life expectancy of fire extinguisher?

If the gauge shows its good I would not worry.

I don't know, but I wouldn't wanna bet the house on it. At my business, we are required to have them serviced annually. If I were you, I'd be glad I never had to use it and pop for a new one.

THe Kidde Canister extinguishers for home use are usually not servicable, and are warrentied for between 6 and 12 years old. Yours is due for replacement. You can use the old one for practice. It's amazing how many people don't actually know how to WORK a fire extinguisher...

--Goedjn

I've just bought a couple. The package says to replace them after 12 years.

That's what I did with my old one.

I took a 22-year old fire extinguisher to the local fire department and they told me it was still good as long as the dial indicator pointed to the green region. It is a good idea to have one near every exterior door, one in the garage, and one in each vehicle.

Don't forget the kitchen and laundry.

Seems as thought he seal u nits for home use are exempt from testing or any time limit. Here are the OSHA rules,

National Fire Protection Association Standard 10 Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers requires that refillable dry chemical extinguishers be torn down every six years to check the condition of the interior of the extinguisher as well as the condition of the chemical itself. If the shell has been subjected to excessive heating the chemical agent can be damaged. The cylinder itself must be tested hydrostatically every twelve years to assure it is still capable of withstanding refilling. In my younger days I worked as a fire extinguisher technician and I can assure you that the tear downs are a good idea. In any large batch of extinguishers we always found a few that had problems that would not have been spotted without a tear down.

What I was told, not an expert:

Unlike other compressed gas cylinders, they aren't subjected to the stresses of refilling, after emptying. So if the cylinder shows zero signs of corrosion, the port is clear of any foriegn, and the guages says the system is ready, then the fire extingisher should be OK.

Now IMHO, I would talk to your local fire company. They might suggest something else.

Good luck,

tom @

"should be OK."

Keep it for a back-up and buy a new one.