Quick Release Fire Extinguisher Clamp - GB Interst

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Cohbra11

Cohbra11

Joined
Dec 2, 2012
Threads
4
Messages
125
Location
Erie, CO
Some time back I prototyped a quick release fire extinguisher for my personal use in my '93 Rx7. After showing it to my buddy (who is a big defender guy), he liked it so much that he thought I needed to start mass producing them and he posted a clip of it up on the d-90 forum to see what kind of interest people [COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important][COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=inherit ! important][/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR]may have in it.

Long story short, I've had tons of requests for them in the last couple of weeks, so I will most likely be doing a group buy on them here shortly. As with most group buys, the more I have manufactured, the lower the cost will be.

Below is a clip of the prototype which has since gone through many revisions of design changes to improve durability, functionality, and lower manufacturing costs[COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important][COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=inherit ! important][/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR]. I've attached some renderings of the redesigned clamp that will give you a good idea what the end result will look like, the only major difference is that the neoprene grip for the clamp has been moved to the base itself so you can ignore the strip in the clamp halves in the image below.

I don't have a 100% final, set in stone price just yet, but I will post it up as soon as I have it for you guys. Currently it looks like it will be about $55, but I'm doing everything I can to keep the cost down without sacrificing the quality of the part. I'm also waiting on one final quote for the casting of the clamp halves.

This fire extinguisher mount will accommodate any 2.5 - 3.0lb extinguisher with a 3.25" OD which appears to be a pretty standard size. I will put up another post after this one with some extinguishers I have tracked down that should fit with links & prices.

If you are interested in purchasing one or more, please reply and let me know how many to put you down for. This all helps me determine how many I will need to have manufactured so that I can get the best price break per quantity ordered on the quotes.

Thanks for looking!

Please forgive the crappy video, but it should give you a good idea of how it works.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH4wrTTKfFI

CompleteAssy-Cast.png
 
Here's some 3.25" OD extinguishers I found online. Please note that I HAVE NOT PHYSICALLY VERIFIED THESE DIMENSIONS!!

However, the 3.25" OD dimension is listed along with the extinguisher on the websites that I found them on. I could have sworn that I had seen earlier today that the H3R brand had a 3.25" OD but they apparently do not.

Kidde FA110 - $27 - Coast Gaurd & DOT Approved
http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-FA110-Pu...e+extinguisher

Kidde 408-466141 2.5lb - $20
http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-Extingui...e+extinguisher

Kidde FX511 2lb - $27
http://www.amazon.com/NEW-Automobile...e+extinguisher

Proline Pro 2.6lb - $49
http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-ProLine-...e+extinguisher
Reply With Quote
 
Looks like a great product- would like 1 for my buggy & possible a couple more for my DD and FJ40.

Have you tested these on any rigs, daily drivers, buggys, ect to see how the holder functions in bumpy situations over time?

PM me & let me know when you have a few.
 
I haven't done any official testing yet because I'm still finalizing the design. I spent most of the day today fabricating a new one based on the 3D model that I feel will produce the best results. I can tell you that the initial prototype performed way better than I had expected. It's kind of hard to tell from the crappy vid I posted, but it does provide one hell of a grip on the extinguisher if you watch when I pull the extinguisher out. If all goes well, I should be done with the new version (which is also the one that the quotes are based on) tomorrow or the next day and I can get some accurate numbers on the amount of force required to remove the extinguisher from the mount. The really slick thing about this clamp is that it will not open if the extinguisher is pulled to one side or the other. In other words, it requires an even amount of force on both clamp halves before it will release.
 
Nice product design!
 
1973Guppie said:
I really like the design and function of it, but the quick fist holders are only like 11 bucks so for me 55 is a bit much for a fire extinguisher holder. If the pricing could get into the 25-30 range I would consider but not at 55. Just some feedback for you.
Click to expand...

I wish it were possible to get the pricing down to the $25-$30 range, but that would be impossible being that there is more cost in just purchasing the hardware, raw materials, and having them cut. I can't even make one for myself for that price.

If you are not interested in purchasing one, that is fine with me. However, I would appreciate if you didn't mention other companies products as an alternative in the my sale thread, even if it is a substandard product. I have put a lot of hours into designing/redesigning this mount, and I am trying to deliver a quality product to people at a very low price considering how much is involved in manufacturing it. To offer it at ~$55 is a hell of a deal if you ask me considering a recent group buy I saw on a fire extinguisher mount that still required a release pin that you would have to pull first, was designed so that the extinguisher would rattle around in the mount as you drive down the road, and they wanted $255 for it! It was nothing but two small machined blocks of aluminum, and an aluminum sheet metal bracket to mount it on.

Regards,

Brian
 
Brian, woah, slow down buddy. I was just giving you constructive criticism which you are taking way too personally. You don't think a potential buyer is going to look into alternatives? You mention in the first post you are looking for interest comments. I was honestly just trying to help bud.

Noah
 
I'm sorry if my reply came across too harsh. I do expect that people who are in the market for a fire extinguisher mount are going to search for other alternatives, and that is fine with me because I feel that what I have here is a much better alternative to anything else out there. Especially at this price point. Some may not agree with and I'm okay with that. All I'm trying to say is that I don't agree with posting the name of a competitor's product in someone's thread where they're trying to get a small business off of the ground, I think that sort of thing should be sent through a PM.

No hard feelings.

Brian
 
Put me down for one, please.

Bob
 
Very interested but a few things:

• This is the extinguisher I use, looks like its may be too wide: http://www.h3rperformance.com/hg250r.htm
• Is there any kind of mechanical safety, like a pin? I like the design but I just get the feeling that a hard/sudden stop (accident/crash) may subject enough force to get it to eject.

BTW, I think the price is well in range with everything else out there like the one from Drake as an example.
 
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I've finished the new clamp based on the new design specifications which has a few tweaks to it. The main ones being that the clamp is now 1/4" thick with rounded ends on them making it much more durable than my initial prototype. Also, the base has a lower profile and a larger footprint to give it a more solid base when being bolted to a flat surface. Some of the other changes are very subtle and were simply to reduce the manufacturing costs as long as it didn't affect the durability or functionality of the mount.

I also visited with a spring manufacturer here in the Denver area yesterday and they were excited about helping us with designing a custom spring for the clamp. They recommended that I come down to their facility while they set up their machine to run a stainless steel spring specifically for this clamp. They want me to be there so we can tweak the parameters of the spring and test them in the clamp until we feel that we have the perfect spring for the application. I thought this was pretty cool of them, but unfortunately it will add a buck or two to the overall cost, but I think it will be worth it since the spring is the most critical piece of hardware in the clamp.

I also did some testing this evening to see how much force is required to extract the extinguisher from the clamp and found that this design requires ~29lbs of force, or ~6.5Gs. That is based on my extinguisher that I'm using which weighs about 4.5lbs. I don't have a scale that is accurate enough to get too specific, but this should give you a good idea of how well it holds onto the extinguisher. I'm hoping that we can improve on this even more with a custom spring.

Here's a couple of pics from the fabrication over the last few days as well as the finished part and another quick video of the operation. You can ignore the strap on the back of it, I just put it there to have something to hold onto when I pull the extinguisher out of the clamp.

FBDB95EE-F359-47DF-9B88-A0325C745212-6454-00000B253E6178C7.jpg


85CFC43C-AC44-4902-9D86-20C87975BA54-6454-00000B2559BB1E4C.jpg


73564DDE-7D4A-4085-AF4D-06C85919B5F7-6454-00000B254F4F139D.jpg


F27AE9D5-2677-4E8F-A89F-AAD86DE0DB42-6454-00000B25474185A3.jpg


Here's the video here:
http://youtu.be/VmFAHFaJETw
 
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I got called back to work the day after Christmas so I will be out of town for a couple of weeks. Luckily I'm in pretty good shape to continue this process without being home and will continue to keep you guys up to date with any news.
 
Clean, simple, looks like it'd last a long time and better accommodate an emergency situation than an old style bracket. I like it. I'll be keeping my eye on it for a final price.
 
Subscribing. That looks really trick.
 
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