An Important Safety Device For Any UTV, Not Just Race Cars
A fire suppression system is not intended to be one of the more flashy or exciting accessories that you will install on your side-by-side, but it might be the most important one in a time of need. Fire suppression systems are nothing new in the automotive world. However, they’ve become a popular safety device with UTV owners during the past few years following the proliferation of vehicle fires. These systems can also do more than a simple hand-held extinguisher.
As you may know, there are different types of systems on the market. Some have large extinguisher bottles, others have small bottles, and most systems can be expanded to have multiple bottles. We also learned that some systems are manually activated with a pull lever, while others use heat-activated thermal sensors that automatically disperse the extinguisher agent. There are different types of agents as well, including Halon and Novec.
The benefits of an on-board fire suppression system is obvious, compared to a traditional extinguisher. If you are wearing a helmet, secured in your side-by-side with a safety harness and a fire ignites, it may be too late to stop, grab the extinguisher and try to put the fire out. It’s possible that a fire suppression system will activate before you even knew a fire started.
By Mike Sommer | 01-02-2017
