Fire extinguisher maintenace

[sparc]

Bigfoot62, thanks for the tips on fire extinguishers, and everyone else too.

 

[creekbend]

Tanks for posting. I put the Link that you provided on my Favorites Bar.

 

[Bigfoot62]

Yep. It took me a while to get the message, but my friend will not even touch an extinguisher with a plastic valve.

It is worth the extra money to get a "Real" extinguisher with a metal valve, because: 1. The gas will not leak out of it. 2. If you use it, you can get it refilled.

I have a question Bigfoot, how do you get the gas in the extinguisher? I once tried to blow air backwards into one that the gas leaked out of, and it would not go in.

Ray, The fire extinguisher techs have an adapter, specific to the make and model, that will screw in the valve where the hose goes. It is then charged with a regulated supply of nitrogen.
You do not want to charge a dry chemical extinguisher with air:
1. Air contains moisture. (nitrogen is dry)
2. Air contains oxygen. (I don't have to explain what happens when you blow on a fire with oxygen, do I?)

 

[k0ua]

Ray, The fire extinguisher techs have an adapter, specific to the make and model, that will screw in the valve where the hose goes. It is then charged with a regulated supply of nitrogen.
You do not want to charge a dry chemical extinguisher with air:
1. Air contains moisture. (nitrogen is dry)
2. Air contains oxygen. (I don't have to explain what happens when you blow on a fire with oxygen, do I?)

AAh.. I always charge mine from my oxy bottle off of my torch outfit..

 

[Bigfoot62]

AAh.. I always charge mine from my oxy bottle off of my torch outfit..

Can you share a video of you trying to put out a fire with that?

 

[Ken]

Used to work for a Natural Gas Co. and they held fire drill frequently and this included the wives at pumping stations. And these drills tought the women how to use a fire extinguisher for several types of fire. They would in parking area set a container with gas cloths and light the fire then have the wives put the fire out. same for wood fires. For who is at home when all the men are at work.
At one pumping sta. had 2 6000 h.p. Elec. motors big. and when starting there were heat coils to give the starting winding voltage. one motor was having problems with switching from starting to running so the coils turned red. burning the accumulated dust off. the plant operator grabbed a co2 12 lb. extinguisher and started to spray the coils . static elec. and touching the cabinets caused a shock so he turned in a plant fire alarm. every vehicle in area with light bars on top responded. then operator realized co2 being sprayed will charge up the bottle.
One embarassed person.
ken

 

[k0ua]

Can you share a video of you trying to put out a fire with that?

It would sure be exciting for a couple of seconds:fiery:

 

[BIG DOOLEY]

i work far a large chemical company.
we practie putting out fires as part of our training.
there are 4 basic types of fire extinguishers.
type A which is a water tank filled with an inert gas. these are for wood, paper, fabric, waste baskets.... you can also get these with a foam agent which smothers or covers material with suppressive foam.
type B which is a dry chemical. used for solvents like gas, oil, diesel, or any other type of liquid. charged with an inert gas or a CO2 cartridge.
most dry powders are harmless to you as baking soda.
type C which is a CO2 and is used for electrical fires
type D which is for metal fires like magnesium.
make sure you use the right type of extinguisher or you could make a bad situation even worse.
example
never use water on a gas fire as it will most likely spread the gas and make it worse.
a hot pot of vegtable oil on your stove is best put out by putting a lid or cookie sheet on the pan or pot. you can even smother it out by throwing a damp towel over it.
if you throw water on on a pot of oil, the water will boil so fast it explodes and the oil will blow everywhere and make a huge fire.
Death in the Kitchen (Warning) - YouTube
What NOT to Do! Cooking Oil Fire: Silverdale Fire Brigade Open Day, Auckland NZ, 30 Oct 2010 - YouTube
tom

 

[ray66v]

Ray, The fire extinguisher techs have an adapter, specific to the make and model, that will screw in the valve where the hose goes. It is then charged with a regulated supply of nitrogen.
You do not want to charge a dry chemical extinguisher with air:
1. Air contains moisture. (nitrogen is dry)
2. Air contains oxygen. (I don't have to explain what happens when you blow on a fire with oxygen, do I?)

I had no intention of using the fire extinguisher, I was only experimenting with a unit before discarding it.

It was clear that they had to have a way to attach it to the, what is it N2 bottle?

I was surprised that I could not hold the valve open, and blow pressure back into the bottle, which made me wonder how it worked.

 

[bigtiller]

Good thread! I guess I will pitch my 18 year old First Alert extinguishers and give the local fire extinguisher company a call.