Fire Extinguishers

Gale Hawkins · Apr 16, 2011

we have several Halon. Keep one water based extinguisher in the MH charged with one quart of Cold Fire so it is good for fuel fires. Cold Fire multiplies the effectiveness of the water by 7x if I remember correctly.

Halon is clean but WILL NOT drop temps very fast like water will.

RobertN · Apr 16, 2011

Have couple around the house and garage.

It is also a good idea to have working smoke detectors too.

And, maintain both.

Extinguishers have to be kept charged. Some times the powder cakes in the bottom.

Detectors have to have good batteries. They need to be kept clean. And, most only have a 5 or 10 year life span; they are not "set and forget".

Darren · Apr 16, 2011

Look up Purple K. That is the absolute best small extinguisher you can get for a combustible fuel fire.

If you chose to fight a fire, be aware that several firefighters have died due to the hydrogen cyanide that is given off by plastics in today's homes. Plastic is pervasive. Most carpets are plastic for example. As long as firefighters wear the air packs, SCBAs, and use them, they are safe. But some have been poisoned by the hydrogen cyanide hanging around after the fire's out. The effects mimic a heart attack.

tsteahr · Apr 16, 2011

The Haymaker said:
I'd much rather clean dry chem than carbon....

CO2 = carbon dioxide gas. What carbon cleanup are you talking about?

CompactTractorFan · Apr 19, 2011

We have a 5# and couple 2 1/2# ABC dry chem in the house. Also have a few 2 1/2# in the garage. I also had a pressurized water extinguisher I bought off e-bay. That thing was great! Used it all the time putting out campfires and...uh...just for fun. :ashamed: All you have to do to recharge is put the water and add some compressed air. Unfortunately, I went to charge it recently and it had deteriorated so much I could not use it anymore...Got some practice with my air powered metal cutting saw cutting a stainless cylinder.

I'll probably buy a brand new one at some point...

CompactTractorFan · Apr 19, 2011

CompactTractorFan said:
We have a 5# and couple 2 1/2# ABC dry chem in the house. Also have a few 2 1/2# in the garage. I also had a pressurized water extinguisher I bought off e-bay. That thing was great! Used it all the time putting out campfires and...uh...just for fun. :ashamed: All you have to do to recharge is put the water and add some compressed air. Unfortunately, I went to charge it recently and it had deteriorated so much I could not use it anymore...Got some practice with my air powered metal cutting saw cutting a stainless cylinder. I'll probably buy a brand new one at some point...

Oh, and it was manufactured in the 1970's and spent it's preivious life in Dallas, TX.

niemeyjt · Apr 20, 2011

Another really great thread!

Fire blankets in kitchens are good too - you never want to put water near a burning fat pan.

CO2 are good in cars, I am told, if you ever get a run-away diesel engine - discharge it into the air intake.

It used to be that extinguishers here in UK were colour coded - red = water, blue = powder, cream = foam, black = CO2 and green = halon (now illegal). Sadly, the EU decided to 'harmonize' things now all types are red.

I have dry powder in workshop and on tractor - I have water ones that I emptied last winter and not refilled - I thought of adding anti-freeze but am not sure which type and concentration will be best - all thoughts welcome!

Also, another idea I have heard mentioned is to have a garden hose pipe in the house that you can connect say in kitchen and use to deliver continuous water (rather than just a burst from an extinguisher).

Another thing that fascinated me was the the Firexpress system - Firexpress A/S - Products - I guess it is similar to Cold Fire - with microdrops. I would like to find a way just to buy the lance and use a normal pump.

J