Fire Extinguisher Life Expectancy.

My wife was a pediatric burn nurse. (Now a teacher)

So we own 13 smoke detectors, 3 CO detectors and 6 fire extinguishers.

And that's just at the main house.

One of the extinguishers was out by the pool's pump house. A mud dabber built a nest in the nozzle. I cleaned it out and wondering if the the thing still worked, tried it.

It didn't.

Not because of the mud dabber, maybe because it was 8 years old?

Now I wonder about the rest of them.

How long do these little $20 A-B-C fire extinguishers last?

When should they be replaced?

How do you know if you never try them? (they say not to test them)

 

If my girlfriend is cooking, a nearby fire extinguisher has about a 30 minute lifespan.

 

The joke at my house is the smoke detector is the dinner bell!

 

Here they are required to be serviced every year in a business or public place that requires them.

A service guy I once had did tell me however that on dry chemical units that have a pressure gauge that if the pressure is up to slowly turn the bottle upside down/rightside up and feel for the powder to run back and forth in the bottle. The powder can absorb moisture before charging and it can become set in the bottom in a lump. According to him if it passes those tests it should work.


The other side of the coin....Its like your MC helmet... how much do you want to save on that?

Buy good ones, commercial grade, and have them serviced from time to time.

 

at least at your house it is just a joke....

 

I agree 100%.

The commercial grade 5 or 10lb ABC units are good as you can have them serviced annually and tagged. Since it's your home, you may be able to get a better rate by taking the unit to their shop/office rather than having them come to you.

also if applicable: A single fire sprinkler head over trashcans, workshop, and wood pile area.

 

I have maybe 5-6 fire extinguishers that I pulled from industrial use, around the house, particularly kitchen & garage. I check that the gauges are in the "green" maybe every 12-16 months. Guess I'll have to pull them for additional inspection if the gauges alone aren't sufficient.

 

fire bottles ( as we call them in the airplane business) have a hydostatic life of 10 years and then they are scrapped for use on aircraft. every 5 years they are inspected, tested and recertified. there is usually someone at the local firestation that can tell you who to contact about getting them inspected and serviced. the halon type like we use on aircraft seem to be the best. we usually can get the "scrap life" ones free to use around the house as i have never seen a halon unit that was cared for and tested not work, even after 10+ years. the powder ones i have little faith in.

 

Where do you buy the good ones?

 

Just go to an upscale commercial building in your area, grab 2 or 3, yell "FIRE" and run for the exit.

No one will stop you.

You could have 40 - 50 of them in just a few hours.

 

At Ft. Bragg, we would get them serviced/recharged every year at the post fire station for the yearly command inspection. They would check the tags for the dates and sigs. So you don't replace them. Get them serviced/recharged.

 

I had a cheap one I bought in 1981 when I moved into a new house. I sold the place this August after 24 years. The extinguisher had a pressure gauge that indicated everything was OK but I really expected the gauge was stuck. I took the thing outside, pulled the pin and squeezed the handle. The damn thing worked perfectly after all those years under the kitchen sink.

 

there is a local company here thatr ecertifies to FAA regulations lifeboats, life vests, fire bottles ect. i wouldnt know where else to look as we send them lots of business and can get stuff "free" sometimes. dont know what the liabilty with this outdated stuff is either. seems like it would be ok for home / garage use but not on a aircraft or commercial maritime vessle.

 

Let your fingers do the walking. There will be lots of extinguisher co's listed. Decent quality ones don't cost too much in dry chemical. The Halon units are more but are worth the price if you ever have to use it.

 

I feel your situation. Whenever I turn on the oven (2x/year) the smoke alarm goes off until & I turn on the ceiling fan. If I take a long, seamy shower in the winter the smoke alarm in the hall startles the crap out of me naked in the shower. Sometimes that thing goes off in the night when a roach crawls over it in the attic. This ain’t no battery powered alarm but is hard wired into my house. Sometimes I hit it w/ a yard stick to make it stop. How much fun can a smoke detector be?

 

Uro,

You can never be too safe when it involves fire or CO. I have detectors for natural gas also.

I have 6 extinguishers in the house. Some are commercial grade and some are the Kiddie $20. The plastic ones can not be recharged.

If you go to any store and see an extinguisher it should have a tag. That tag will have some commercial companies info on it..... or.... just use the YP.