My garage is only attached to the house my a wooden walkway that is about 72 feet long. I bought the 2.5 pound extinguishers for the vehicles. I have them in the garage and put them in the car when I leave. Though I prefer to have something a little more in the garage.
Fire Extinguisher Info
- Thread starter creep
- Start date
Let's say you're at an auction or flea market or thrift store and you see a fire extinguisher. How do you know if it will be refillable? I'd hate to buy one and show up somewhere and them just shoo me away saying they don't fill those.
All non refillable FEs will have the plastic head on them. However, not all of them are non refillable. The easiest way to tell is if the nozzle or hose (probably a nozzle type) wont unscrew. If it just turns, It's non refillable. There MAY be exceptions to this. Also, if the label is readable, it will say something like...discard at a certain date or after so many years after the date of manufacture.
Stored pressure ABC FEs are required to be torn down at 6 years form the date of mfg, and 12 years for a hydrostatic test of the cylinder.
Co2 FEs are required to be hydrotested every 5 years. As are water FEs and K class FEs.
On a few occasions ( A dozen I guess), I have found bad gauges. They indicated they were fully charged when the FE was torn apart for maintenance.
I haven't preformed a 6 year maintenance or a hydrotest in years (thank god!) as they are messy and it makes your cigarettes taste like ****. I have a 6 man crew to do that
If it were me, I would use 5 pounders in both areas. But something is better than nothing, as long as it doesn't give a false sense of security. 2.5's in the cars and 5's in the garage.
Ironhorse74
MEMBER EMERITUS
Fire extinguishers
Tried a search but couldn't find anything. Trying to figure out how many, what size, where, and what type of fire extinguishers I should have in my shop. 30 X 48 shop automotive work, welding, and probably some black smithing going on. What do you guys think?
Tried a search but couldn't find anything. Trying to figure out how many, what size, where, and what type of fire extinguishers I should have in my shop. 30 X 48 shop automotive work, welding, and probably some black smithing going on. What do you guys think?
southalabama
Well-known member
Re: Fire extinguishers
Sometimes easier to use google search.
On google. Garagejournal fire extinguishers.
I'd start with one by each door. Then near areas of concern such as welding and blacksmithing. For blacksmithing area I might also keep buckets of sand.
There are some threads where members who are firemen contributed heavily. I'd search for those.
Sometimes easier to use google search.
On google. Garagejournal fire extinguishers.
I'd start with one by each door. Then near areas of concern such as welding and blacksmithing. For blacksmithing area I might also keep buckets of sand.
There are some threads where members who are firemen contributed heavily. I'd search for those.
Ironhorse74
MEMBER EMERITUS
Re: Fire extinguishers
Disregard my thread. This one has the answers i was looking for. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=245515&highlight=Fire+extinguishers
Disregard my thread. This one has the answers i was looking for. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=245515&highlight=Fire+extinguishers
softailgarage
Well-known member
Re: Fire extinguishers
I keep 4, one in each corner of the garage. 15lbs, rated ABC and refillable. Don't go with the cheap HD ones, they last about 2 years, but cannot be refilled and pressurized. I keep 2 smaller ones in the kitchen for grease fires.
I keep 4, one in each corner of the garage. 15lbs, rated ABC and refillable. Don't go with the cheap HD ones, they last about 2 years, but cannot be refilled and pressurized. I keep 2 smaller ones in the kitchen for grease fires.
Here's for the guys that insist on beating on the fire ext.
http://amerex-fire.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Extinguisher-Myth-1.pdf
This should be a sticky
http://amerex-fire.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Extinguisher-Myth-1.pdf
This should be a sticky
alwaysFlOoReD
Well-known member
Here's for the guys that insist on beating on the fire ext.
http://amerex-fire.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Extinguisher-Myth-1.pdf
This should be a sticky
^^^ Good to know; that dry chemical stored pressure extinguishers don't settle and cake up.
I just beat on mine yesterday....
Finky198
Well-known member
yup when you flip em upside-down you should here the powder running down. Its goods to do it every few months... free and easy check
btdobie
Well-known member
The place I work has an old 15# CO2 that the boss wants to replace soon. Already told him I'll give him $50 for it. Fingers crossed.
Dennis Leigh Henry
Well-known member
Nutts.. another message with sage advice... I never thought about "back out" .. so I can live today knowing I learned something new.
Thanks!!
Dennis Leigh Henry
Well-known member
When I was in grade school, in shop class we would oil finish our hot dog fork project by heating one end till cherry red, and then putting the other end until it started to get orange, remove from the furnace and both ends would be approximately the same color a dull orange.. Our instruction was "wait until visible color is gone" and drop into the oil finishing pan to cool. Worked like a charm.
One day, a kid worked to get both ends cherry red, and dropped it in the oil pan. Immediate fire, and with the exhaust fan pulling air to it, it flamed up 8' or so in moments. Now mind you the pan was only 12X30 or so, about 1/2" deep in heavy heat treat oil, but it was scary. The shop teacher raced across the shop, grabbed the massive CO2 fire extinguisher and started to read how to use it... WHOW!
In the mean time, the kid who dropped his fork into the oil got on his hands and knees and blew out the fire from below... not sure how that happened but it worked...
Moral of the story, read and practice how to use your extinguishers.. the time to learn how to use them is NOT when a fire is blazing..
One day, a kid worked to get both ends cherry red, and dropped it in the oil pan. Immediate fire, and with the exhaust fan pulling air to it, it flamed up 8' or so in moments. Now mind you the pan was only 12X30 or so, about 1/2" deep in heavy heat treat oil, but it was scary. The shop teacher raced across the shop, grabbed the massive CO2 fire extinguisher and started to read how to use it... WHOW!
In the mean time, the kid who dropped his fork into the oil got on his hands and knees and blew out the fire from below... not sure how that happened but it worked...
Moral of the story, read and practice how to use your extinguishers.. the time to learn how to use them is NOT when a fire is blazing..
I found this as a very interesting and informative post. All 11 pages of it.
I just had all my used fire extinguishers serviced. Here's what the costs came out to:
This is Bay Area California Pricing and was done onsite (they came to me).
CO2 - 10 Lbs
Service $28.50
Recharge $28.50
Continuity Test $8.50
Hydrotest $42.50
CO2 Chemical $80.00 Taxable
Safety Disk Assembly $28.50 Taxable
CA Sales Tax $9.49
Total $225.99
2.5 Gal Water/Water Mist
Recharge $28.50
Hydrotest $38.50
Pressure Seal $4.95 Taxable
Verification Collar $2.95 Taxable
Nitrogen Charge $2.95 Taxable
CA Sales Tax $0.95
Total $78.80
6 Liter K Class
Recharge $28.50
Hydrotest $38.50
Pressure Seal $4.95 Taxable
Verification Collar $2.95 Taxable
Nitrogen Charge $2.95 Taxable
CA Sales Tax $0.95
Total $78.80
5lb ABC - Would Not Service, over 10 years old
New Extinguisher (Badger) $95.00
CA Sales Tax $8.31
Total $103.31
Minimum Service Charge $35.00
I asked, and they do sell used extinguishers, but only if currently certified. If they can't hang a tag on it, they won't sell it/service it. I didn't get a good answer on why the 5lb ABC wasn't serviceable. It was an Amerex and he mentioned something about it needing to be DOT hydrotested and I didn't follow all of it. I asked if the larger 10lb ABC units would be serviceable and he did say yes.
Hopefully this info is useful to others.
I just had all my used fire extinguishers serviced. Here's what the costs came out to:
This is Bay Area California Pricing and was done onsite (they came to me).
CO2 - 10 Lbs
Service $28.50
Recharge $28.50
Continuity Test $8.50
Hydrotest $42.50
CO2 Chemical $80.00 Taxable
Safety Disk Assembly $28.50 Taxable
CA Sales Tax $9.49
Total $225.99
2.5 Gal Water/Water Mist
Recharge $28.50
Hydrotest $38.50
Pressure Seal $4.95 Taxable
Verification Collar $2.95 Taxable
Nitrogen Charge $2.95 Taxable
CA Sales Tax $0.95
Total $78.80
6 Liter K Class
Recharge $28.50
Hydrotest $38.50
Pressure Seal $4.95 Taxable
Verification Collar $2.95 Taxable
Nitrogen Charge $2.95 Taxable
CA Sales Tax $0.95
Total $78.80
5lb ABC - Would Not Service, over 10 years old
New Extinguisher (Badger) $95.00
CA Sales Tax $8.31
Total $103.31
Minimum Service Charge $35.00
I asked, and they do sell used extinguishers, but only if currently certified. If they can't hang a tag on it, they won't sell it/service it. I didn't get a good answer on why the 5lb ABC wasn't serviceable. It was an Amerex and he mentioned something about it needing to be DOT hydrotested and I didn't follow all of it. I asked if the larger 10lb ABC units would be serviceable and he did say yes.
Hopefully this info is useful to others.
L5wolvesf
Well-known member
Great post here creep. As this is a safety issue I'm surprised it isn't a sticky < subtle hint.
The OP hasn't responded in quite a while hope all is good.
The OP hasn't responded in quite a while hope all is good.
rlitman
Well-known member
Only useful if you tell us the vendor so we know to stay away from someone willing to bend you over so severely.
Hydrotest on HP cylinders in my area (with some of the most expensive standard of living in the country) is $25 at the places that send the work out, and $15 at the places that do it on-site. And THAT is overpriced. I can get CO2 cylinders hydrotested for $10.
Then you've got this insanity:
CO2 - 10 Lbs
Service $28.50
Recharge $28.50
Continuity Test $8.50
Hydrotest $42.50
CO2 Chemical $80.00 Taxable
...
Total $225.99
So you're telling me they're charging you for a service (which should include ALL of the items on that list), plus a recharge (SAME THING), plus the CO2 itself (which is less than $10 worth of gas, and should be part of the recharge)?!? WTF! I'd say that if you were charged $50 for that list, you were being sodomized.
fyrlt1
Well-known member
I was in the extinguisher business from 1970-80. I thought we were kinda cheesy back then but this guy makes those of us from that era look angelic by comparison. Please tell me that he took the Co2 into the shop for the hydro testing/recharge. BTW you could have bought a new one for less (at least from a reputable company).
rlitman
Well-known member
I like the $28.50 to recharge the 2.5 gal water can
Actually, that one makes sense. Do you know how many Snapple bottles you have to drink to refill a whole 2.5 gallon extinguisher? At the price they charge for iced tea at my corner deli, it seems about right.
They took everything to the shop, and brought it back a week later.
I have no idea if they do hydros onsite, or if they send them out.
My Scuba tank (which is the same as the 10# CO2) costs $50.00 at the SCUBA shop for its Hydro so I didn't think $42.50 was that out of line for the CO2 tank or the $38.50 for the Water and K class units.
A burst disk for my SCUBA tank costs around the same as what they charged for the CO2 one as well.
The only 3 things I wasn't really happy about were the $35.00 service charge (I figured for 8 extinguishers they could have waived that), the $80.00 for the CO2 gas itself, and the $95.00 for the new 5lb ABC. But it was right there on the truck and convenient.
$28.50 to drain, service, and refill the water extinguisher seemed fair to me, that's probably a 1/2 hour of labor so that seemed OK in my book. I can see paying $57/hour for skilled labor for lots of other trades. Heck my auto mechanic shop charges over $100/hr. I'm sure there are cheaper though.
This was my first time doing this, so live and learn I guess. I called around and this was the first place I found that would do residential work. The other places in the yellow pages told me they only did commercial work (I'll assume the legal environment in CA has something to do with that).
All in all I'm happy. With the exception of the 5lb ABC things were cheaper this way than buying new (but not by that much I will admit).
I have no idea if they do hydros onsite, or if they send them out.
My Scuba tank (which is the same as the 10# CO2) costs $50.00 at the SCUBA shop for its Hydro so I didn't think $42.50 was that out of line for the CO2 tank or the $38.50 for the Water and K class units.
A burst disk for my SCUBA tank costs around the same as what they charged for the CO2 one as well.
The only 3 things I wasn't really happy about were the $35.00 service charge (I figured for 8 extinguishers they could have waived that), the $80.00 for the CO2 gas itself, and the $95.00 for the new 5lb ABC. But it was right there on the truck and convenient.
$28.50 to drain, service, and refill the water extinguisher seemed fair to me, that's probably a 1/2 hour of labor so that seemed OK in my book. I can see paying $57/hour for skilled labor for lots of other trades. Heck my auto mechanic shop charges over $100/hr. I'm sure there are cheaper though.
This was my first time doing this, so live and learn I guess. I called around and this was the first place I found that would do residential work. The other places in the yellow pages told me they only did commercial work (I'll assume the legal environment in CA has something to do with that).
All in all I'm happy. With the exception of the 5lb ABC things were cheaper this way than buying new (but not by that much I will admit).
6768rogues
Banned
If you have a pool of gas on the floor and you hit it with a CO2 extinguisher, you can blast that flaming gas all over and on the walls. Not good.
As always, stay away from Kidde
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/k...medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/k...medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark
My vintage 80's Kidde's do not qualify for replacement. Reading through 12 pages it looks like the Amerex 10lb ABC is the way to go for kitchen and garage use. I looked through Amerex's catalog and there are too many choices on which model to get. Any recommendation on a specific Amerex model(s) to buy? Thanks.
Mark
Mark
rlitman
Well-known member
Bringing back an old thread, because a situation "yesterday" (couldn't sleep...still feels like today) made this relevant again.
Back in 2005, I bought two disposable Kidde 3a-40bc extinguishers, with a few smaller 1a-10bc models (the smaller ones were recently replaced under recall). One big one lost pressure within a year, and the other a year later or so. Both clearly ended up in the red on the gauges (which I look at from time to time), so I replaced them (bought and returned, making the store RTV). A year or so later there was actually a recall for just this issue (not the recall I started a thread about with the plastic handled models, but another recall), but mine failed before the recall.
Since 2007 or so, both replacements have been hanging on their hooks, and I have never flipped or shaken them, or done anything other than occasionally flick the gauge with a finger, and both have stayed in the green.
Well, Tuesday, I happened to be home from work after doing an overnight shift, and just after finishing an afternoon breakfast, my wife said to me that she saw black smoke across the street. For a few seconds, I thought that maybe someone was starting a charcoal grill with too much lighter fluid, but within a minute, I was pounding on the door, 3a40bc in hand, waking up 5 sleeping people (and a bird) while my wife was dialing 911.
I ran up inside to the door to their 2nd story deck, saw through the glass storm door that a gentle breeze was blowing the smoke in a safe direction, and stepped out. By that point, the flames were taller than me (though that's not saying much), had spread to nearly 6 feet across the ground, were licking up the vinyl siding and were spreading across the rapidly melting astro-turf carpet on the deck.
The disposable Kidde worked flawlessly and saved the day! Powder smothered and put the flames out in seconds. Still, I emptied the entire 5.5lbs of dry chemical in the effort to get everything, and I am positive that with the size the fire had grown to by the point I got there, anything smaller (like my 1a-10bc models) would have failed.
I ran back home, grabbed the SECOND big extinguisher, and returning with it, used less than half to put out the much smaller fire that had re-lit in the vinyl gutter at the edge of the roof deck. Left behind was an inverted "cone" of smoking dirt that had once been inside a 4 gallon or so plastic flower pot. The pot was long gone, as was any remains of the dried out plant where it started. A circle of the once green astro-turf/pot/siding mixture was a bubbling black/brown oozing fluid, and the wooden deck railing was severely charred.
My faith in disposable extinguishers is still as rock solid as before. At the time I bought them, they were less than half of the price of something rechargeable, and were all I could afford. Still, I just ordered a pair of Amerex B402T extinguishers as replacements, as they were only a few bucks more than the disposable option this time (oddly enough, the "T" model with the bracket was cheaper than the normally cheaper hanger B402 model).
My own takeaway today solidified my feelings about just having an ABC. The smoldering dirt I encountered would have laughed at a CO2 extinguisher. The molten plastic could possibly have been made worse by a water can. The powder knocked out the flames quickly, but it still took several blasts as the ooze on the ground kept re-lighting, even with the powder melting onto its surface as it is meant to work.
L5wolvesf
Well-known member
rlitman
Well-known member
Good on you for helping your neighbor
Nothing can top the gratification of the positive outcome. I’m still in shock at how bad it could have been (and how close that was), and yet how well it worked out. So Thursday, my Amerex replacements were delivered, and just as I was hanging the first one in my garage, the neighbor walks up, hands me two Kidde extinguishers identical to the ones I used (and I noticed another box sitting on his porch), hands my wife a gift card and we exchanged hugs. Honestly, it was one of those moments where I really didn’t want to accept anything, but I also didn’t want to insult him. It had me watering up...
As for the Amerex, the second one came out of the box with a broken pin seal. That seems to be a common issue in the Amazon reviews. I’m still waiting to find out what to do with it.
rlitman
Well-known member
Sadly, no. There was nothing electrical near the fire, let alone near the source. No cigarette butts anywhere in sight (I know many people who figure putting out a **** in a planter is fine, but this certainly wasn't used for that purpose). No grills on the deck, just a table and chairs. No obvious ignition source at all.
The only thing I have to go on is that the plant was long dead. It was a hot and very sunny day, that followed a few other hot and sunny days, so the dirt in the pot would have been completely dried out, and the plant was already crispy. Best guess is that the sun just happened to reflect off of or refract through something to concentrate its rays sufficiently to start the plant going. With the soil as dry as it was, the pot would have been an airy mix of dried roots and combustible materials, surrounded by plastic that is pretty combustible, on top of astroturf, which being fuzzy, should light much more easily than most other surfaces. There was certainly plenty of good kindling. Not that one expects kindling to burst into flames by itself.
Yes, luck favors the prepared. If I didn't have the extinguisher or the favorable wind, at best someone (by the time I was pounding on their door, another neighbor walked up and asked if there was a fire, because he could smell it) would have woken 5 sleeping people and gotten them out of a burning house to watch it be eaten while the fire department is en route. Yet I'd still call that lucky. I recall seeing whisps of smoke inside. In theory, enough to set off an ionization detector (probably not enough for a photoelectric by that point), yet, I heard no smoke detectors going off (now that I think of it, I need to talk to them about that).
What has me floored is the fact that I only normally work two overnight shifts a year. It's not a regular thing for me by any means. The odds that I happened to be around at the right time were staggeringly low.
As for the Amerex, the second one came out of the box with a broken pin seal. That seems to be a common issue in the Amazon reviews. I’m still waiting to find out what to do with it.
I ordered 2 Amerex's from Amazon in February and both came with the seals broken. No reply from Amerex as to how to get a replacement.
fyrlt1
Well-known member
I have some replacement seals, if you and rlitman need a couple, you can pm me and I will send you some replacements. Make sure that whatever broke your seals did not cause the pin to be misaligned within the valve.
Last edited:
rlitman
Well-known member
Thanks for the offer! My wife contacted Amazon, I'll see what happens.In any case, I have thousands of serialized container seals at work. They're exactly the same thing, but have a unique number imprinted on them. If I don't get something from Amarex, I'll probably just slap one of those on it.
The pin in mine seems just fine. However, there is a plastic pin retainer strap (like the attachment on your gas cap) that keeps the pin from being lost (since this is a rechargeable unit). Well for whatever reason, it is springy, so when I pulled the extinguisher from the box, the pin, which was held in place by the cardboard box, popped out. At that point, I was glad that my grip wasn't on the top handle.
I think that the issue is that the box has a hole punched in the side which looks like a carry handle, but which puts the seal in a spot that makes it easy to break when you pick it up with a finger in the hole. What bugs me is that this seems to be a common issue in Amazon reviews. You'd think they'd know about this and correct it.
58Yeoman
Well-known member
Kind of ironic that the better extinguishers come "damaged"?
johnnyradiant
Well-known member
I've got 10 of the water ones that were retired from fire safety at work. They came home to arm my kids. They make great long range super soakers in the summer.
rlitman
Well-known member
It shouldn't. But with the pin retainer the way it is, the pin wants to pop out if the seal is broken. And when the pin is out, it's too easy to open the valve when grasping the handle. So you need something keeping the pin in place.
You can't just replace it with a zip tie, because you need something that breaks easily when you want to pull the pin.
The main reason for the seal is that it is tamper evident. So if the seal is unbroken, you can rest assured that the valve has not been operateded (since the pin could not have been removed), which means that if the gauge is in the green, everything should be ready for use.
Otherwise, a single knotted loop of sewing thread would hold the pin sufficiently.