Dry powder extinguisher still ok?

mikeybrennan

Hi
I have an old extinguisher lying around,it's a 9kg and the pressure gage is showing 100%

Just wondering if I can depend on it as it's been there a few years?
Thanks

degsie

mikeybrennan wrote: »

Hi
I have an old extinguisher lying around,it's a 9kg and the pressure gage is showing 100%

Just wondering if I can depend on it as it's been there a few years?
Thanks

Does it have an expiry date?

mikeybrennan

Not sure

degsie

mikeybrennan wrote: »

Not sure

Why not?

my3cents

Why would it have a use by date when it has a pressure gauge to check that the device is still working?

Should be fine OP thats what the gauge is telling you and why its there.

mikeybrennan

That was my thought

It's sitting right on 100%

mikeybrennan

my3cents wrote: »

Why would it have a use by date when it has a pressure gauge to check that the device is still working?

Should be fine OP thats what the gauge is telling you and why its there.

The powder can cake apparently
So you have to turn them upside down and give them a few taps and listen for the powder dropping

I believe there is a expiry date too but extinguisher may still be viable

foxy farmer

There was a "company" (husband and wife listed as directors) around here that used to sell and "service" fire extinguishers. Every 12 months he'd be on each time in a different new vehicle. Take them for a week and charge well for it. Most likely thrown in the boot and a signature and date added to the label. Then hed call take the extinguishers get payment but never return with them after a service. Move onto a new patch and catch more suckers. Got pulled by Revenue for non payment of tax. He was also known to the Gardai.
Was still in operation until recently but Solo check shows the business as dissolved and no tax accounts filed for several years.
Fire extinguishers are a great way of pulling a con. If you want them checked get a reputable company.

GrumpyMe

foxy farmer wrote: »

... If you want them checked get a reputable company...

Before going down the "checked" route, check the replacement cost...

Calahonda52

my3cents wrote: »

Why would it have a use by date when it has a pressure gauge to check that the device is still working?

Should be fine OP thats what the gauge is telling you and why its there.

The gauge may be stuck at 100%, a common problem

CJhaughey

Buy a new one 6kg Dry powder ones are €25 in Lidl and Aldi from time to time.
Keep the 9kg as a spare but consider getting it checked and serviced.
Fire blankets are a very good idea as well.

antiskeptic

Have you ever seen what happens to your gaf if you release a powder extinguisher? Not pretty. Consider alternatives, such as CO2

mikeybrennan

CJhaughey wrote: »

Buy a new one 6kg Dry powder ones are €25 in Lidl and Aldi from time to time.
Keep the 9kg as a spare but consider getting it checked and serviced.
Fire blankets are a very good idea as well.

I already have a new 6kg powder extinguisher

I think I will get a second foam extinguisher and keep the old extinguisher as a backup

CJhaughey

mikeybrennan wrote: »

I already have a new 6kg powder extinguisher

I think I will get a second foam extinguisher and keep the old extinguisher as a backup

Yeah foam is good as well.
Just don't mix foam and powder, the foam breaks down when you use powder.

mickwat155

CJhaughey wrote: »

Buy a new one 6kg Dry powder ones are €25 in Lidl and Aldi from time to time.
Keep the 9kg as a spare but consider getting it checked and serviced.
Fire blankets are a very good idea as well.

I wouldn't buy another cheap extinguisher after the one I got stopped working an it was less then 12 months old granted it only costed me €20 and it wasn't a brand name..

degsie

mickwat155 wrote: »

I wouldn't buy another cheap extinguisher after the one I got stopped working an it was less then 12 months old granted it only costed me €20 and it wasn't a brand name..

How did you discover it wasn't working? Do you test regularly?

CJhaughey

mickwat155 wrote: »

I wouldn't buy another cheap extinguisher after the one I got stopped working an it was less then 12 months old granted it only costed me €20 and it wasn't a brand name..

The one I bought from Aldi was a Gloria I think.
How did yours stop working, was it during a fire?

mickwat155

degsie wrote: »

How did you discover it wasn't working? Do you test regularly?

When we wore doing a small cutting job on mums car recently I thought it would be handy to have near by incase.. no its prob the reason it stopped working it just emptied of the gas its close to full of powder.

CJhaughey wrote: »

The one I bought from Aldi was a Gloria I think.
How did yours stop working, was it during a fire?

Mines a proplus.. thankfully I didnt need it since I got it.. never knew it would empty from lack of use.

degsie

mickwat155 wrote: »

When we wore doing a small cutting job on mums car recently I thought it would be handy to have near by incase.. no its prob the reason it stopped working it just emptied of the gas its close to full of powder.



Mines a proplus.. thankfully I didnt need in since I got it.. never knew it would empty from lack of use.

I still don't understand how it wasn't working if you never used it.

prinzeugen

antiskeptic wrote: »

Have you ever seen what happens to your gaf if you release a powder extinguisher? Not pretty. Consider alternatives, such as CO2

Indeed. At every fire safety course I have done, the instructor has said powder should only be used on car fires. Once the powder gets into electronic items they are fecked.

Co2 is the best one as you can use it on all types of fire.

mikeybrennan

prinzeugen wrote: »

Indeed. At every fire safety course I have done, the instructor has said powder should only be used on car fires. Once the powder gets into electronic items they are fecked.

Co2 is the best one as you can use it on all types of fire.

Not sure that's correct

http://www.firesure.ie/fire_safety_guidance/comparison_of_the_different_types_of_fire_extinguishers.html

mikeybrennan

Foam I think would be preferable over CO2 for domestic use

My understanding is that in the event of a domestic fire dry powder works better than foam or CO2.Someone can correct me on that if I'm wrong

LiamoSail

antiskeptic wrote: »

Have you ever seen what happens to your gaf if you release a powder extinguisher? Not pretty. Consider alternatives, such as CO2

Have you ever seen what can happen a person in an unventilated area if you release CO2? Considerably less pretty.

CO2 extinguishers have their uses, but it's important to make sure the extinguisher is suitable for the hazard.

Regarding the OPs issue, extinguishers should be serviced annually and it's cheap as chips to do so. If you have dry powder extinguishers, as mentioned earlier they can cake. Give them a good shake every month and make sure you can hear the movement of the powder

LiamoSail

mikeybrennan wrote: »

Foam I think would be preferable over CO2 for domestic use

My understanding is that in the event of a domestic fire dry powder works better than foam or CO2.Someone can correct me on that if I'm wrong

Foam is suitable for class A & B fires, Dry powder for A, B & C. The danger of foam is that it smothers the fire, so reignition is always a possibility

EDIT: I'm sure this is what I was told on courses, but looking online they seem to say the same about dry powder

LiamoSail

mickwat155 wrote: »

Mines a proplus.. thankfully I didnt need it since I got it.. never knew it would empty from lack of use.

They dont, or at least shouldn't

mikeybrennan

LiamoSail wrote: »

Foam is suitable for class A & B fires, Dry powder for A, B & C. The danger of foam is that it smothers the fire, so reignition is always a possibility

What's the best option for domestic use?

LiamoSail

mikeybrennan wrote: »

What's the best option for domestic use?

It depends on the hazard. If electrical, I think CO2 is the most suitable, otherwise Dry Powder as it covers A, B & C class fires.

Given the cheap price of extinguishers, I'd have both CO2 and Dry Powder. Just be careful with CO2 in a small unventilated space.

I'd recommend servicing annually too. I pay about £10/ extinguisher for a service, but I get 60 serviced at a time so it's cheaper. A service shouldn't be more than £20 I wouldn't think.

A handy acronym too if anyone is unfortunate enough to have to use there's:
P - pull the pin
A- Aim the hose
S- squeeze the nozzle
S- sweep the fire (lateral sweeps of the nozzle)

Just to clarify, I'm not a fire fighter or an expert, I just have a lot of extinguishers in my job and know a small bit about them

mikeybrennan

Why not foam?

antiskeptic

LiamoSail wrote: »

Have you ever seen what can happen a person in an unventilated area if you release CO2? Considerably less pretty.

CO2 extinguishers have their uses, but it's important to make sure the extinguisher is suitable for the hazard.

CO2 extinguishers have a good anti-personnel / self-protection uses. Good for disabling that burglar wandering up your stairs in a way that doesn't cause permanent damage.

red sean

antiskeptic wrote: »

CO2 extinguishers have a good anti-personnel / self-protection uses. Good for disabling that burglar wandering up your stairs in a way that doesn't cause permanent damage.

Especially if he's on fire :P

CJhaughey

Co2 are good for electrical fires inside but thats about their limit, outside the Co2 blows away very rapidly and becomes ineffective.
Dry powder works on every type of fire thats why they are so prevalent.
Foam good for liquid fires but DP works as well if not better.
Water is good for class A Carbonaceous fires.
All bar DP are pretty specific and need to be used with care especially if there is live electrical stuff in the vicinity.
Use a Co2 on loose papers and the force of the blast will scatter the paper possibly making the fire larger.
I train people in the use of FF equipment and you can see how the wrong extinguisher can be an issue in different situations.
If you do have a Foam or Water extinguisher people that may use it should be aware of the risks with live electric.
I would rather have a problem cleaning up dry powder than having no shed or house because the fire couldn't be controlled.
I have a 2.5kg dry powder in the kitchen and a fire blanket.
In the Hall a 6kg DP and a 2.5l C02
The shed has 2 x C02 and a 2.5kg DP
Camper has a 2.5kg DP.

mikeybrennan

I thought dry powder wasn't suitable for kitchen fires

LiamoSail

mikeybrennan wrote: »

Why not foam?

DP works on A, B and C, foam only on A & B. Additionally, with foam there's the danger or reignition, as it works by starving the fire of air.

Foam is a good extinguisher, but DP is better imo, primarily because it's more versatile

EDIT: I'm sure I've always been told this on course, but looking online they seem to say the same about dry powder

LiamoSail

There's specific wet chemical extinguishers available for the kitchen. No idea how good/bad they are though

CJhaughey

LiamoSail wrote: »

There's specific wet chemical extinguishers available for the kitchen. No idea how good/bad they are though

Never seen one, They have a yellow label but I guess for commercial frying places that make potato chips and the like where dp or foam could cause a loss of a lot of oil.
Realistically for a house a fire blanket will do most oil fires easily and with little risk. Plus if someone catches fire its good for that as well.

mikeybrennan

Is dry powder any good for cooker fires or do you have to use wet chemical

Assuming you already have a fire blanket

LiamoSail

mikeybrennan wrote: »

Is dry powder any good for cooker fires or do you have to use wet chemical

Assuming you already have a fire blanket

Wet chemical is only for deep fat fryers. By cooker do you mean like an oven? If so, I'd be more inclined to use CO2 as its electrical though you can use Dry Powder as far a s I know.

If it's a deep fat fryer, CO2 isn't recommended. On firefighting courses I did, we used foam on a fire blanket and put it over the fryer

LiamoSail

LiamoSail wrote: »

DP works on A, B and C, foam only on A & B. Additionally, with foam there's the danger or reignition, as it works by starving the fire of air.

Foam is a good extinguisher, but DP is better imo, primarily because it's more versatile

EDIT: I'm sure I've always been told this on course, but looking online they seem to say the same about dry powder

I've edited two of my posts regarding foam being more likely to allow reignition than dry powder. As above, I'm sure this is what I've always been told on courses (I do offshore and marine refresher fire fighting courses every 2 and 5 years respectively), but online it seems to suggest dry powder is the more likely to allow reignition

CJhaughey

Ovens are electrical so if you have a grease fire in an oven you have to turn the power off and then fight it as a grease fire (Class
Which would be dry powder or foam.
Gas is a funny one, you have to turn the gas off at the mains otherwise leave it burn, stop the flames and leave the gas running and you are creating the potential for a gas explosion which is a Very. Bad. Thing.
Burning deep fryer. Fireblanket and leave to cool for 30 mins at least before removing from cooktop.
You could use foam or DP but a fireblanket is more effective.

Bigger versions are used for car fires.
http://www.leader-group.eu/fire-fighting-equipment/fire-blankets/extra-large-blankets/leader-stop-fire-blanket-930-c283.html

CJhaughey

LiamoSail wrote: »

I've edited two of my posts regarding foam being more likely to allow reignition than dry powder. As above, I'm sure this is what I've always been told on courses (I do offshore and marine refresher fire fighting courses every 2 and 5 years respectively), but online it seems to suggest dry powder is the more likely to allow reignition

Foam is good as long as it remains in a thick layer over the liquid, if the blanket moves due to wave action etc and the liquid is exposed it can reignite.
Using DP with foam will break the foam down and can allow reignition.
Foam is good in that it provides a measure of heat insulation as well, DP doesn't give that effect.
if the liquid is not contained then DP is usually better as it absorbs and chemically prevents the spread of fire.
DP is Sodium Bicarbonate with some anti-caking agents added, When heated Co2 is released and this acts like a Co2 extinguisher.