Refilling Fire Extinguisher

iano93

Hi lads, not sure if this is the correct forum for this but i'm sure the MODs will sort it out if there is a better place...
Do any of ye know places who refill fire extinguishers, Dublin area or North West of country is where I am based...... also where a fire extinguisher can be bought would be of help:rolleyes:
Thanks in advance

Poor Uncle Tom

Recommendations by PM please.


PM sent.

birchtree

can I have some recommendations too, coz 15 euro to refill 2kg bottle seems excessive. You get brand new one for 30 in IKEA. I have two at home and one in the car - 45 quid is a lot of money these days. I read some old post that fire stations sometimes are willing to refill them for public - not nowadays, they send them out to the likes of Apex Fire.

KenSwee

iano93 wrote: »

Hi lads, not sure if this is the correct forum for this but i'm sure the MODs will sort it out if there is a better place...
Do any of ye know places who refill fire extinguishers, Dublin area or North West of country is where I am based...... also where a fire extinguisher can be bought would be of help:rolleyes:
Thanks in advance

Any professional fire extinguisher company will refill the unit for you. The cost of refill should be judged against how much you originally bought the unit for. It may be cheaper to just buy a new one. Average cost of a re-fill is about 15-30 Euro depending on the unit. Also, there will be a callout charge if you wish to company to come to your residence. It could be an idea to meet an engineer on the road. Some will do that and that could cut out callout fees. Again, any professional company or home depot will be able to supplyy you with a fire extinguisher: again it depends on what type and what size, with some exceptions, the larger the unit, the more it will cost. Just be sure that the unit conforms to EN3 Standard. It will show this on the extinguisher.

KenSwee

birchtree wrote: »

can I have some recommendations too, coz 15 euro to refill 2kg bottle seems excessive. You get brand new one for 30 in IKEA. I have two at home and one in the car - 45 quid is a lot of money these days. I read some old post that fire stations sometimes are willing to refill them for public - not nowadays, they send them out to the likes of Apex Fire.

Personally, I think €45 Euro is good value. I will presume it's powder units you have? Either way it's not that important.

Consider these points.

When a fire extinguisher, in particular, a powder unit, has been discharged, an excessive amount of propellant has been pushed through a small aperture. This entire inner mechanism has be thoroughly inspected and cleaned in order for it to work again. The powder is corrosive and over time, will cause fatigue if not cleaned properly after use. This usually takes about 15-20 minutes, regardless of the size of the unit. The canister then has to be inspected inside and cleaned of any existing powder as it is not permitted to use two different versions of powder as this may cause a serious reduction in effectiveness. In other words, you cannot top up. The unit then has to be put back together, which, bearing in mind has about 8 pieces to which, takes about 10 minutes. You then have to use nitrogen or compressed dry air to pressurise the unit. Both these gases cost money and have to be kept in large quantities either back at the base or with the on-road engineer.
Finally every company has to make some kind of profit margin, say 15-20%. So I would say it's good value. If that cost included the company coming to you, then it's outstanding value.
You should also consider that you are getting a professional job done by an established company with proper certification backed up by a guarantee. And with the average amount of time to do this being 1.5 hours for 3 units, €45 in my opinion makers good value. Cheaper than the services of 3 cycles or 3 puncture repairs on a car.

Overall, like some things in life, when it comes to fire extinguisher service and refills, size doesn't matter, time, effort and expertise does.

To answer your other points, I have never heard of Fire Stations re-filling units as they also employ professional companies to refill and replace their fire extinguishers.

As regard to Lidil, Aldi and IKEA selling units to the public, fair play to them and I'm sure they are fine and conform to all the safety requirements. I've read elsewhere here that some companies don't like to re-fill them though, personally, I don't see why.

Finally you as a consumer, have the right to seek and take your custom elsewhere. You may think €45 IS a lot but consider what that €45 is going towards. Safety at home, work or on the road is paramount in my opinion and if those units served you well in the past it is a good idea to have the refilled by a professional company who will do the job right in case the unthinkable happens.

birchtree

KenSwee wrote: »

Personally, I think €45 Euro is good value. I will presume it's powder units you have? Either way it's not that important.

Consider these points.

When a fire extinguisher, in particular, a powder unit, has been discharged, an excessive amount of propellant has been pushed through a small aperture. This entire inner mechanism has be thoroughly inspected and cleaned in order for it to work again. The powder is corrosive and over time, will cause fatigue if not cleaned properly after use. This usually takes about 15-20 minutes, regardless of the size of the unit. The canister then has to be inspected inside and cleaned of any existing powder as it is not permitted to use two different versions of powder as this may cause a serious reduction in effectiveness. In other words, you cannot top up. The unit then has to be put back together, which, bearing in mind has about 8 pieces to which, takes about 10 minutes. You then have to use nitrogen or compressed dry air to pressurise the unit. Both these gases cost money and have to be kept in large quantities either back at the base or with the on-road engineer.
Finally every company has to make some kind of profit margin, say 15-20%. So I would say it's good value. If that cost included the company coming to you, then it's outstanding value.
You should also consider that you are getting a professional job done by an established company with proper certification backed up by a guarantee. And with the average amount of time to do this being 1.5 hours for 3 units, €45 in my opinion makers good value. Cheaper than the services of 3 cycles or 3 puncture repairs on a car.

Overall, like some things in life, when it comes to fire extinguisher service and refills, size doesn't matter, time, effort and expertise does.

To answer your other points, I have never heard of Fire Stations re-filling units as they also employ professional companies to refill and replace their fire extinguishers.

As regard to Lidil, Aldi and IKEA selling units to the public, fair play to them and I'm sure they are fine and conform to all the safety requirements. I've read elsewhere here that some companies don't like to re-fill them though, personally, I don't see why.

Finally you as a consumer, have the right to seek and take your custom elsewhere. You may think €45 IS a lot but consider what that €45 is going towards. Safety at home, work or on the road is paramount in my opinion and if those units served you well in the past it is a good idea to have the refilled by a professional company who will do the job right in case the unthinkable happens.

Thanks for the detail, it would be interesting to know the breakdown of labour vs material in refilling an extinguisher. 2kg of powder should not cost that much at all. Direct labour - if its a production line, should take minutes. The rest is overheads and profit margin. If Ikea can sell new units at €30 euros, which includes the manufacture, the fill, transport and profit margin, I was really expecting a refill to cost less than half the new one. I don't mind dropping off and collecting from the fire company.

Do fire companies trade in expired fire extinguishers? Or do I have to bear cost of disposing of them properly?

KenSwee

birchtree wrote: »

Do fire companies trade in expired fire extinguishers? Or do I have to bear cost of disposing of them properly?

It depends on the company, some charge, some don't.

mount_talbot

birchtree wrote: »

Do fire companies trade in expired fire extinguishers? Or do I have to bear cost of disposing of them properly?

If the extinguisher is defective or to be taken out of service, we take it away free of charge. We usually replace it with a refurb unit, and charge the cost of a refill.

birchtree

fire extinguishers coming on sale this week I think in Aldi at €9.99

mount_talbot

birchtree wrote: »

fire extinguishers coming on sale this week I think in Aldi at €9.99

Any link?

mount_talbot

http://aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys3_21789.htm

Hmmm...

Its ABC dry powder (I think) less than a kilo in weight.

Discharge time on this unit would be literally 2 maybe 3 seconds, and cannot be refilled.

Better off with a damp tea towel IMHO

KenSwee

mount_talbot wrote: »

http://aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys3_21789.htm

Hmmm...

Its ABC dry powder (I think) less than a kilo in weight.

Discharge time on this unit would be literally 2 maybe 3 seconds, and cannot be refilled.

Better off with a damp tea towel IMHO

Totally agree, rubbish unit for house use.
I suggest using it as a personal non lethal defence weapon.