxygen. Last I checked most fires are an oxidizing process and require oxygen to continue burning. Unfortunatley, you also need oxygen to breathe, so yes, using a halon extinguisher in a confined area or contained atmosphere (i.e. inside your car while the windows are up with you in it) could easily suffocate you and lead to possible death.
While Halon won't mess up any expensive pieces (not already damaged by the fire) because halon only displaces oxygen that's also a problem. If the source of ignition is still present after the halon dissipates and oxygen rushes back in the fire will flare back up. A dry chemical extinguisher will "smother" the area and help prevent re-ignition, but as was mentioned it is quite corrosive to non-ferrous metals.
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1969 Chevelle
Old setup: Procharged/intercooled/EFI 353 SBC, TKO, ATS/SPC/Global West suspension, C6 brakes & hydroboost.
In progress: LS2, 3.0 Whipple, T56 Magnum, torque arm & watts link, Wilwood Aero6/4 brakes, Mk60 ABS, Vaporworx, floater 9" rear, etc.
Last edited by Blown353; 04-05-2006 at 11:43 PM.
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