Wee fire extinguisher - one blast and it's done?

[skotl]

Having fun today, turning a sump guard into a reindeer (don't ask...)

The sump guard had some foam insulation and I did try to remove it but quickly realised that it was a futile task as some foam would always be left behind.
Happily welded away and the odd mini-fire was put out just by blowing on it.

One set of flames wasn't listening to reason, though, so I figured that discretion should be the better part of valour and I blasted it* with my powder extinguisher. It was just a half-second blast, but I watched in horror as the gauge wound all the way round to empty, even though the trigger was off.

Is this normal? Does even a short blast empty the extinguisher?

Suppose I need to get it refilled, now

---

(* there was never any danger - the reindeer was either on the welding bench or on the concrete floor - if I hadn't used the extinguisher I could have easily carried it outside and let it fizzle on the grass)

 

[ian f]

reading the title i was expecting something different entirely!

 

[norlander]

I'd deffo get it refilled, I have about 5 extinguishers (with a damned xpensive maintainance contract), get another as well if you can afford to, so you have back up if one is off the road-but also to place opposite t'other one in case the fire is tween you and where the xtingy thing lives.
Have a chat with your local fire Brigade lads, they used to sell and advise on xtingy things at one time I think.
FWIW, the bloke that services my xtingies, told me that the powder is quite aggressive and causes tools to go rusty -great, cheers pal.So I've got a CO2 now and plan on getting more as they don't need the service checks like the powder ones do and the clean up would be easier.
http://www.fireprotectiononline.co.uk/budget-2kg-co2-extinguisher.html

http://www.firesafetysupplier.com/f...xtinguishers/2kg-co2-fire-extinguisher-budget

I'd imagine the frost free horn would be a feature you northern chaps would be interested in.

 

[optima21]

I used a small dry powder extinguisher once, seemed to last about a second and made more mess than the fire did (cavity wax behind a rear quarter panel when welding) and the powder is also very corrosive.

the small extinguishers like these are about £10 when they have them on offer at lidl or aldi

these days I have a pressurised plant sprayer too, but havnt used an extinguisher for 5 years as I find that a blast compressed air in confined spaces is enough to put them out. I still have the occasional small one from cavity wax igniting.

 

[Gareth J]

The powder gets lodged in the valve seat so even if you use them for the briefest of puffs they leak down over the next few seconds/hour/day. C02 seal up ok

 

[AndyStobbs]

Just use a blast of air when possible. I've got co2 and foam.

 

[skotl]

Thanks, guys. Looks like a co2 unit and a water sprayer would be a good investment.

 

[AndyStobbs]

For an idea of cost, my 2kg Co2 and 6L foam cost £90 to get in the first instance. Including a spare 2kg co2 which is handy for the other side of the workshop as said above.
£18/year servicing charge.
Have also got a 2kg powder in the van and 1kg powder in Jetski and car - not incl. in above price.

 

[skotl]

Wow - the extinguisher cost me £19.99 from machinemart - might just bin it and buy another one, then.

 

[tlovatt]

It is normally worth asking the companies that service your fire extinguishers at work, most companies dispose of any units that are 5 years old but are happy to let you have them for free - many will also give them a service for beer money

 

[norlander]

Wow - the extinguisher cost me £19.99 from machinemart - might just bin it and buy another one, then.

but that would be another powder one would it not?
your powder one had one blast then died

what would you have done if the fire started up again? (when you have had a fire, the fire brigade used to say call em out to check as even though its been dealt with, there needs to be thorough check to make sure it does not start again) -you were left without a second shot?

The powder needs to be thoroughly cleaned up-it will strip any coatings on your tools and turn em rust coloured from what I was shown.

So Co2s are the boyz it would seem. When the flames hit the fan you wanna kill em first shot, but if you don't and they come back at ya, you need more shots, plus, if you carry on working with a dead extuinguisher,-you have no ammo until you get a replacement.

Buying things like extuinguishers is like buying decent waterproofs for motorbikin-you would rather spend the money on tasty gear -but when you need em-boy are you glad you bought em.

 

[Browser]

Bring back halon extinguishers, (stuff the ozone layer )

 

[Robotstar5]

Bring back halon extinguishers, (stuff the ozone layer )

I've still got 2 or 3 of those

While dry powder has good "knock down" properties, it does not cool so re-ignition is a possibility and should be followed by water or AFFF (foam). AFFF is also good for fuel fires.

 

[Mr shiney]

We still use Halon at work. Nothing yet capable of replacing it. It's eyewateringly expensive if we fire one and have to refill it. They only fill them from reclaimed gas.

 

[eSCHEn]

First time I saw an automatic halon system in a server room they had BA in case you got stuck in there. Lots of respect for how effective and dangerous that stuff is.

Nowadays we have automatic CO2 systems. You have to disable them before entering the room and let two other members of staff know you're in there. Access is severely restricted.

 

[Robotstar5]

First time I saw an automatic halon system in a server room they had BA in case you got stuck in there. Lots of respect for how effective and dangerous that stuff is.

Nowadays we have automatic CO2 systems. You have to disable them before entering the room and let two other members of staff know you're in there. Access is severely restricted.

We used to have automatic Halon systems on the conveyor control panels in the roof, but converted the sub stations to CO2 which you mechanically locked off before entering.
An apprentice doing the meter readings knew he had to make the system safe before entering the sub so pressed the button marked "discharge"

 

[Kayos]

I have several of the small powder ones and 2 bigger (2kg?) ones too, I have aquired them from companies I've worked at and thankfully not needed to use one at home. The powder does cause more damage than the fire and I campaigned at a firm I worked at to get co2 as well but they wouldn't, however we did get training when someone set a roof on fire and destroyed 2 properties!

 

[eSCHEn]

We used to have automatic Halon systems on the conveyor control panels in the roof, but converted the sub stations to CO2 which you mechanically locked off before entering.
An apprentice doing the meter readings knew he had to make the system safe before entering the sub so pressed the button marked "discharge"

Although technically is was made safe... :lol:

 

[ukracer]

I used to have BCF in my car..

Bromochlorodifluoromethane

And I used it on many occasions . It was very small and was filled many times but its now too expensive to get filled so I now use a Co2. I would never used a dry power in a workshop. (out of choice) When I was at work we used to carry a dry powder in our flats pack but would rather use a hose as it made less mess and water could be mopped up.

One thing to be aware some water and some dry power are single use and empty after the cylinder seal is pierced (The cheaper ones are like this).

 

[skotl]

I used to have BCF in my car..

Bromochlorodifluoromethane

And I used it on many occasions . It was very small and was filled many times but its now too expensive to get filled so I now use a Co2. I would never used a dry power in a workshop. (out of choice) When I was at work we used to carry a dry powder in our flats pack but would rather use a hose as it made less mess and water could be mopped up.

One thing to be aware some water and some dry power are single use and empty after the cylinder seal is pierced (The cheaper ones are like this).

Fair enough - I've learned a lot more about extinguishers since creating this thread

Luckily, all the powder went into the reindeer's butt* so no problem of contamination / mess in the workshop. I'll replace it with a co2 extinguinsher and also get a water scoosher.

(* that's a sentence I never thought I'd be writing)