A tad beyond its use by date

Wunja

Wunja

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In case I overshoot Ostend and end up doing the Calais cruise instead, I checked the dates of the flares (good) and the fire extinguishers at the weekend.

One was dated 1993, the other 1976 - two years older than the boat! I now have nice shiny new ones, but need to work out how to dispose of the old ones.
 
If they are co2 extinguishers they can be used to remove slight dents from car bodywork.
Let rip at the dent to rapidly cool the area then poor boiling water over the area . and repeat if necessary , the dent should pop out.

Check an area first to make sure your paint can take it.
 
Out of date extinguishers can be handy for anyone that's never used them before. I light a small fire (small in case they don't work at all) and let people have the experience of trying to put it out. Surprising how many people never even look at the label on these things so don't know how to use them, but actually using them under supervision helps. Number one son thought that aiming at the high part of the flames would do the job, soon found out it has little effect.
Keep a hose or bucket handy in case an old extinguisher fails to operate though
 
That's an excellent idea. Not as much fun as old flares, but certainly useful. I've never set off an extinguisher I'm ashamed to say.
 
If you've never used one before, start with a solid fire, something like a pile of wood. Paper and other light weight stuff can be blown away by the force of some extinguishers without putting them out so you can end up with burning paper blowing around. Read the instructions (yeh I know, nobody likes to) but normally aim at the base of a fire to put it out. Not a good idea to try it on liquid fires like petrol unless you've seen what can happen if you hit it wrong or with the wrong extinguisher so well worth getting practice in on other fires first.
No reason not to let kids learn too, they could end up holding the sharp end of a stick one day.
Pet topic, sorry, used to be a volunteer fireman and before that spent time on the old green monsters back in the 70's
 
So what do you do to clear up the powder afterwards? I have never let one off (extinguisher that is) or seen one used and have no idea what to expect; so I like your idea, but would prefer to know the possible outcomes before hand!

P.S. What is German for Halon?
 
German for halon - no idea, would have thought it was generic, it is a halogenated organic compound, many of them are bad for the atmosphere and now banned. Hopefully there is a description on the side of the canister, then you might need the 'great' wikipedia
 
H2O type, once fired the jet of water is like the output from a powerful hose, and the sort I'm used to once fired they keep going until empty. Keep hold of the hose/nozzle or it's likely to fly around like a demented snake
CO2 type, don't hold the nozzle or your fingers could freeze to it, but normally these can be fired in short bursts so good for practice
Dry powder, definately use outside with plenty of space, they make one hell of a mess and you'll see why people don't like the thought of cleaning up afterwards. But they work wonders on an engine fire as you can set it off through a small gap to save feading the fire with oxygen by opening up too much. They will cover everything and are a right pig to clean up after, so don't expect a lot from the engine if used in anger, but at least it will save everything from burning.
Halon, no idea what they are in German but they are supposed to have been withdrawn a while ago now. Got one on Sixpence but then that's up to me. They used to have them in automatic systems used to protect mainframe computers as they starve a fire completely of oxygen, but alarms would go off before activation to allow for evacuation. Starving the fire of oxygen does the same for people too.
Sorry if this is teaching granny, but it's worth remembering the triangle of fire when you want to extinguish one. Three things it needs are fuel heat and air. Remove one and it can't survive so each extinguisher has its own area of expertise. H2O removes heat and air, same with CO2 and so on
Foam is best for a liquid fire but also best learn how to use them under instruction. If it's not done properly the burning liquid can spread before it's put out
 
No problem. Might be worth thinking about doing a fire training session some time this season like we had the MOB thing last year ?. Some cheap or out of date extinguishers and a few different fire types for people to have a go at ?.
Not sure if there's anywhere this can be done safely but worth thinking about especially for those that haven't used one before. Not sure which is more likely on a boat, fire or MOB, but I must admit to having a fair ammount of extinguishers on Sixpence, even bought some new from Aldi. Some things just aren't worth taking for granted, learned that lesson a few years ago and still got the burn scars to prove it.
 
I thought we did the fire training at the fitting up supper? The fire brigade were doing the chip pan show right by D3B and me looking at a boat!

Wait and see what the insurance surveyor says having inspected Flipper today. I might be able to suggest a location for a spot of training /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
it is a halogenated organic compound

[/ QUOTE ]Hey man... chemicals.... I think we should all hold hands and have some of this new halugonen.... Yeah....... Thud!

But seriously: A prominent East Coast sailor keeps all old flares, he has lots, on the basis that, should he need a flare, one of them is bound to work!

P
 
[ QUOTE ]
Might be worth thinking about doing a fire training session some time this season like we had the MOB thing last year ?. Some cheap or out of date extinguishers and a few different fire types for people to have a go at ?

[/ QUOTE ]

OK. I'll donate 2 slightly out of date extinguishers for the cause at the weekend. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
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