Just arrived back from a very enjoyable trip to Hoskin on the Lands End Trial, nice to see some older machinery clearing the hills were mere modern stuff failed!

Journey was very good, apart from slight trouble on the way back with a sticking needle valve. Fortunatly my wife smelt the petrol which I didnt! A quick strip down and a jiggle of the valve cured the problem, but left me cursing that I havn't yet bought a fire extinguisher to carry onboard..... why is the carb directly above the hot exhaust!!!! the fuel was "sizzling" nicely as I tried to stop it dripping out everywere. The question now being what is a suitable size and type fire extinguisher for carrying onboard?

Steve

Hi Steve,

Unfortunately for a fire extinguisher to be any use it would be too large to carry in a car. Halon seemed to be the answer but they are no longer used because of damage to the ozone layer.

Your average car type fire extinguisher will last 5 to 10 seconds and may be useful in the event of an electrical fire but when it come to petrol it is not likely to last long enough to extingish the flames.

Dry powder extinguishers are not ideal to be carried in the car as the vibration compacts the powder making it useless. It would seem CO2 or foam would be the correct type but their size makes them difficult to fit in our cars.

Perhaps someone will report their actual use in an incident and whether they were effective, or not.

I have a 9 inch long piece of woven asbestos mat wired around the pipe just under the carb to stop any drips from touching the hot pipe, it also helps with the vaporization in the really hot days. I keep meaning to make up a small shield to aim the petrol away from the pipe but have never got around to it. If you want to know what happens to a Chummy in a fuel fire, have a look in the old Association mags (not sure which one its in) where the owner said that the car was destroyed before he could stop and get out of the Car!!!! Another thing to watch is don’t fill up the tank to the brim and be dead certain that the cap is sealing.

Petrol on the exhaust was recognised as a problem in the late twenties and a drip tray which clamped to the air inlet of the updraught Zenith could be purchased . There is a spout at the side of the tray to throw excess petrol clear of the exhaust pipe.

Never seen this device in any period adds, sounds interesting and useful. Do any pics/drawings survive?

Hi, David I would like details if they are available Jon,

I have welded a Baffle on the top side or the front pipe below the carb. It is about 1/2 an inch above its surface. It works well. The Demon Tweaks catalogue advertises A baffle material called nimbus lite that reduces the temperature by 85%. call 01978 664466 for catalogue. it has some wonderful goodies.

Had a tray as described on my first chummy in 1965 it was made of steel nickel plated , have only seen one other since and I cant recall seeing them advertised in any contemporary periodicals . David

Demon Tweeks web site = http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk

Algie

I take it from your replies that I need to prevent a fire happening in the first place, rather than relying on a small extinguisher to put one out.

I like the idea of a drip tray, although some heat wrap on the exhaust will be easier to do. Remember if you are in the 750 motor club you get 10 percent discount at Deemon Tweeks.

Thanks

Steve

After chasing around ,for what seems like forever, I have located new needle valve assemblies for side draught zeniths. sold by mail order from Carurettor Exchange . phone/fax 01525 371369... No more drips for me!