Show your fire extinguisher

[RjCorazza]

I store mine in an old section of 5" fire hose beside my seat.
If I had the space, I would prefer a 2 1/2 gallon water can though. I have put out quite a few fires with a can in my previous life.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Here's another one... how often do you guys have them inspected and tested? Coming from three generations of fire fighters and fire inspectors, I bought a half dozen good (not Kidde crap) fire extinguishers from the local company that supplies all of our fire co's, and added them to the few I had already inherited... all in 1998. They are still showing exactly the same charge they started with, or very nearly so, on their gauges. Assuming the gauges still work, that is.

Not a great practice, but since it's now more than an hour round trip to where they're serviced, and I'd not want to be without more than one or two of them at a time, I haven't found a great solution for getting them tested and serviced.

Oh, and the few I inherited? There's two Halon's in that group! I also have the same water extinguisher Hay Dude carries on his tractor, I use it while welding. Do be sure to check the charge on those frequently, as mineral deposits can cause slow leaks on those.

Well for dry chemical extinguishers, the technical answer to your question is,

Fire extinguishers are supposed to be visually checked every month, for things like damage, leaks, drops in pressure, etc. You are supposed to initial on the annual tag that it has been done in the box for each month (on the back side of the tag).

They are supposed to be thoroughly checked annually, including weighing, and tagged as such with a new annual tag, again checking for things like damage, missing pins, leaks or tears in the discharge hose (if it has one), or any damage to the mechanical release.

Every 6 years they need serviced. That means taken apart (the gauge and release valve are taken off), cleaned inside and out, the agent inside the bottle can be saved and reused when the extinguisher is reassembled and pressurized. A new valve, pressure gauge and nozzle are installed. There is a 6 Year Serviced sticker that goes on the bottle to indicate it has been done. Also, usually a plastic or neoprene collar is put on before the valve is reinstalled. It has to be a collar that fits tight enough that it cannot be put on or taken off while the valve is on the bottle (this is to "prove" the service has been done, you can't get the collar on without taking the valve off). If the collar is missing, then it is counted as "not serviced".

Every 12 years they need "hydro testing". This is the same as the 6 year service above, except the agent is not saved and put back in, it is discarded and new agent is used during reassembly. The bottle is pressure tested (thus the "hydro") and certified that it passed hydro. A new sticker is placed on the bottle with the date that hydro was done, and indicates that it passed.

After each 6 year and 12 year service, the clock (calendar) resets and you start all over again.

I never did do any water extinguishers, but they do run on a different service and hydro schedule (it is less often, but I don't recall the time frequency since we didn't do them) than the dry chemical extinguishers.

 

[Hay Dude]

Nice thing about the water extinguishers is they are so easy to refill and put back to use.
I have found many other uses for them, including washing windshields and back/side windows when no water is available. They don’t use all their water pressure up in one use. You can use it for 10-20 seconds and still have some water left.

Despite their size, I highly suggest getting one on your tractor. Very handy for brush/field fires and other uses.

I had an Indian Pump mounted on one of my tractors long ago.

 

[tacticalturnip]

I picking an Indian pump up a few years ago; sadly it needs all new seals.

 

[JBF43]

Well for dry chemical extinguishers, the technical answer to your question is,

Fire extinguishers are supposed to be visually checked every month, for things like damage, leaks, drops in pressure, etc. You are supposed to initial on the annual tag that it has been done in the box for each month (on the back side of the tag).

They are supposed to be thoroughly checked annually, including weighing, and tagged as such with a new annual tag, again checking for things like damage, missing pins, leaks or tears in the discharge hose (if it has one), or any damage to the mechanical release.

Every 6 years they need serviced. That means taken apart (the gauge and release valve are taken off), cleaned inside and out, the agent inside the bottle can be saved and reused when the extinguisher is reassembled and pressurized. A new valve, pressure gauge and nozzle are installed. There is a 6 Year Serviced sticker that goes on the bottle to indicate it has been done. Also, usually a plastic or neoprene collar is put on before the valve is reinstalled. It has to be a collar that fits tight enough that it cannot be put on or taken off while the valve is on the bottle (this is to "prove" the service has been done, you can't get the collar on without taking the valve off). If the collar is missing, then it is counted as "not serviced".

Every 12 years they need "hydro testing". This is the same as the 6 year service above, except the agent is not saved and put back in, it is discarded and new agent is used during reassembly. The bottle is pressure tested (thus the "hydro") and certified that it passed hydro. A new sticker is placed on the bottle with the date that hydro was done, and indicates that it passed.

After each 6 year and 12 year service, the clock (calendar) resets and you start all over again.

I never did do any water extinguishers, but they do run on a different service and hydro schedule (it is less often, but I don't recall the time frequency since we didn't do them) than the dry chemical extinguishers.

Something I learned about dry chemical extinguishers, (while walking with the inspectors for annual inspection,) is that the powder inside of them settles and can become a brick. When he found one like that, he would turn it upside down and give it several sharp raps with a rubber mallet. Most of the time the powder would turn loose again and he passed the extinguisher so long as the gauge showed a full charge and it wasn't due for service. The test for this was to take the extinguisher off its mount and turn it upside down and shake it. If you feel the powder in there shaking and moving its ok. If it doesn't move/ shake, you have a useless fire extinguisher. When you try to use it, the pressure will be released but no dry chemical comes out. It's a good idea to take the extinguishers off their mounts often and shake them to be sure the powder hasn't settled and packed. Just a thought.

 

[WinterDeere]

...the powder inside of them settles and can become a brick. When he found one like that, he would turn it upside down and give it several sharp raps with a rubber mallet.

Now that you mention it, I remember the outside company who did our extinguisher inspections at my prior job would do this with every extinguisher, every time. Take it off the hook, invert it, wrap on the bottom with the heel of their palm, give it a quick shake, then re-hang it. Can't remember if this was monthly, or twice per year.

 

[Hay Dude]

Something I learned about dry chemical extinguishers, (while walking with the inspectors for annual inspection,) is that the powder inside of them settles and can become a brick. When he found one like that, he would turn it upside down and give it several sharp raps with a rubber mallet. Most of the time the powder would turn loose again and he passed the extinguisher so long as the gauge showed a full charge and it wasn't due for service. The test for this was to take the extinguisher off its mount and turn it upside down and shake it. If you feel the powder in there shaking and moving its ok. If it doesn't move/ shake, you have a useless fire extinguisher. When you try to use it, the pressure will be released but no dry chemical comes out. It's a good idea to take the extinguishers off their mounts often and shake them to be sure the powder hasn't settled and packed. Just a thought.

Very good information. Thanks from all of us.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Something I learned about dry chemical extinguishers, (while walking with the inspectors for annual inspection,) is that the powder inside of them settles and can become a brick. When he found one like that, he would turn it upside down and give it several sharp raps with a rubber mallet. Most of the time the powder would turn loose again and he passed the extinguisher so long as the gauge showed a full charge and it wasn't due for service. The test for this was to take the extinguisher off its mount and turn it upside down and shake it. If you feel the powder in there shaking and moving its ok. If it doesn't move/ shake, you have a useless fire extinguisher. When you try to use it, the pressure will be released but no dry chemical comes out. It's a good idea to take the extinguishers off their mounts often and shake them to be sure the powder hasn't settled and packed. Just a thought.

Yes, the term is called "caking" (at least what I always heard it called).

Part of the inspection is to pick it up and turn it over. You should feel the powder move on it's own while holding it. If it doesn't, then you can shake it or rap it on the bottom. I would always do this during the annuals. If you can't get it to move, it gets tagged defective and you move it to the "needs service" pile.

Also, you should NEVER leave, sit or store an extinguisher on the ground, pavement or concrete. They must be hung on a mount, or very large ones placed on a cart (looks almost like a golf bag cart). Setting them on the ground accelerates the caking process. They should also not be stored in the cold (our version of cold -40F in winter)

 

[rocco611]

When I was a teenager driving a grain harvester we carried 5 gallon water fire pumps. Brush fires were the biggest threat,

 

[TC 30]

In light of the thread showing the poor tractor burned to the ground recently... I added a fire extinguisher to mine.
I got the ABC fire extinguisher and the velcro mount on Amazon

I like that set up, can you post the links where you got it? Im not finding it on Amazon