Recharging fire extinguisher

[Vinnie45]

My extinguisher are 7 years old when I went to get them recharged they have no indicators to refill them. Does this mean you need to get new ones ? Or is there a way of certifying recharging them ?

[MarkTheBike]

Hi Vinnie

I asked the same question as ours were 13 yrs old when we bought the boat. Turned out it was cheaper to buy new and no-one in the area refilled them anyway. Completely galling for the automatic engine one as they are damned expensive. I did have to reposition the new brackets slightly further down as the Bav ones (in ours at least) are much lower profile than anything I could find.

[Aquila]

I agree it's it cheaper and better to replace with new ones.  Shop around on the Internet and make sure that they have CE or appropriate quality marks and not cheap imports. 

[DT]

I recently replaced my fire extinguishers in my B34 .

Close by there are a pair of X fire men who do the recharging and seem to know their stuff, which was good for me. as an airline pilot for a job has made me really paranoid about fire.

:The german Bavarian ones don't meet Australian standards with no gauge.
:The action of the boat has made the extinguisher powder compact in the bottom of the bottle. If this happens they won't work. To
  fix it, every 6 months give it a good whack with a rubber mallet while upside down. You will then feel the weight of the powder move down the bottle freely, indicating that they are ok.

Finally, in my opinion, a wet chemical type for the galley , much better for cooking fires than dry powder . especially for the clean up after the event. Dry powder is not kind to electrical components.
 

[dawntreader]

....... a wet chemical type for the galley , much better for cooking fires than dry powder . especially for the clean up after the event. Dry powder is not kind to electrical components.

Good information  A fire blanket wouldn't be out of place either - I fitted one just under the chart desk, easily reachable.

[Salty]

When servicing your dry powder extinguishers you should at least :
1. Remove the gas cylinder and carefully weigh it to ensure that it still contains the weight of gas that it was originally filled with. The original weight should be marked on the cylinder, and any that are under weight should be disposed of and new gas cylinders with the correct weight of contents fitted.
2. Stir or shake up the powder contents to ensure that it has not become compacted or caked due to dampness.
3. Thoroughly examine the metal jacket of the fire extinguisher, and dispose of any that are rusted or rusting.
4. If the fire extinguisher is of a type that does not permit servicing, then it should have an expiry date and should be safely disposed of either on or before its expiry date and replaced with a new extinguisher.
5: There may be other requirements depending on the type of extinguisher, such as for example ensuring that the operating instructions are clearly readable and in a language that you understand.
6: Amend the service record which is usually provided somewhere on the back of the extinguisher.
Or you might just find it simpler to buy new ones, but check to see that you get new stock and not something the chandler has had stored away for years.

[Aquila]

Fire service for 31 years.  In the old days you had to shake to stop bicarbonate of soda from caking however new powders have silica in them and caking is no longer a problem.

[Salty]

That's interesting, thanks Aquila. I'd noticed that none of mine had caked, but had put it down to giving them a good shake every month when I inspected them.

[Nigel]

My extinguishers are mostly horizontal, I give them a twist when I remember.

[Vinnie45]

Thanks for all the information very helpful . I guess I will have to buy new ones