hmmm - is the fire extinguisher even useful for an EV

daveo4EV

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Porsche Taycan hmmm - is the fire extinguisher even useful for an EV Screen Shot 2022-07-14 at 10.41.21 AM


I know the Fire Extinguisher is a long time racing heritage thing with Porsche like the ignition being on the "left" near the door for entry speed during a race…so they include it because it's an option on all their vehicles…

but honestly given what we know about EV's and the rare case of EV fires - I'm thinking this is mostly pointless in the context of an EV -electrical fires and LiON fires in particular are completely different animals than the sorts of fires that occur with ICE's....

and the capacity of this has got to be laughable vs. what I know about EV's fires which is they are very very hard to extinguish and are the ultimate example of a slow-long-burn…

has anyone spec'd this on their build? and do we honestly believe it would ever make a difference in the context of an EV?
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Windpower

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I guess if you're driving along and an ICE catches on fire, with that (expensive) option you'd be set to jump in and be a hero.

:)

In my life I have literally seen dozens of car fires, especially in the summer when gas cars tend to overhead and catch fire.
 
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satchurator

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Screen Shot 2022-07-14 at 10.41.21 AM.png


I know the Fire Extinguisher is a long time racing heritage thing with Porsche like the ignition being on the "left" near the door for entry speed during a race…so they include it because it's an option on all their vehicles…

but honestly given what we know about EV's and the rare case of EV fires - I'm thinking this is mostly pointless in the context of an EV -electrical fires and LiON fires in particular are completely different animals than the sorts of fires that occur with ICE's....

and the capacity of this has got to be laughable vs. what I know about EV's fires which is they are very very hard to extinguish and are the ultimate example of a slow-long-burn…

has anyone spec'd this on their build? and do we honestly believe it would ever make a difference in the context of an EV?
I had originally specced it (naively) on my CT4 but then dropped it before my freeze date. The more I read about EV fires, the more I realized that it would be futile to tackle an EV battery fire with anything less than an entire fire truck and team. And then there’s the downside of encroachment into the passenger footwell.
This topic got a lot of discussion on this thread, which went off the rails a bit.
 
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daveo4EV

daveo4EV

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I had originally specced it (naively) on my CT4 but then dropped it before my freeze date. The more I read about EV fires, the more I realized that it would be futile to tackle an EV battery fire with anything less than an entire fire truck and team. And then there’s the downside of encroachment into the passenger footwell.
This topic got a lot of discussion on this thread, which went off the rails a bit.
thanks for the referral thread - I'm going to read it...

I tend to agree - a small extinguisher like this for an EV is probably a joke - I do/have spec'd it for all my GT3's - but those are track cars and passenger footwell encroachment is not a design concern…
 
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stirthepot

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i purchased a 4s 'off the lot' that another customer had spec'd and then didn't take delivery because they moved overseas. it has the extinguisher.

100% agree in an EV main battery fire it would do little to nothing. but other things also could ignite. so agree, in practical use cases its really not needed, which is often the case with ICE cars too, the vast majority of us will never need to use an extinguisher

all that said, i like that its there. just kinda cool, porsche heritage thing and doesnt impact passenger foot space as its right up against the passenger seat. if i spec another, i'd most likely put it in, its a few hundred bucks and a cool novelty item IMO.
 


satchurator

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In another thread where this got discussed, someone mentioned a more compact option; an aerosol spray extinguisher. I’ve got similar large format spray extinguishers on each floor of my home (First Alert Tundra). Benefit of those over the traditional type is longer shelf life, and ease of use which equates to speed of deployment. I suppose there’s a case to be made for having a small canister of that sort of thing tucked away in case a (non EV battery) fire is happening and you have an opportunity to act, perhaps to defend your Taycan against something that might develop into an EV battery fire.
 
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jhngarrison

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The only thing that can put out an EV fire is sand and a lot of it. My local fire department told me that they need at least two dump trucks full of sand to put out EV a fire. They have nothing on the truck that is capable of putting out the fire so the only option they have to to smother it.
 
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TDinDC

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Hmmmm. seems like there are different ways to ask and answer this question.

If you ask "Could it be useful to have a fire extinguisher in your vehicle?", then the answer seems to be clearly "yes", and then you would decide whether to opt for it based on cost and space.

If you ask "Could a fire extinguisher put out a EV battery fire?", then the answer is no, which means you would not opt for it for this purpose.

If you ask "Does every potential fire in a Taycan involve a battery fire?", then the answer is no, because you could have relatively minor brake fires or electrical fires that do not affect the main battery, in which case you could ask "Could a fire extinguisher be useful for these minor fires?", to which the answer is yes.

I've seen a few car fires, albeit most have been on racetracks, including a very scary one where a fuel line failed and a 911 erupted into flames in a car of my friends. They scare me. I think the chances of seeing a fire on the streets are likely extremely low. But if you need a fire extinguisher and you don't have one, it could be excruciating. Since the option is so inexpensive and it doesn't affect anyone or reduce useable space, I opted for it in my build. Certainly not necessary so long as you don't have bad luck, but certainly not a stupid or vain choice either merely because it would not be enough to put out a fire in the primary battery.
 

Jrkennedy37

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Add to the benefits list that the extinguisher has good blunt force smashing abilities too. And it’s within easy access to the driver vs one strapped down in the trunk.
 

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The only thing that can put out an EV fire is sand and a lot of it. My local fire department told me that they need at least two dump trucks full of sand to put out EV a fire.
Then isn’t the solution for Porsche to just add a “Two Dump Trucks of Sand” option on the configurator?

I would definitely spec that if it were an option.

Especially if I could also option “Sand in Exterior Color”.
 

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I know the Fire Extinguisher is a long time racing heritage thing with Porsche like the ignition being on the "left" near the door for entry speed during a race…so they include it because it's an option on all their vehicles…

but honestly given what we know about EV's and the rare case of EV fires - I'm thinking this is mostly pointless in the context of an EV -electrical fires and LiON fires in particular are completely different animals than the sorts of fires that occur with ICE's....

and the capacity of this has got to be laughable vs. what I know about EV's fires which is they are very very hard to extinguish and are the ultimate example of a slow-long-burn…

has anyone spec'd this on their build? and do we honestly believe it would ever make a difference in the context of an EV?
I did not speck the fire extinguisher and frankly did not even know that it was an option - or at least if I did see it as an option I would have thought................why would I even think about this??? and moved on to the next option choice(s).

To go just a bit further, boats come with a fire extinguisher as a mandatory item. I can tell you that if by some slim chance our boat catches fire the first thing that I grab for my and my wife's life preserver. Jump in the water and get away from the boat. I cannot imagine that I would even consider putting out a car or boat fire. Get all of the occupants out and get away from the vehicle. Let insurance handle the rest.
 

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I have it, and I like it. I know is useless for EV's, and is a bit annoying for passenger, but I like the heritage part and to me is cool, with that being said, now that I think about it, I have spent many times more than $140 for more useless things than this, and if I ever get to use it for the benefit of others, even better.
 

Abe

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I didn't know it was an option in the configurator. My car came standard with an extinguisher (and a spare tire in the trunk 😕). Probably a regulation thing in the UAE.
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