All purpose fire extinguisher (including lithium)

[GMLS]

Thought I'd share this as seems to cover most everything inc lithium and I was in the market for a replacement.

 

[Sandancers]

Thought I'd share this as seems to cover most everything inc lithium and I was in the market for a replacement.

Does it have a "shelf life", if so how long before it has to be replaced please ?

 

[Guigsy]

Just to point out... The Lithium leisure batteries we use are LiFePO4, which is fairly benign. They are relatively safe when crushed, punctured, dumped in water, burnt or overcharged.

The Lithium batteries that are dangerous are Lithium Ion. You'll find these in laptops, phones, portable battery chargers... and in massive sizes most electric cars. If one of those starts swelling and smoking, I suggest you move to a safe distance.

 

[GMLS]

Does it have a "shelf life", if so how long before it has to be replaced please ?

So strictly speaking it needs to be serviced annually but that is going to cost close to the cost of the unit so I don't think they realistically think many will do that. Apparently there is no shelf life because of this. I've a similar unit protecting my vw engine bay and the instructions with that were as long as the needle pointer remains in the green, you are ok. It's not moved in 10 years. The pressure on my existing one can be topped up with a MTB shock pump which I have.

 

[GMLS]

Just to point out... The Lithium leisure batteries we use are LiFePO4, which is fairly benign. They are relatively safe when crushed, punctured, dumped in water, burnt or overcharged.

The Lithium batteries that are dangerous are Lithium Ion. You'll find these in laptops, phones, portable battery chargers... and in massive sizes most electric cars. If one of those starts swelling and smoking, I suggest you move to a safe distance.

Yup but I'm also in the market for an Ecoflow and aware how fast those things charge and the heat potentially produced etc

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[Raul]

Yup but I'm also in the market for an Ecoflow and aware how fast those things charge and the heat potentially produced etc

One of those extinguishers will do nothing to a lithium on fire. Lithium burns in excess of 1600 degC, until metal beneath melts and drops to the floor. All you can do is get the fire far enough to finish burning without compromising anything around.

 

[Arthur01]

Fire extinguisher might help you get out if you are quick.
One of the chaps on RVOC had all his system changed to lithium at great expense.
In May 21 It was parked at the back of his house with another RVer who was visiting. Something happened that the new battery system overheated & caught fire, it destroyed both RV’s, 3 cars, all the rear windows of the house a summer house & the ground for about 1m in depth. The fire brigade pumped 15000 gallons onto the fire but it didn’t go out ( they emptied someone’s swimming pool up the road to supplement the main)
The heat was so intense that the front steel wheel melted, which he kept & put up in the new summerhouse.
This was one RV

And this was the other

Fortunately no one was in either of them as it was minutes from fire to inferno.
Not sure any fire extinguisher pointed at this lot would have helped, but if it’s not lithium & you catch it quickly, luck might be on your side.
Arthur.

 

[stevewagner]

One of those extinguishers will do nothing to a lithium on fire. Lithium burns in excess of 1600 degC, until metal beneath melts and drops to the floor. All you can do is get the fire far enough to finish burning without compromising anything a puts out the fire by cutting off the oxygen so burning heat is quite irrelevant.

 

[stevewagner]

One of those extinguishers will do nothing to a lithium on fire. Lithium burns in excess of 1600 degC, until metal beneath melts and drops to the floor. All you can do is get the fire far enough to finish burning without compromising anything around.

It extinguishes the fire by smothering it and cutting off the oxygen so the burning temperature is irrelevant.

 

[Guigsy]

It extinguishes the fire by smothering it and cutting off the oxygen so the burning temperature is irrelevant.

Once Lithium Ion fires start, they don't need oxygen. They'll quite happily boil the bucket of water they are dumped into.

These camping battery packs like the EcoFlow... there do appear to be a few out there with LiFePO4 (LFP) batteries. It's not quite as light and not quite as energy dense, but I suspect from the size of these things, the battery isn't that much of the contents of the case anyway.

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[Raul]

Indeed, nobody yet stoped a lithium on fire. It’s a exothermic chain reaction, once started, it will continue to burn, until fuel is exhausted, that’s lithium. We don’t need to worry with LiFePo4, but, LiCo, LiPo and NMC cells do go on fire, and burn until all lithium is consumed. You can remove away the metal box that contains the pack, and let it burn. That’s why most in metal box are the ones of fire flavour. The LiFePo4 does not burn even if punctured trough, it just gases.

 

[Pausim]

Once Lithium Ion fires start, they don't need oxygen. They'll quite happily boil the bucket of water they are dumped into.

These camping battery packs like the EcoFlow... there do appear to be a few out there with LiFePO4 (LFP) batteries. It's not quite as light and not quite as energy dense, but I suspect from the size of these things, the battery isn't that much of the contents of the case anyway.

I bought a battery pack for home use to charge our electric bikes because there is no power where they are stored. I waited until I could get a LiFePO4 Bluetti, I simply did not want to share my home with a large Li battery of a less stable chemistry. We have phones and pads with them in but they are relatively small batteries.