OT: Old fire extinguisher

[Andy Coleman]

Hi,

I was having a bit of a clear out of our house and I came accross an old fire extinguisher at the back of a hall cupboard. Now it was there when we bought the house three years ago and based on what I know of the previous owners it has probably been there a lot longer. It seems to be a 'Thorn Foam Spray' fire extinguisher and has a light brown colour.

Now I could either

1. Throw it out on the basis that it is probably no good due to age,
2. Get it checked out which is likely to cost money.
3. Just leave it in the cupboard and hope I remember we have it if there is a fire.

I thought fire extingushers should be checked every year or so but is there some characteristic of them that would mean that it is useless based on the age.

I do not want to have something in the house that is giving a false sense of security.

Thanks Andy

[Owain]

"Andy Coleman" wrote | I was having a bit of a clear out of our house and I came accross an | old fire extinguisher at the back of a hall cupboard. Now it was | there when we bought the house three years ago and based on what | I know of the previous owners it has probably been there a lot | longer. It seems to be a 'Thorn Foam Spray' fire extinguisher | and has a light brown colour. | Now I could either | 1. Throw it out on the basis that it is probably no good due to age,

is the correct answer.

| 2. Get it checked out which is likely to cost money.

It will cost money, it will probably fail (or not be possible to certify because of its age and history, which amounts to the same thing).

| 3. Just leave it in the cupboard and hope I remember we have it if | there is a fire.

is the worst answer. There is no point in having a fire extinguisher which /might/ work. In a fire, use the limited time available to "get out, get the brigade out, stay out" instead of wasting time looking for something that might be less effective than a soda-syphon.

| I thought fire extingushers should be checked every year or so | but is there some characteristic of them that would mean that | it is useless based on the age.

Don't know if this applies to domestic use, but it's the obsolete colour code. All fire extinguishers must be red or self-coloured now, with a coloured/text panel to indicate the type. It might therefore be illegal; it would be in a workplace. And if it's old, the foam may be well below current specs.

Any extinguisher can lose pressure or the fittings jam or corrode.

| I do not want to have something in the house that is giving a false | sense of security.

Exactly. Bin it (preferably dismantle/disable it so that someone else cannot use it, or set it off for fun). Or saw the end off it and turn it into an attractive pot plant holder.

Owain

[nightjar]

That should read 'All NEW fire extinguishers ...' There are still grandfather rights for the old colours, if the extinguisher continues to pass the examinations. Some fire extinguisher companies have, however, used the change in legislation to persuade companies to dump perfectly servicable and legal equipment.

Colin Bignell

[G&M]

"nightjar .uk.com>"

and better equipment. The old BCF extinguishers were 100 times better than their modern replacements.

[Dave Liquorice]

I quite agree, at least we managed to get a variation in the EU rulling to allow the coloured panel, otherwise every type would be completly read.

[dmc]

The correct answer but...

My dad was until recently working in a workshop as a mechanic. Working on a car the petrol hose split while the car was idling and flooded all over the floor. First thing dad knew was the flash as the whole lot went up - including his overalls. After beating his arms out he grabbed the nice shiny fire extinguisher and attempted to use it to create an escape path. Not that successful. Opens cupboard and grabs huge old thing that was condemned

4 years earlier hits button and much more impressive result all around. Dad got out with some fairly serious burns to his arms which resulted in a holiday at East Grinstead but without the old extinguisher he may not have been here today.

Obviously, he was lucky and relying on old extinguisher is not a good idea but in this case it certain helped!

And before anyone says, the old extinguisher was not being kept as a firefighting tool but the plan was to recycle parts of it for something else (a use which escapes me at the moment!)

Darren

[sPoNiX]

Old fire extinguishers are used as fuel tanks on banger racers.

Personally, I'd keep it in the shed or garage.

sPoNiX

[Michael Murray]

Owain, My brother was in a similar position last year, working for a scouting group. He approached the manufacturer, and asked if they were interested in it for product research/testing/quality purposes, and offered the old one to them in exchange for kitting out the scout hall with new extinguishers.

Unfortunately, I can't remember the outcome !

M.

[Pete C]

Buy a new one and keep the old one near (but not in front of) the new one as a backup. If the new one didn't work when needed and you'd chucked the old one you'd be pretty pissed!

OTOH there might be somewhere local that can check or refill it. If getting a new one, a decent sized one with a gauge is better IMHO.

cheers, Pete.

[N. Thornton]

Is the pressure gauge in the zone where it should be? If so, its ready to go. What capacity is it? If its a decent size its a serious extinguisher.

I think Owain's input was a bit off course on this one. If it were a cone shaped thing from the 1920s it might be different.

Regards, NT

[Andrew Gabriel]

There was one of those in a local antique shop. There was no carbon tetrachloride left in it though.

[Owain]

"N. Thornton" wrote | If it were a cone shaped thing from the 1920s it might be different.

I remember them from school, in the 1980s...

Owain

[Graham Wilson]

What do they tend to use in computer rooms these days since cfc's were withdrawn?

Graham

[N. Thornton]

IIRC the cones contained water and soda, and a glass vial of sulphuric acid located behind the nose. To use it you hit the pointy end on the floor, shattering the vial, and the reaction produces the necessary propellant gases. Its simple, cheap, and works - if you know how to use it. If not badly rusted theyre still serviceable, albeit to rather lower standards than todays pressurised ones. Saw them still in service in the 80s - as the only kind on the premises too.

I worked in a place that had a carbon tet extinguisher, and always looked at it with some paranoia. In a fire I'd want to be out of there before that got used. It was pressurised, I've never seen them unpressurised.

Regards, NT

[Bill]

In message , N. Thornton writes

I used to have an old brass carbon tet' manually pumped extinguisher, worth a few bob now if I'd kept it. I seem to recall that they worked by the carbon tet' turning into phosgene when heated by the fire and this is what blanketed the fire and starved it of oxygen. Phosgene was a WW1 poison gas apparently. I must agree with your paranoia!!!!!!

[Andy Dingley]

Brass Pyrene (et al.) extinguishers are knee-deep at every car boot sale. The steel brackets to hold them are actually rarer, and thus worth more.

Ther _real_ rarities are glass "fire grenades", filled with carbon tet. Those are serious money, especially if they're still filled and have a maker's mark moulded into the glass.

[Chris Doran]

Indeed! I think "Rogue Traders" etc. should have a careful look at fire extinguisher companies. It costs our church a fortune every year when they screw us for replacing out-of-date extinguishers (allegedly the powder agglomerates after a few years), "worn out parts" (how, when you haven't used them?), "new you-name-its 'cos the regs have changed, vicar"...

Chris

[MAILER-DAEMON]

The specification that portable fire extinguishers should be predominantly coloured red - EN3 has no legal force, but as it is the current standard (having replaced BS 5423) most new (but not necessarily refurbished) extinguishers will naturally conform to this - and in any case insurers will often blindly specify extinguishers to EN3.

There is a new standard BS 7863 give guidance on colour coding of extinguishers in the tiny 3-5% area that EN3 graciously allows us to use for the purpose.

It is generally recommended that all-red EN3 extinguishers should not be installed together with BS 5423 coloured ones in the same premises, for obvious reasons; however, where they are, the different types should be segregated and warning signs provided pointing out the differences, or some other suitable means should be employed to prevent confusion.

One is prefectly entitled to repaint all-red fire extinguishers according to the conventional BS5423 functional colour coding, and in cases where this will avoid confusion I have known it recommended by fire safety officers. A bit like the warning notices springing up forbiding the use of the new wiring colours in some installations. The legal obligations relating to safety outweigh other regulatory issues.

Personally, I think that if someone needs a fire extinguisher to be coloured red to know it is a fire extinguisher, then they shouldn't be using one, but harmonisation just for harmonisation's sake is the way everything is going these days.

[Robert]

or why not try putting out a controlled fire with it. it's good to experience how effective, or ineffective, such extinguishers are.

R

[Graham Wilson]

When I was in the scouts as a kid and did my "arsonists" badge it was easy:

red - water cream - foam green - cfc blue - dry powder black - Carbon Dioxide

It was well over 20 years ago, but the colours and the types still stick with me.

How have they now changed?

Graham