A Great RV Fire Extinguisher
When packing your RV for a trip, or living in it full-time as we do, you tend to lean towards thinking about the essential items you will need for your trip. What kitchenware and food will you want, clothing, toiletries, etc. However one item that can easily be over looked is a great fire extinguisher.
RVs are required to come with a smoke detector and a fire extinguisher.
PSA: Please remember to check your batteries in your detectors.
The fire extinguisher however is, in most cases that we’ve seen, mounted by the front door and is usually filled with powder. Well, let’s think about that for a minute. While traveling down the road, bouncing around, the powder from that extinguisher can get so compacted down into the canister; it will render the fire extinguisher useless. How many times have you taken that fire extinguisher and shaken it to loosen up the powder? I bet most reading this never have. We try to do it monthly but yes, we have forgotten as well to do this.
A great fire extinguisher to have in a motor home is one that is foam based. The foam will handle wood, grease and a bunch of other types of fires. It cannot compact down to into a hard, unusable mass like the powdered ones. And they don’t have to be expensive. We did some research and now we personally use this foam extinguisher on Amazon for around $17.00 for a two pack or a single one for around $11.00, even with Prime shipping no less! It is recommended that you have several of these throughout your coach for easy access. What would happen if you were in your back bedroom and a fire started in the kitchen? It would be dangerous and cost precious time to run all the way up front to grab that one fire extinguisher by the door that might not even work. So please make sure you have one in the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen or anywhere else you feel one may become of use. These are so cheap (and small) that it’s easy to buy multiples and place them all over. Don’t forget the outside compartments and your car as well.
Another great thing about the foam is that it is biodegradable. So if you need to use this inside your RV, it easily cleans up with a wipe and will not harm the surfaces it may have contacted that was not on fire. Have you ever seen the mess that is left behind with the powdered extinguishers? Not something I’d like to clean up as it gets EVERYWHERE.
They are super easy to use. Just break the seal, aim and fire. It’s best to aim towards the base of the fire to get right to the source. It’s best to familiarize yourself with the instructions before use.
Side Note: Unlike the powder extinguishers that can only and should only be used once, these foam extinguishers can be used a couple times. For instance, if the fire that you are putting out is small, you can use this same can again. But why would you want to cut yourself short? These are so inexpensive that it’s safer and easier just to replace it and be safe.
So we thought we would spend $11 to show others this extinguisher in action in the short demo video below. (We spare no expense when it comes to our readers.) In the video David demonstrates this fire extinguisher on our campfire that was VERY HOT as it had been burning for about four hours. Sorry for the darkness but we wanted you to get the full effect and be able to see the flames. (Ok, we did it because it was there and had thought of this helpful blog post.) So now on to the demo so you can really see how quickly this foam fire extinguisher works on a well established fire….
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please keep in mind that we are not fire experts. We do not assume any responsibility for any fire that you can or cannot put out. Anything that we state in this post is of our own opinion and resources. We just feel it is vitally important for all RVers to be aware of the fire dangers while traveling in an RV. After all, we’ve all seen and shared the videos online showing how quickly these things go up in flames.
Quick Amazon Links:
A Great RV Fire Extinguisher
A Great RV Fire Extinguisher
Great post and I’m going to get some of those – did not know about the regular ones having powder that would pack down. Go figure!
Home Depot also has these same extinguishers in a 2 pac
Yup…We listed the TWO PACK above also.
I’ve had these at several spots in our home for a few years, but it’s nice to actually see them in action :-) [Thankfully I’ve never had to use one] They’re available at both Home Depot and WalMart, as well as Amazon [the single unit is actually cheaper at Home Depot, but the 2-packs are the same price at all 3 places].
Can they be left in the motorhome when stored and the temps are way below freezing??
I sent a note to the manufacturer…Here was the reply…
“We are required to put that on the can. We have found that if the can freezes it will spray when it thaws. We also found the temperatures which the product will work our much higher and lower but the laws says that is what we need to put on can. We have been selling the product for over 7 years without a problem and people have had it in extreme climates. The compound does not degrade. The can will bursts if very extreme temperatures but we have not heard of it happening yet.”
Thank you. Good to know.
Thanks for the info! I just purchased 4 cans! I bought them for my kids as well for their coaches.
I also purchased the pots and pans you recommended last year.
Keep safe. Will be in AL tomorrow at Red Bay to look at the new Bus 45OP plans. :)
This is really creative, I like that it is small, compact, and easy to grab. Having no metal pin to worry about in a emergency situation leaves no room for error. I really like that the foam is biodegradable; especially since most RVs are going to be out in the woods and keeping our wilderness to its natural state is the best way.
Thank you for all the information that is in this review. I would have never thought to have given our fire extinguisher a good “shake” once a month. I’m going to use the links that you provided and get a few of these for when I go camping.