In a message dated 8/30/02 12:51:32 AM, steven@EPOCHDESIGN.COM writes:

> On top of all the spare parts and tools I've been told I have to haul around
> with me,
> now I have to carry a couple bags of sand too?
>
> Anyone know where I can buy a Halon extinguisher? A little Halon is better
> than the environmental impact my van will have if it burns to the ground.
>
>

Regarding the "hazard" of magnesium in your Vanagons. For the most part, it
is a needless worry. Yes, it is possible it could get started burning. If you
get to that point, your van was a goner before the magnesium started burning
(something about steel oxidizing pretty quickly when heat is added to it, not
to mention your undercoast is toast, your tires are shot. All wiring
harnesses anywhere near the engine are wasted. If you have the wasserboxer
with plastic coolant lines, they'll be gone....

Magnesium in little tiny strips is easy to ignite. Magnesium in a big solid
block isn't. I remember camping at one of the Potomac Applachian Trail Club
houses in Harpers Ferry, WV. They had magnesium frying pans. Wonderful stuff.
REALLY, light weight. No worries about using it on the stove.

Magnesium (or aluminum) once it gets burning, is nearly impossible to
extingush. The British discovered this the hard way, when a couple of their
aluminum frigates (or was it a destroyer) got hit by Exocet missles during
the Falklands war. The Aluminum ignited and they had to scuttle the ship.

I've got a magnesium step/extension ladder. Incredibly light. It works as an
8 foot step ladder, or a 16 foot extension ladder, and I can pick it up,
easily, with one hand. Try doing that with an aluminum ladder, unless you are
Arnold S.