View Full Version : disposal of a fire extinguisher?
ok, i have one out of date, and need to dispose of it. anyone know where i can take it? the recycling center can take it if its empty, but where to i empty it or does it have to be somewhere specific? just thinking of the mess!!
any ideas?
Give it to underprivileged children. Playing with fire extinguishers is some of the best most wholesome fun you can have, especially the powder ones.
If you think this wrong then there is usually a number on the bottle you can ring who can advise you what to do.
Fire station ??
At a guess...they will know where to put it if not!
DeHaviLand
13-Oct-10, 15:24
Good info here (http://www.fireprotectiononline.co.uk/news/18/So-Long-And-Goodbye---Disposing-Of-Your-Old-Fire-Extinguishers.html)
Depends what flavour it is. If it's CO2 then wait until late at night and discharge it, this is utterly inappropriate but it can be mildly humorous to scare the bejesus out of your neighbours.
orkneycadian
13-Oct-10, 15:59
?? Why would you want to scrap it if its merely come to its service due date? Simply get it inspected/serviced and a new sticker on it with a date 12 months hence, and it will do fine till then. Far cheaper than replacing it! We have lots of ones that are no spring chickens, but they sail through there annual inspection and test and are ready and waiting for use. You wouldnt scrap your car when its MOT is due if there is nothing wrong with it. Your fire extinguishers should be the same!
its dated 2003 and has never been used. fire station do not take them, but will see if they know what to do with them. just thought i would ask on here first, as i thought i wouldnt bother the firemen with something like that if i didnt need to. i have another one.. hubby brought it home from work strangly enough!
Set fire to your house, then, after reading the instructions, use the fire extinguisher to put it out. Oh, if it doesn't work, you were right to want to dispose of it.
Simple huh? :cool:
i know i have a head ache right now and feeling really snappy.. but i just have to say.. thanks for all the smart assed comments for a genuine question guys.
grow up every now and then.
i honestly just wanted to know where you could take an out of date unused fire extinguisher. you know without just throwing it in your bin in the hope it dosent blow when they throw in the compacter.
now feel free to rip the thread apart.. and make hateful comments and puff up your chests.
(shakes head)
hail to the community board that is there to lend a hand and help one another..
i know i have a head ache right now and feeling really snappy.. but i just have to say.. thanks for all the smart assed comments for a genuine question guys.
grow up every now and then.
i honestly just wanted to know where you could take an out of date unused fire extinguisher. you know without just throwing it in your bin in the hope it dosent blow when they throw in the compacter.
now feel free to rip the thread apart.. and make hateful comments and puff up your chests.
(shakes head)
hail to the community board that is there to lend a hand and help one another..
Oh Brandy, read your signature :lol:
OOoooh is it a wee powder one he got from work?
Seen one go off in a confined space...what a mess.!
It was bumped and the pin worked its way out.
I have hidden mine from Iona (after the last few weeks who knows what she will do next)
Dont know who would inspect them either?
But if anyone lets you know I must take a note!
i know i have a head ache right now and feeling really snappy.. but i just have to say.. thanks for all the smart assed comments for a genuine question guys.
Genuinely, if it is a powder one then I know plenty of people who will be willing to take it off your hands.
[smart assed/]
If its powder keep hold of it, it'll more than likely be OK.
It will need tapping / banging on a hard floor now and again to loosen the powder. This is also a tip if ever you need to use one and you find it doesn't work, the powder settles and clogs together. Bounce it off the floor and away you go.
every couple o years a guy appears at work and checks them over , when they are really done though he gives us a shot of them so at least we actually know how to let them go if we need to . Much fun i have to say , not sure what he does with them tho he takes them off and replaces with new .
Think it was bouncing off a hard floor that set the one off I saw...never saw 2 men move so fast....or so white from head to toe before:lol:
Seen the mess a graphex one makes as well.......:eek:
Aye, bounce the bottom though, not the top. :eek:
northener
13-Oct-10, 21:49
This will probably not be a problem for you - but if the extinguisher contains 'BCF' (bromodichloroflouromethane IIRC) - don't discharge it, it's naughty stuff.
Very unlikely that it is one of these, but if it's been 'acquired' from an industrial source there's always the chance......
If, on the other hand, it's powder, water or CO2 - discharge it at the works Xmas do and then chuck the empty through a shop window.:Razz
i've got to admit these 'nasty to the enviroment' bcf extinguishers make me laugh,,,
oh you cant use that one, it will harm the atmosphere
ofcourse a darn sight less than a fire allowed to get out of control would if you didn't use it!!
classic.
pers i'd keep it, you never know when two maybe better than one....
dx
northener
14-Oct-10, 07:55
i've got to admit these 'nasty to the enviroment' bcf extinguishers make me laugh,,,
oh you cant use that one, it will harm the atmosphere
ofcourse a darn sight less than a fire allowed to get out of control would if you didn't use it!!
classic.
pers i'd keep it, you never know when two maybe better than one....
dx
I was under the impression that BCF was toxic, apparently not.
Fire away:Razz
no you are correct, actually, but there was a twist back in the early 1990's
the actual reason was glue sniffers nicking them in the states!
http://www.re-solv.org/fire_extinguishers.asp
anyway..
way off topic,
dx
tonkatojo
14-Oct-10, 09:33
every couple o years a guy appears at work and checks them over , when they are really done though he gives us a shot of them so at least we actually know how to let them go if we need to . Much fun i have to say , not sure what he does with them tho he takes them off and replaces with new .
Many moons ago I worked for a firm called L&G fire extinguishers, they supplied ships and large firms, we had to go around replacing them and take them back to the depot where they were emptied and pressure tested, acid dipped, resprayed and refilled re-dated ready for their next service job.
orkneycadian
14-Oct-10, 10:39
Suggest then if you genuinely dont want to keep it, and need it discharging before disposing of it, that you light a fire (in a safe place!) then have a go at putting it out. The practice will always be beneficial, and if its a peedie one, as someone enquired above, you might be suprised how small a fire it wont put out!
Folk pay good money for fire extinguisher practice so make the most of it! No point being unsure what to do with an extinguisher come the day you actually need one! Just try no and burn the house down in the name of experience!
you might be suprised how small a fire it wont put out!
Oh I don't know. Powder extiguishers are quite potent when used properly and sparely, you might be surprised just how big a fire you can knock down.
This will probably not be a problem for you - but if the extinguisher contains 'BCF' (bromodichloroflouromethane IIRC) - don't discharge it, it's naughty stuff.
If it's BCF / Halon I'll have the begger.
If life v death comes into play firewise these are about the best little things you can get.
Oooh yes it'll damage the environment, but probably a lot less than the potential fire it'll knock out very quickly.
orkneycadian
14-Oct-10, 18:20
Oh I don't know. Powder extiguishers are quite potent when used properly and sparely, you might be surprised just how big a fire you can knock down.
Aye, if its a decent size like a 9 kg, or even the nearest 12 kg hanging on the wall here (no spring chicken, original plate on it lists a manufacturers phone number without the 01xxx start to the STD code so most definately at least 15 years old! - Still passed its test and inspection in March though, and certified till March 2011....), but if its one of these sub 1 kg "aerosol" sized powder extinguishers that some folk have in the mistaken belief it will put out a house or a car fire - oh dear....:roll:
George Brims
14-Oct-10, 23:23
We used to have a neighbour who was a retired military guy doing fire extinguisher service as a part time job. He used to bring home some right old-fashioned conical brass/copper ones, which he polished up and sold to antique shops. A quite lucrative sideline.
We used to have a neighbour who was a retired military guy doing fire extinguisher service as a part time job. He used to bring home some right old-fashioned conical brass/copper ones, which he polished up and sold to antique shops. A quite lucrative sideline.
Thats worrying, we had those at my school. What does it mean when you think of something as contempory and everyone else thinks it an antique? :confused
What does it mean when you think of something as contempory and everyone else thinks it an antique?
Desparately clinging onto your yoof?
:Razz
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