Thread: Fire Extinguisher

Hmm I guess we don't need the first Yes response with the bottom two Yes options in there
Perhaps a mod can delete one.

And add the words "touch wood"..... umm, we all do anyway DOH!

Done!!

Bl**dy great work

So who was it that had to use their's, was it Gumpy on his neighbours house?

Have had two dry powder units in the household since early 60's (original 2lb now 1kg)

Used twice.

Used once to put out garage petrol fire (ignition lead spark set open fuel line alight whilst turning over engine during rebuild)

Used second time to put out major kitchen fire (cooker, curtains, cupboards all alight) in neighbors house.

Both incidents in the 60's, current pair fitted 1 at first floor level 2nd in kitchen readily available to workshop.

Pray they are never ever used again.

It's on my list. The Country Fire Authority have really good ones for around $100.

I always have them handy. Right now I have a small dry powder and a large commercial carbon dioxide.

A few years back I had to use them to put out a fire in a neighbor's garage. Mother and 3 kids in the house totally unaware of the fire and I saw the smoke. Went in there with 2 dry powder extinguishers. Lifted the garage door and the inside was pitch black with smoke except for the glow of the fire in the corner. Emptied both extinguishers on it, which thankfully kept it from spreading long enough for the firies to turn up and put it out.

Dry powder in a confined space is not very much fun. It plays havoc with anything electrical - can totally destroy electronic gear - but worse it's murder on the lungs. I was coughing like hell for weeks after that experience.

Still, the small dry powder units are easy to get, cheap, easy to handle and pack a reasonable punch for the size. I'd rather my better half be able to use something to get herself out of a fire than not, so I keep one. I'd be reaching for the big carbon dioxide unit first though.

My 2c: Go see a specialist fire outfit and buy a couple of extinguishers. They're usually actually cheaper than buying from KMart or whatever, and they actually know what to use in which situation, show you how to use them and can service them.

DarylF - Agree with you about 'Dry Powder' - Can you confirm if the Aussie authorities have gone over to the all RED standard, this is some stupid idea that a Brussels bureacrat has come up with, about ten years back we were using Green, Cream, Black, and Red for the various types, and in an emergancy it was a help to know which was which and to use the most appropriate. (Sorry I can't actually remember them all now, Red was water and I think Cream was Dry Powder)
I could never, and still can not, understand the reasoning for the change over to all Red when using the correct type is so important.

Hi all,
This is a topic that really should have been brought up in the forums many, many times but has not (I have searched the forums to verify this). I see the provision of a fire extinguisher and fire blanket in the shed and the home as essential equipment for safety. There are a large number of posts outlining the use of personal protective equipment that we all use every day, but very little mention of provisions for fire protection in our workshops.

I have one dry powder (1kg) and a large carbon dioxide (5 kg) extinguisher as well as a large pressurised water extinguisher and a fire blanket in the workshop. There is also a fire hose mounted outside the shed next to the door. I also have two dry powder extinguishers and a fire blanket in the house and a fire extinguisher in both cars. Yes this sounds excessive but they are all there for good measure, I wont bore you with the details.

I have used a fire extinguisher in the shed twice, in a neighbour’s shed once and the extinguisher in my car twice. In the shed I use metal halide lamps and one burst a bulb due to a large moth landing on the bulb. This caused very hot glass and metal to fall into a nice pile of thicknesser shavings and ignite. The fire was quite large, as I did not see it happen as I was at the other end of the shed using the router with hearing protection on. The second time occurred when a spark from the lawn mower exhaust also set wood shavings alight just in side the open door when I was mowing.

I realise that many people go through their lives and never use a fire extinguisher; maybe I am just “lucky”.

I congratulate Dean for starting this topic and thank all who have contributed.

Have a great day.

Originally Posted by Artisan Bill

...In the shed I use metal halide lamps and one burst a bulb due to a large moth landing on the bulb. This caused very hot glass and metal to fall into a nice pile of thicknesser shavings and ignite.....

! :eek: Are these the bulbs that are in HighBay lights?
I have one in my current shed & was planning on having 2 in my new shed.

Yes Cliff,
they are the bulbs that are in high bay lights. These lights are great to work with as they give almost daylight like conditions (at least mine do as they have a colour temperature similar to daylight) and throw little shadow if well placed. They run at very high temperatures and the bulb contains high pressure so if a bulb bursts they can through very hot glass around. I think (hard to know for sure) that the bulb must have overheated when a very large moth got stuck on the bulb and died. I believe this because the moth’s body was still attached to the piece of bulb that did not fall out.

I have fixed this by placing stainless fly mesh over all the reflectors so that nothing can get to the bulb. Incidentally it will also stop me breaking the bulb with an errant piece of long wood or pipe waving madly in the air.

For the light quality I would say go ahead and use them in you new shed, just take precautions. I also think that my experience is unusual so hence adding further weight to the need for a fire extinguisher in the shed.

Have a great day.

Originally Posted by Artisan Bill

...I have fixed this by placing stainless fly mesh over all the reflectors so that nothing can get to the bulb.....

Cool, where'd you get the stainless fly mesh from? I hadn't heard of it.
I know that there is a steel security screen mesh but it's rather thick & would dim the light.

Something to be aware of with dry powder type extinguishers is both settling/packing and caking of the dry powder. Although the most of the common B(E) and AB(E)powders are contain anti-caking and some have anti-wetting agents the contents can still 'pack' (smaller particles move to the bottom, large ones to the top and they pack in hard against each other). Caking on the other hand is when the powder reacts chemically with moisture and goes off - the same as nitrate rock based fertilisers cake up and go rock hard if exposed to water. In general this is due to moisture being present in the air or nitrogen chargeing gas - in effect caking can start from the day the extinguisher is charged/re-charged. If this happens the powder won't flow and the extinguisher won't operate. Packing, although not as damaging is a real problem with vehicles and boats, where the constant vibration of the extinguisher speeds up the settling of the powder and powdere that is extremely packed may not flow when needed (a fairly common occurence).

Something you can do to help prevent this is give it a shake (turn it end over end, shake it up, etc) every 6-12 months or so to keep the contents from packing/caking and have it service or replace it every three-five years (servicing doesn't cost that much for the likes of 2.5 kg unit). Something to keep in mind if buying a dry powder extinguisher is that a lot of the the smallerr 1kg units cannot be opened and re-filled for service/refill - they are a throw away item.

My final tip is that an extinguisher with a hose is ten times more usefull than one without a hose as it allows you to direct the powder into machinery/switchboards/dashboard/engine compartments, etc.