Fire extinguishers

[Steve]

I'd consider something like this for the engine compartment if I had an experimental:

https://proteng.com/products/

[CBeak]

“ABC fire extinguishers are very corrosive to aluminum.”

Good to know. By the time I have to use it in the cockpit, I’m much more concerned about fire’s corrosive effect on the human body.

[Boatguy]

I was looking at my fire extinguisher recently and discovered it's a dry powder type, whereas the FAA recommends halon or halotron. In fact in AC20-42D the FAA specifically recommends against using dry powder extinguishers in aircraft. Does anybody know why Diamond would provide an extinguisher which the FAA advises not be used?

The second thing that occurred to me was how I would use the extinguisher inflight. An electrical fire seems most likely to occur behind the panel, or in the LRU rack under the baggage shelf. Neither of these is accessible without removing panels. So in the event of an inflight fire, where do you point the fire extinguisher?

ABC fire extinguishers are very corrosive to aluminum.

So the FAA doesn't like them because most planes are aluminum, but since we're fiberglass (carbon fiber for the 62's) it's no issue and a better choice?

[Steve]

Just to follow up, I have the extinguisher out of the plane for the Annual Inspection. Here are some photos showing more details:

Steve

[oxin333]

Just stumbled back on this thread while looking into extinguisher options again. I originally had the same questions about dry powder vs halon — especially after reading more about long-term exposure risks from certain fire suppressants.

There’s actually some legal attention now around the health effects of AFFF and similar agents. Oberheiden has some useful info on that front, particularly for people who’ve been exposed to firefighting foam or similar chemicals over time.