Which fire extinguisher do you all use?

Now that my stove and lantern collection has grown sufficiently enough to be the source of many "when will Mark burn the shed down" jokes, I've been giving more and more thought to the notion that my fire extinguishers may be the wrong kind, especially as one of them states that it's not for fuel fires. My other one makes no claims as to suitability, but describes itself as dry (as opposed to wet??).

Frankly: I know very little about fire extinguishers, and considering my hobby, that's probably not a good thing.

Is one type of fire extinguisher suitable for Naptha, Paraffin, and Meths? What do you all have?

 

Hi Mark, I have some old ex-car extinguishers in the garage, as they are suitable for "liquid fires". They are all powder filled. A CO2 filled one would also be useful, but don't use any liquid (water based, with some chemicals added) ones as this would spread open the fuel.

Hope this helps,

best regards,

Wim

P.S., forgot to add I do most of my testing in the garden, sometimes in my garden kitchen (other than a roof and my garage wall it is fully open)

 

Hello,
In the US, fire extinguishers are rated A B and C and then by the amount (in weight) of the extinguishing agent. #A is for solid fuel fires, paper and wood. B is for liquid fuel fires and C is for electrical. They are usually loaded with a dry chemical.
It is easiest here to buy a couple of 2 pound ABC extinguishers. They are sold with a cheap but usable mounting bracket. I keep one within 10 feet of my workspace and then mount a couple more around the house, by the furnace and bedroom exits. However, the chemical is very corrosive and using it entails a lengthy cleaning job. None of that matters if your saving lives or property.
However, the easiest and most effective method and one that I have constantly employed is keeping a galvanized metal garbage can with its appropriately tight lid right at your workspace. In fact when lighting a fettled or newly arrived stove I usually invert the lid and use it as my work station. In case of eruption I can grab the lip and flip, dumping the stove into the can and slapping the lid on the can. I have done this on numerous occasions.
As important is keeping your fuels safe. Mostly that means closed containers kept away from lighting areas. I have practiced the habit of no matter how excited I am to light a stove, after filling it I have capped and moved away the fuel I used.
Well, I find myself rambling, so I end.
Safety First!

 

Freon and CO2 only

 

I bought a job lot of six commercial extinguishers at an liquidation auction north of London a few years ago. There were 2 each of CO2, powder and foam. All are good for liquid fuel fires. I think I paid £8.00 plus buyers commission for the lot. Although they were all in date service wise, I had an fire equipment company go over them. I think it cost around £30.00. I gave one of each to my brother-in-law and keep the other three inside the side door leading to the garage.



Terry

 

I fully trust my fettling skills, so I don't need a fire extinguisher.

I wish! Well, I only have an ABC-extinguisher, which will make a mess if used, but will put out both the liquid fuel and whatever has caught fire from the flames. A CO2 extinguisher will work well for liquid fuels burning, and won't leave any messy chemicals in your workspace (or God forbid, on your stove!). Though, if you discover the fire late, and have lots of solid stuff burning, the chance of re-ignition is higher.

Good luck, and take care

 

Around here in the states, at least if you go to a hardware or home improvement store, the options are not that great. The dry chemical (ammonium phosphate) is pretty much your choice, but it works for most anything you will need it for. It is better to have one that leaves a little mess than to have none (mostly a dry power than can be swept and vacuumed up).

So here is one of my two stories of putting out a fire. Nearly 30 years ago in Boulder Co I was home in my apartment and a smoke alarm went off in the neighbors place (an old complex with thin walls). I assumed he was cooking something smoky and would soon turn it off. When it kept on, I went over and knocked on the door, no answer. But I thought I could see see flickering through the windows drapes, suggesting a real fire. I called it in and reported a fire -- only to get an argument from the b*tch taking the call. She said I should report smoke, not a fire, since it was a smoke alarm that I heard. This went on for a ridiculously long time and I finally hung up. I was worried that my neighbor could possibly be in the apartment so I grabbed an extinguisher and kicked in his door. There were indeed flames going from the back of the kitchen stove up the wall and over a bit of the ceiling but I was able to put them out. (It was a gas stove, a soldered joint had failed and had ignited from the pilot light, I think). Of course now the apartment was starting to smell like gas. I went around to the other 2 units and tried to get everyone out (that's another story).

Eventually the fire department did show up. The first thing they did was detain me for calling in a false alarm -- pointing out that there was no fire.

 

Rememeber if you have to use a C02 extinguisher that it works by supressing the oxygen to the fire.. but it also supresses your oxygen so if used in a small shed you should get out as fast as you can.

 

I can attest to the fact that an ABC fire extinguisher will work on liquid fuel stove fire. I had an M-1942 military stove spring a leak in the tank while the stove was running during a test and then catch fire like a spraying torch. I quickly grabbed my brand new ABC fire extinguisher and sprayed it on the stove, which was set up outside on the driveway behind my house. The fire went out immediately.

The mess was not too bad since I was testing the stove outside (this is key to testing stoves safely). I just had to sweep up the dry chemical that was emitted from the extinguisher.

The only thing that I was sad about was that the extinguisher was completely empty when I was done. That was money well spent to avoid a potential bomb from exploding but it was still $45 USD in about 5 seconds of spraying.

I believe most extinguishers are one-use only devices, while some can be recharged.

Some points to consider:

1. Get an ABC fire extinguisher.
2. Use a big bucket or pail to lower over the stove, if it is small enough to do so. This won't work for double burners like suitcase stoves.
3. Do your testing outside and away from valuable property.
4. Use as minimal of fuel as possible.
5. Keep your stove(s) maintained as perfect as possible.
6. Check for leaks BEFORE fire testing by pressure test and/or in water for bubbles.
7. Use thick leather gloves when testing so that if the stove is on fire you can close any valves that may be open.
8. Keep fuel sources away from testing area.
9. Consider the fuel being used (white gas, kerosene, alcohol) and the level of safety required. More volatile fuels should be handled with extra care.
10. Don't be stupid.

Hope that helps,
sam

 

So in the UK I should be looking an extinguisher that is labeled "dry", right? The CO2 ones sound a bit weird, and as I do my test lighting outside the shed in unlikely to remove all the oxygen from an area. The powder seems like the right (but intimately messy) call.

 

I would go for an ABC rated dry powder extinguisher but do a search on-line as you can get a decent size re-fillable/serviceable one for the same price as a tiddly one-shot from an auto parts store.

Freon is a CFC and no longer used. Halon is illegal in the UK except in military and aviation use.

We need John (presscall) to chip in as he works for Fire & Rescue.

Terry

 

The old BCF extinguishers worked better that anything else and I had a fireman tell me they dont work by any of the standard (remove air,fuel,heat) methods. Problem is they eat ozone so are banned pretty much world wide. Normally yellow in colour if you see one in a garage/yard sale.
Dry powder is next best which is either sodium bicarbonate or magnesium carbonate with high pressure co2 gas as a propellant and a few anti caking agents.A 1kg one of these should handle most stove fires. Only catch with these and burning liquid is that the pressure can move the liquid around so burning liquid can be pushed off the bench and out of reach of the extinguisher.
Another option is a jar of baking soda. Tip it on the fire. Baking soda is sodium bicabonate as in the dry powder extinguisher and when it gets hot it breaks down releasing lots of carbon dioxide

 

Halon is still around, ex military.

For a dry powder, the absolute best is Purple K , used in commercial fuel handling and military.

 

from the purple k wiki

In high temperatures it decomposes to carbon dioxide and potassium oxide, which is toxic and highly corrosive.

Just what you want fighting domestic fires

 

Puts the fire out...

 

and then does much the same damage as the fire would of

 

Picky, Picky...
PKP = Messy cleanup.
No PKP = How long can you tread water, Hm?

The stuff is a wonder, though.
It'll put out a engine room lube oil fire in one squirt!
I will agree that almost any fire extinguisher is better than none!

 

The last two stoves I've worked on had leaking burners, and though I tested them outside, on an aluminium baking pan, I had to let the fires run out on their own. I've always vented pressure immediately, so the amount of burning fuel hasn't been bad, but one day it will be bad, so having the right extinguisher is important to me. The same goes for my 123 and 8R. I recently watched a YouTube video of a 123 going up in a reasonably spectacular fireball, and while I recognise that this is rare, I'd like to be prepared.

What I'm reading is that a dry sodium bicarb extinguisher is the one to find. Agreed?

 

A long time ago I had a camping trailer with stove built in Because of the canvas walls I thought standard extiguishers would probably do as much harm as good so just kept a 500g box of baking soda nearby. If the fire gets to the canvas its all over anyway so if that didnt work the only other option was Run

 

A damp towel and/or an upturned pail both work well on stove fires in the shed/cellar/workshop/yard/camp.