Can fire extinguishers be re-charged?

[koukouvagia]

Is it possible/legal/feasible/advisable/safe/worth it to recharge fire extinguishers?

 

Every few years I throw away a set of old fire extinguishers that have gone into the red and buy new ones.

 

It seems very wasteful and I've got quite a collection of dud ones piling up in my shed. I'm about to buy some more unless anyone has any other advice.

 

 

[Timleech]

Small ones, not usually worth it.

I have some 2kg dry powder which are inspected annually, after a certain age they should be discharged & refilled, which would cost more than new extinguishers.

 

It's a bit different for big stuff.

 

Tim

[patty-ann]

Can they be recycled? or do they have to be chucked, seems an awful waste

[ChimneyChain]

The ones with tyre valves on can be recharged but what you put into it I don't know as I was told you can't pump air into them.

 

Darren

[kevinl]

The best price I could find to recharge one is about £25 + post, hardly seems worth it, go to Aldi £20 for a 6kg powder one, bargain.

K

 

https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/hurry-while-stocks-last/hurry-while-stocks-last-product-detail-page/ps/p/6kg-fire-extinguisher/

[Burgiesburnin]

It would seem a bit dangerous to just dump extinguishers without emptying them first.

They are obviously pressurized and could explode if they ended up in a fire at the dump.

[Captain Fizz]

Depends what size they are.

Small dry powder 2kg, normally cheaper to just replace.

9lt water or foam can be refilled. If they have the shrader valve on the side, pump up to 10bar with compressed air after refilling with water.

[ditchcrawler]

I had all mine discharged, refilled and recharged at one of the IWA Nationals, it was a LOT cheaper than buying replacements. If you take into account transport costs it may be a different matter. There are lots of companies that do this sort of thing so you may find one locally, yellow pages may help.

[Beaker]

They are obviously pressurized and could explode if they ended up in a fire at the dump.

 

Wouldn't that put the fire out?

[Grace and Favour]

When the life of the smaller ones is extinguished (see what I did there? ) I empty them, and then take the empty canister to a scrap yard, (I'd rather the metal was recycled )

[alan_fincher]

Our council tip will only take them if they have been discharged.

I did at least take this as an excuse to gain some experience in what happens when you do discharge them, both in the context of how long it actually takes before they are empty, (longer than I expected), and how much mess they make, (loads!).

[Arthur Brown]

Usually in a damp environment the pressure vessel will have suffered and need replacing. Use the old ones to play at putting out a small fire in a SAFE place.

 

Used water extinguishers may be refillable because they can be pressurised with compressor air, but powder ones need dry nitrogen from a cylinder or the powder will compact into a single lump that will not spray.

 

Usually the smaller extingushers are cheaper and easier to simply replace when Lidl/Aldi etc have the next offer on.

[smileypete]

Anyone actually used their extinguisher in anger on a boat?

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

[DaveR]

Extinguishers, if they are charged with Nitrogen have a 10 year life before they need pressure testing and re-charging. Once they have been emptied the interval for pressure test reduces to every 5 years.

 

If extinguishers are charged with compressed air their pressure test life is only 5 years at any stage of their life.

 

Any extinguisher which has a separate CO2 charge is also needing pressure testing every 5 years (the CO2 cylinder has an initial 10 year life though).

 

All complicated stuff, best advice. Change them after every 5 years. Don't forget that the powder will settle and compact with vibration. Each month, or when you take the boat out of lay up, turn the extinguisher upside down and give it a good thumping with something that will not damage the canistser. At work we use a rubber hammer (over 100 extinguishers to do each month) or on the boat I use the heel of my hand.

 

Dave R

 

Edited, no matter how many times I proof read things, once posted the spelling mistakes stand out. Bah!

Edited January 21, 2014 by DaveR