Fire Extinguisher Maintenance

I searched the C-I manual and previous forum posts. Nothing mentioned about how to maintain them. Given that several on this forum have had to reach for their extinguisher in an emergency for various reasons... and that my son recently had the unfortunate experience of (unsuccessfully) trying to extinguish a car fire with a person trapped inside...and that cycling through his very plentiful stash of hand-held extinguishers that he happened to have on hand was a very stressful and frustrating affair, since many of them didn't work properly, or at all, I thought I'd throw this out.

Common extinguishers of the powder type (ABC, BC) have expiry dates. C-I's Kidde BC-type extinguisher (Grease, Liquids, Electrical) that came with ours in 2018 has a manufacture date of 2016, and a 12 year expiry. Yours may differ on all parameters. Despite looking brand new it has only 4 or 5 years left in it.

Regardless of the actual expiry date, contents can often settle and clump well before that date is reached, rendering it useless. This is despite manufacturers including a non-clumping agent with the fire-fighting chemical. Clumping can make it ineffective, or not work at all when you need it. Slowly inverting the extinguisher can give you the sensation that the contents are loose; you should be able to detect the weight shift. Vigorously shaking it may not afford you the same information, but it may act to break up the clumps. Tapping the sides gently with a rubber mallet may also dislodge and break up any solids. You may even be able to to hear the contents shift (like sand) when inverting.

Bouncing around in the back of the TV or in the TD once every 6 months, or regularly setting up the side table to which it is attached may not be enough to keep it loose. If it is within date spec, but you can't detect if the contents are freely moving, get a new one. Cheap insurance.

Ours has no pressure gauge dial, and it is non-refillable. But it does have a pressure test: leave the locking clip engaged and press down on the top button the allowable 1/8". It should rebound. If it doesn't, get a new one.

Basic rules with any extinguisher: don't test to see if contents come out (it will clog the nozzle and eventually release all the pressure) and if you use one on a fire, fully or partially, dispose of it or recharge it, depending upon the model. Rechargeable powder ones, generally, need to be hydrostatically tested every 12 years. Which may not be practical for everyone, or economical, given their price point. So even they aren't truly non-disposable.

One extinguisher will rarely be all that you need in an actual fire. Even if they all do operate properly on demand. I carry another small extinguisher strapped to the inside of the rear hatch of the TV. And another much bigger one buried in the spare wheel well. Relying on just one extinguisher to start and finish the job (or actually empty itself when you ask it to) may be wishful thinking.

This is something that stares at us directly every time we open the hatch, but most of the time we don't give it a second thought.

(after posting this, I went and checked my small TV extinguisher and found it solid and pushing the 10-year mark. Time for a new one)

 

Good reminder; on to-do list.