Bird of the Week 06/26

[Rob Robinson]

Bravo Zulu

2009/6/28 John <"jc_oop@sbcglobal.net">

Rob,

 

Love your last comment.  I was the latter,  maybe sometimes the former.  No matter what it's not worth your life to battle a motorhome fire frome the inside.  Now when sailors battle fires from the inside it's because there is no other choices, unless you like swimming with the fishes......

 

John

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: "wander.rob@gmail.com"

To: "WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com"

Sent: Sunday, June 28, 2009 15:38

Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Bird of the Week 06/26

Absolutely correct. Government regulations only. Cook stove grease fire maybe. If you have a fire get outside. Fight it from there if you can but get outside. Only dumb asses and sailors fight fires in an enclosure. 

2009/6/28 John <"jc_oop@sbcglobal.net">

All most all of the extinguishers that come with any coach serve just one purpose,  that is to fill a federal requirement that they carry one.  The coaches come with one, but it's not much good for anything other than filling that requirement.  When we think about how much money we have tied up in our Birds a couple of great extinguishers is a very small drop in the bucket.

 

John

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: "ernietex@yahoo.com"

To: "WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com"

Sent: Sunday, June 28, 2009 15:15

Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Bird of the Week 06/26

Very good point, Mike about those extinguishers. I have 2 of the small ones in my coach and they probably would be good at putting out nothing of any substance. Ernie Ekberg 83PT40 Wanderlodge Weatherford, Tx http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/erni...gandrepair --- On Sun, 6/28/09, mrkane1952 <"mrkane@isp.com"> wrote: From: mrkane1952 <"mrkane@isp.com"> Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Bird of the Week 06/26 To: "WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com" Date: Sunday, June 28, 2009, 5:09 PM Guess Ron's luck was only half-bad. I discovered just how useless those dry-chemical extinguishers can be when I was trying to suppress a vehicle fire on the highway outside this campground last March. (A sedan, pulling out on the highway, was struck from behind by a small pickup going ~70.) A garden-style hose from the campground water faucet was also about as helpful as a biological, self-generated stream would have been. Fortunately that was just after a rain storm so the gasoline from the ruptured tank burned like candle flames in the ditches along the road, rather than spreading to the RVs behind the wooden fencing along the roadway (including mine!) Was only able to put the flames down long enough to verify no one was still inside. Since then I carry a shovel and an assortment of foam extinguishers, including a 1.5-gallon unit from Mac the fireguy: <http://www.macthefi reguy.com>. Mac does the rounds of the RV rallies giving hands-on training, but there are many other sources. The VFD arrived in about 25-30 minutes, and it still took more than 5 minutes to put the car out with their foam. The sedan driver and his dog had only bumps, etc. Ron's misfortune might serve as a reminder to the rest to check those old extinguishers tucked away around the coach, or to upgrade them to newer technology units. --M.R.Kane 1987 PT40 currently near Livingston, TX

--
Rob, Sue and Joey Robinson
94 WLWB

--
Rob, Sue and Joey Robinson
94 WLWB

[fishfarm2003]

Here's a not-too-expensive source for larger DC fuses. I use one to protect the
line to the inverter from the battery bank.

http://www.electricvehiclesusa.com/produ...anl300.htm

Bob McLaughlin
No Bird - Just Blue

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Curt Sprenger wrote:
>
> The large battery cables should be fused with very large capacity fuses.
> I've seen this done on at least two coaches. I believe I was told the fuses
> aren't too expensive and the fuse holders are somewhat expensive. Probable a
> good thing to consider doing since our coaches have been vibrating down the
> road for many years and thinning the cable protective coatings.
>
> Curt Sprenger
> 1987 PT38 8V92 "MacAttack Racing"
> Anaheim Hills, CA
> *Read all about Southwest Bluebirds and Friends (SWBB) at
> http://www.SOUTHWEST-BLUEBIRDS.ORG ...Then Join us.
> "Host of the Annual Bluebird Quartzsite Rally" *
>
>
> On Sun, Jun 28, 2009 at 1:54 PM, Ernie Ekberg wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > Mike, the large battery cable from back to front must have shorted. This in
> > turn produced a large amount of heat, smoke and flames from the burning
> > insulation. Also, many small wires in the same proximity were affected. It
> > could have been worse had it not been for Ron and a fella going home from
> > Holt Caterpillar with their fire extinguishers.
> >
> > Ernie Ekberg
> > 83PT40
> > Wanderlodge
> > Weatherford, Tx---Im' in NC
> > http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/erni...gandrepair
> >
> >
> > --- On *Sun, 6/28/09, mrkane1952 <mrkane@...>* wrote:
> >
> >
> > From: mrkane1952 <mrkane@...>
> > Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Bird of the Week 06/26
> > To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> > Date: Sunday, June 28, 2009, 12:46 PM
> >
> > Hope Ron doesn't feel the posting of the picture of his
> > disabled coach is like we are kicking him while he's
> > already down.
> >
> > Any indication of what caused the failure?
> >
> > --M.R.Kane
> > 1987 PT40
> > currently near Livingston, TX
> >
> >
> >
>

[mrkane1952]

My background is offshore oil rigs: like sailors,
no place to run, and going over the side may not
get you away from the fire. (Out of the frying pan...)

My little fire bottles are positioned inside so that
occupants can use them to get out. Larger three
extinguishers are in external bays and the rear of my toad.

Don't know of anything we can do about burning propane--
thought it requires massive flow of water to cool the tanks
while it vents?

In the traffic accident, the sedan had some spay cans
in the trunk. Apparently the propellants weren't flammable,
but one's nerve was still tested when they cooked off. ;-)

--M.R.Kane
1987 PT40
currently near Livingston, TX