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Fire Extinguisher Advice


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The boat came with three, all have little tags saying they were serviced in 2009.

So I brought them home. I have 2 x 1kg, on is labelled Dry Powder the other isn't labelled. One is 2kg CO2.

I shook them coz someone said that was a fun thing to do, Couldn't feel or hear anything.

 

Should I

1) find a place to service them?

 

2) Buy new ones?

 

If buy new they have them advertised at Burnsco at very cheap. But would I be buying the equivalent of a Chinese made anchor? If I buy new ones how sdoes one dispose of the old ones? Can I pull the trigger and see what happens?

 

I know nothing about these things never having had to put out a fire in my life.

 

Ex TL - if you are out there? I know you play with them a lot.

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I'm doing the same process.

If they are dry powder there is a risk the vibration of being in board a boat causes the powder to compact and cake, meaning it doesn't work when you need it to.

So we are replacing all of ours, getting a named brand at the cheapest price possible.

I can't comment in the co2 ones. If they pressure gauges is showing ok they must be ok.

I wouldn't bother with servicing, given the cost to get new ones.

 

To dispose of them, you can just let them off. Bear in mind they spray white powder everywhere, so the back corner of your garden is a good place to start. Good practice so you know how they go should you need to do it in anger.

If you are really keen you could make a fire and see how hard it is to put out? A bit of diesel in a tray or can maybe.

Once they are depressurised they should be fine to go in the trash.

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The CO2 is probably up for a cylinder test, I think this is required every 5 yrs. Given their price I think it is probably worthwhile.

I would be careful with the Burnsco ones, not sure they can be relied on.

Suggest you go to someone like Actron who specialise in this, and they will dispose of your old dry powder extinguishers for you

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As above, take them to Actron.

 

Five years hydro test for the CO2 and a periodic pressure test (normally 5years) for the others if they are the rechargeable type. - should state on the label if it is still there

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with dry powder it is a good idea to monthly invert and shake them to keep the powder from sticking in a lump, I would get 3 new ones and also keep the old ones on the boat, you should have enough room, get at least 2 smoke alarms too, smoke won,t wakeyou up , and a deck wash pump with a hose will do more than an extinquisher if you have any sort of decent fire. A small hatch into the engine space is a good idea , poke the dry powder or hose in the fire area without opening it up too much.  And if you can,t put it out abandon ship before you pass out from smoke inhalation,

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Wouldn't all extinguishers sold here have to meet t the standards? I decided to squeeze an old one a little in the shower at home. Just a tiny squeeze mind you. NEVER AGAIN! white foam everywhere and what a stink. Fire officer told me the old days where you could have a little practice fire at the local fire station are now gone. Interfered with private industry doing training and making a profit apparently.

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If you have a fire you can never have too many fire extinguishers. Nothing worse than thinking you have put the fire out then it reignites with no extinguishers left. Its a long time before the red flashing lights turn up and you run out of marshmallows as well. Some are one shot once trigger pulled you need to refill and the bigger ones you can squirt a little bit then put away until your next mishap. We get all ours serviced annually.

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and if you still have old yellow BCF extinguishers (Halon 1211) in good visual condition (and check their weight) suggest you keep those on board as well. There is a reason FAA, CASA and Civil Aviation NZ still approve them for aircraft, in spite of all the new alternatives none have come close to 1211's performance. When they are handed in the Halon is collected for re-use and resale eg

http://amerex-fire.com/products/halon-1211-extinguishers/

They even have agents in Australia

The military still use it as well, but then they always have exemptions from emissions rules.

Other things we should think about are having a big extinguisher accessible from outside eg in a lazarette and a smoke hood - might give you a chance to put out a fire before it gets too advanced.

Also remember previous advice from Wheels - keep dry powder extinguishers away from engine rooms (and switch boards) - use CO2/Halon/Halon replacement(FM200), or foam for a fuel fire.

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Just please,please,please remember with inert gas like halon and co2 dont use them in a confined space if you can't get out/be aware that after you use them you should get the hell out of the area. Lethal atmospheres in confined spaces is a very dangerous mix

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When Firewatch first started in NZ they only sold Foam Spray which had met UK requirements for use on electrical as well. Gave in to industry pressure and only really sell them on request now and are a lot dearer. Its what I have for the boat and wouldnt have powder. Would have CO2 but only in a sealed engine room and auto or remotely operated.   

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Just went to service 2 x 1kg powder extinguishers (required pressure testing)- turns out its cheaper to replace them than have them tested. This was with firewatch in CHCH.

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Great advice and I am only going to add, that Powder on a Boat is not a great choice. In fact, in some circumstances, it could be just as dangerous as the Smoke. The Powder works by choking the fire of it's oxygen. The exact same thing will happen if you are in the same place as the extinguisher when you trigger it. The Powder in the Air is choking.
Also, the mess afterward is unbelievable.
All the Power units I have seen have the pressure indicator on them. So if the needle is on the right place, the bottle should be OK. As said, Once every 6 months it is good to turn upside down and tap, but the powder is the strangest of stuff and acts like water inside the cylinder and it is really hard to cake it solid.
As KM said, Foam is a great choice for pretty much all our fire types on a Boat. I have a Co2 unit for the engine room. It is an old bottle, out of date and was going to be scrapped. But I figured it kind of like flares. Better to have it as an extra and hey, It worked OK the last time I tried it ;-)

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In my view 1kg Dry powders are to piddly. If you miss the seat of the fire in the 1st 2 or 3 seconds you are done for. 2kg would be a better minimum. Cat one says 5 kg in total. Also wheels Foam is totally different to Foam Spray which is what KM is talking about I would think. Foam Spray comes out as water spray that has an AFFF additive to apply a film. A foam extinguisher just applies foam and Cat one says 9 litres which is physically far to big for most boats 

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