(7/22/2013) New Hampshire Avanti Destroyed In Garage Fire

[jclary]

I am the Guy!
I did in fact have an extinguisher and it did in fact not work.
The garden hose was my second choice and as stated, did not work very well.
Avanti was R4414.
Hindsight is a great teacher!

Welcome to the forum, Phil. All of us have been schooled by "Mr. Hindsight" at some time in our lives. Sorry for your loss. I have a very good friend near me who lost over 50 Studebakers in a fire earlier this year. None of them were junk car and trucks either. I visited his restaurant yesterday where he and his wife were dutifully working away during the busiest part of the day. Great folks who have their priorities in order and know what is important in life.

Although they suffered a serious setback...they're back at it...rebuilding...one meal at a time. Knowing, things could have been much worse...concentrating on the windshield of life, glancing in the rear view mirror, but not dwelling on it. Join us here, I'm sure you can contribute to the conversation.

[lostavanti]

Thanks, John
As soon as I get a little time (currently in the clean up phase), I will post some photos of the damage and more info about what happened
with the hope that someone else may avoid a similar loss.
And yes, we plan to have another Avanti!
Phil

[Chris_Dresbach]

Dang, sorry to hear about this. It always sucks when any old car gets involved in a fire like this. Have to remember to have at least a couple fire extinguishers in the garage and check them regularly. I know my dad and I keep several extinguishers out in the barn. One type A, and a couple type ABCs. I always recommend the type ABCs for use inside houses, garages, and the car itself and keep a plain type A around just because they are easily rechargeable and useful.
In English...
Type A: extinguisher for solids such as cardboard, wood, and paper. Water charged.
Type B: extinguisher for liquid fires, oil.
Type C: extinguisher for electrical fires.
Type D: extinguisher for weird stuff, usually found in labs
Type ABC: universal combining type A, B, and C.

[JBOYLE]

As Chris mentions...you have to check on them every few years. They'll give you a service tag when it's done so you can keep track of it.. It's cheap. Also, when you buy extinguishers, get those with metal heads...they can be recharged. Plastic ones are disposable.

[Corvanti]

sorry to hear about this.

i hope you had "proper" insurance on her.

and for those that don't, this is a reason to do so!

[Hawklover]

Explain how taking the battery cable off an Avanti can prevent a fire?

Since new, my Avanti has never had the cables removed while in storage, in recent years I do keep a battery tender 1 & 1/4 amp charger on the battery during the winter.

[Hawklover]

For a conflagration to commence, there has to be a point of ignition.........just because the car is stored in a garage does not mean fire is imminent. Since 1964 my Avanti has been garage stored........and suffered no tragedies....

This fire could have happened for many different reasons,.....but the Avantis elevated fuel tank always caused me some concern when these cars are parked for a time inside a garage.

[TWChamp]

Explain how taking the battery cable off an Avanti can prevent a fire?

Since new, my Avanti has never had the cables removed while in storage, in recent years I do keep a battery tender 1 & 1/4 amp charger on the battery during the winter.

I had a 1 amp charger on a battery overnight in the garage. When I came out the next morning I couldn't find my battery. It had exploded overnight, and no pieces were big enough to haul in for scrap. It also sprayed acid over the hood of my dad's Oldsmobile. A year later I had a 4 amp charger on my Dodge Dakota overnight. Luckily I had the charger on top of the radiator and had the hood open. When I came out the next day I found the charger burned to a crisp, but the fire didn't spread because nothing combustable was next to it.

I would never again leave a charger on a battery unattended, unless the battery and charger were out in the yard on green grass or on cement away from anything valuable. I don't believe in battery tenders and have never found the need for them. Both my Model A and Studebaker 6 volt batteries are over 10 years old and still start the cars after 6 to 7 months of winter storage. If I happen to be in the garage for an hour or so I might put a small charger on the battery for that short time, but most years the batteries never see a charger for the winter storage time.

[Chris_Dresbach]

Electricity is heat. When a car or anything with a battery in it sits for an extended period of time battery acid can build up around the posts. Battery acid can cause a short or a spark and over time can lead to a fire or cause the battery to explode. I've seen it happen. Leaving a battery on a trickle charger is one thing but when doing it I would highly recommend taking the battery out or at least disconnecting it.

[rkapteyn]

The best reason to disconnect the battery is that rats and mice chew trough wiring and causes shorts leading to a fire.
One of our chapter members was out of town and his wife called him that the horn on his 1963 Hawk was blowing and smoke was coming from under the hood.
He taught his wife to open the hood and disconnect the battery in a hurry.
Apparently the horn wire had shorted and the horn relay pulled in and stayed on , overheated and burned part of the wiring harness.

Robert Kapteyn

[SN-60]

For a conflagration to commence, there has to be a point of ignition.........just because the car is stored in a garage does not mean fire is imminent. Since 1964 my Avanti has been garage stored........and suffered no tragedies....

I think Murphy's Law may have something to do with it!

[Buzzard]

I concur that leaving any type of charger on for indefinite periods of time is unwise. I use the C-Tek units (many different configurations available) and periodically plug them in when I am working (or playing) in my shop. I just don't think long term is a good solution. There have been enough examples posted here.
Bill

[Hawklover]

Battery Tender products only charge to keep the battery "topped off"....thereafter it goes into a float state.......

I concur that leaving any type of charger on for indefinite periods of time is unwise. I use the C-Tek units (many different configurations available) and periodically plug them in when I am working (or playing) in my shop. I just don't think long term is a good solution. There have been enough examples posted here.
Bill

[Hawklover]

Champ, I doubt my Avanti could start after laying for 7 months with no use,

I had a 1 amp charger on a battery overnight in the garage. When I came out the next morning I couldn't find my battery. It had exploded overnight, and no pieces were big enough to haul in for scrap. It also sprayed acid over the hood of my dad's Oldsmobile. A year later I had a 4 amp charger on my Dodge Dakota overnight. Luckily I had the charger on top of the radiator and had the hood open. When I came out the next day I found the charger burned to a crisp, but the fire didn't spread because nothing combustable was next to it.

I would never again leave a charger on a battery unattended, unless the battery and charger were out in the yard on green grass or on cement away from anything valuable. I don't believe in battery tenders and have never found the need for them. Both my Model A and Studebaker 6 volt batteries are over 10 years old and still start the cars after 6 to 7 months of winter storage. If I happen to be in the garage for an hour or so I might put a small charger on the battery for that short time, but most years the batteries never see a charger for the winter storage time.

[StudeDave57]

uh oh

Is it just me or is it weird that a two year old thread was dredged up just to grind an axe?

Champ, I doubt my Avanti could start after laying for 7 months with no use,

So Avantis are NOT as 'superior' to Studebakers/Packards as you have stated many times over this past week.

How do I know?

Well~ my '58 Packard once fired right off after a year of sitting. (almost exactly to the day in fact)
There's even a thread about it somewhere on this very Forum.
I would've posted about it back in April/May 2010 or so...?




StudeDave '57
Ask the Man who owns one...