eric Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 We sadly experienced the complete destruction of a Lotus elan S2 1965, a friend of mine who have a super sprint had a fire just arriving at a traffic light in second gear Concerning the Elan, we don't know if it is the oil from the top going on the exhaust or fuel going out from the webers (no air filter) As the owner haven't any fire extinguisher, we have lokked her burnt Experiences are welcome on the subject Are the 2 kg (small ones) sufficient On a normall car, I think we must not open completely the bonnet, just open it a little, for not bringing air to the flames On the webers or fuel pumps any ideas ? eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allen Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 I know of a small under bonnet fire on a Lotus Cortina (twin 40 DCOEs) this was not running air filters or an air box. The carbs can spit both petrol and occasionally, flame! This fire was made worse by sound insulation material on the inside of the bonnet, but had that been fiberglass the whole car could have gone. Filters can also get loaded with petrol and catch fire, but is probably less likely, and if they stick through the bonnet they are not too bad. Think an airbox on a complete underbonnet instalation is a must. Sad to hear about this fire on a classic Lotus. Allen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Septimus Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 Saw a Europa catch fire, melt and run down the drain in Cheapside a few years ago. Lotus fuel pipes could be crap. The one on my 7 was plastic and rubbed against the propshaft which left my bum sitting in petrol! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Field Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 I run K&N filters on my DCOE 40's, with the sparkproof mesh. I have had a couple of 'blowbacks' causing a small fire and huge amounts of white smoke. The filters contained the fire until the engine was switched off, when it went out without damge, but without them I am pretty sure the damage would have been substantial. I have heard tales of foam filters going up in flames fairly readily, so I am sticking to my K&N's Trying to get out of the garage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2D2 Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 Fires in Elans used to be quite common and you can still find quite e few with damage/repairs to the glass near to thecarbs. I would fit a 2.25litre plumbed in with a single nozzle into the engine bay. The MSA have just banned Halon for Motorsport use because on environmental issues but it is great for putting out fires. I think that there will be quite a few secondhand units around at good prices if you can find room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS CLARK Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 I had cause to use a dry powder extinguisher (hand held of course) in the house with a fairly major grill fat fire recently. Extinguisher was a 0.6Kg one I'd had for use in a caravan. Fire was put out instantly (though the mess was bl%dy awful). You have to know what to do though as just lifting a car bonnet can cause a huge rush of 'fire-food' (oxygen) to a fire & then you're really in trouble. Used to carry an extinguisher in the 'Esprit' as they had a nickname (following the Lotus tradition of car names staring with 'E') of 'Etna' Real shame about the car though ☹️ Clamshell Club Founder Member. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy couchman Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 An electrical 'kill' switch is also valuable - if the fire is electrical, cutting off the source of power (the battery) helps. Also in many fires people forget to turn the ignition off and so the electric fuel pump can go on delivering gallons of petrol just when you don't want it to. IMHO any fire extinguisher is better than nothing but a handheld has the advantage of versatility and a plumbed in can be directed direct at the fire - if you know where the fire is going to be. Some of the best extinguishers were the old inert gas (Halon?) ones - now outlawed for environmental reasons. A few years ago a leading insurance body carried out some testing on replacement technology extinguishers and while some were fine others were pretty hopeless. Not seen the report? No, you won't have - one of the manufacturers stepped in with its big expensive lawyers to stop the report being published. The truth sometimes hurts... Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elie boone Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 Halon extinguishers are perfect as they don't leave any mess. It all depens on the fire but a 2kg extinguisher is not a lot for an under bonnet fire. In Belgium you are obligated to have a 1kg extinguisher in your car but that is not much even if its a small fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bricol Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 The only problem with a Halon extinguisher is getting it refilled - possible but difficult and expensive! So maybe the cheap secondhand one, which may not work for all you know, might not be the bargain when you have to replumb for a new system that if you had fitted from the start, you could just refill. Plus, aren't Halon ones now disallowed by the MSA? So fitting an old system may prevent you competing. Bri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2D2 Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 1. Yes Halon has been banned by the MSA but it is still the best way to put out under bonnet fires. I think it is more effective than AFFF and Zero 2000 but I am sure someone will disagree. 2. The plumbed in extinguisher stops you from having to lift the bonnet and burning your hands, losing your hair and all the other fun things that happen when your Webers/glassfibre body catches fire. 3. Halon units are being taken out of race cars and are cheap on the second hand market, they can be re-filled with AFFF providing the correct label is also attached. Hopefully the car will have survived as well. 4. 2.2kg unit are quite large to fit but easier than 4 kg units. The lates MSA bulletin basically advises that if a 2.25kg unit is fitted it should have a single nozzle into the engine bay and be a total discharge design. The 4 kg units can be twin chamber and have a two nozzles, one ito the engine and one into the fuel tank compartment. There are other considerations but not relevant to the original question concerning Elans. 5. Early Elan suffer commonly with carburettor fires, which then set the inner wing alight. Locating the nozzle in this area should.nt be too difficult. I would imagine that this would deal with majority of problems on an Elan. 6. Dry Powder extinguisher were banned by FIA and the MSA quite some years ago. It was accepted that the vibrations of the car caused the powder to pack into a solid "cake" in the bottom of the extinguisher after 2-3 years. When you used the extinguisher the proppellant used to spray out quite well but the powder atyed firmly in the cannister. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterS Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 A friend with an early Elite had a fire in the engine compartment. Stopped immediately, but daren't open the bonnet. Squirted the hand extinguisher through the grille, which fortunately did the business. If he'd opened the bonnet he would almost certainly have lost the car, as the Elite doesn't have the advantage that the Elan has i.e. a chassis. In this case, the damage was able to be rescued, and the car lives. In the panic of a major incident in such a lovely car, it would be very easy to make the wrong move, even if equipped with an extinguisher. Of course a plumbed in system would have removed the temptation to lift the bonnet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbirdman Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 We had a fire last year on the way to Spa in the air filters of Tony P's x-flow. Lots of smoke but a small hand held powder extinguisher put it out with no problem and not too much mess. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YW Sin Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 Never mind the old bangers like Elans and Sevens catching fire. They have a good excuse of being under engineered and home made. Recently a friends' friend of mine had his 7000 miles, brand new VW Passat caught fire on the motorway with no aparent reasons and burnt down to ashes! Explain this VW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicat Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 Interesting thread this Just happened to get stuck in a jam on the A45 to day - the cause a brand spanking new Range Rover on fire *confused* The ironic bit - it was opposite the Land Rover Dealership I trust it was not a protest by a dissatisfied customer 😬 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YW Sin Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 It may well be by the sounds of it ! But I thought those Ford guys has well-fixed the Range Rovers by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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