How do I discharge fire extinguisher for disposal?

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Plum

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I have four old dry powder fire extinguishers (1Kg and 2Kg sizes) I need to dispose of. None of the local authority recycling centres in Essex will take them unless they have been discharged so they can go in the scrap metal bin. I spoke to a person from Essex County Council who's only advice was to discharge it in the street!! Has anyone successfully set one off without making a mess?

www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk
 
Discharge it into one of their containers at the recycling yard first. You do not have to wave it about everywhere, just fire it into the side under some rubbish.
You could just unscrew the trigger mechanism & remove the gas cylinder. That would allow you to chuck the main bulk away at least. What you do with the cylinder is another matter !!!!!
 
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Graham376 said:
Most have the discharge tube down to the bottom so, if it's turned upside down and the trigger pulled, should lose pressure but not much powder.
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So does this mean that you can unscrew the top, remove the top and pour the powder from the canister straight into your bin (minimal mess) and then reassemble and discharge using the normal procedure. This would lead to controlled gas discharge without powder going everywhere.

Would that be possible?
 
langstonelayabout said:
So does this mean that you can unscrew the top, remove the top and pour the powder from the canister straight into your bin (minimal mess) and then reassemble and discharge using the normal procedure. This would lead to controlled gas discharge without powder going everywhere.

Would that be possible?
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No. Most small dry powder extinguishers are built on the same principle as an aerosol can: they don’t have a separate gas cartridge, rather the whole can is pressurised. To disassemble them, you need to get rid of the pressure before you can safely remove the trigger assembly. So Graham’s idea is a good way to minimise mess: invert the extinguisher and trigger it. You’ll get a burst of powder then just escaping gas. I’d then simply take the extinguisher to the dump as it will be discharged from the pressure point of view, which is what the council employees are worried about. The powder is messy but non toxic.
 
This isn't going to be of any help to you but I had the same issue in Spain last week. I asked the local chandler and he said just chuck it in the nearest wheelie bin and make it someone else's problem. I didn't much fancy the idea of this as the bin is about 10 feet from out boat so didn't fancy the thought of it exploding when it went through the lorry crusher! Seeing the look on my face he suggested that I give it to the marina office who have a safe storage area for hazardous objects.

A German passer who overheard the conversation said that local gypsies (whom I've never seen in the marina) can spot scrap metal from a 1000 feet (or more) and suggested that if I left it by the bin it would soon be nicked! Low an behold, within a couple of hours it was gone!
 
petem said:
A German passer who overheard the conversation said that local gypsies (whom I've never seen in the marina) can spot scrap metal from a 1000 feet (or more) and suggested that if I left it by the bin it would soon be nicked! Low an behold, within a couple of hours it was gone!
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The same thing happens in Empuriabrava but it rarely takes that long for anything to be "recycled"!
 
I was once in a portacabin when someone accidentally pulled the pin. It doesn't take long to empty! If done outside on a breezy day it would soon disipate or into a bucket of water wo
 
I was once in a portacabin when someone accidentally pulled the pin. It doesn't take long to empty! If done outside on a breezy day it would soon disipate or into a bucket of water would be interesting.
 
Sandy said:
Sounds like you have an opportunity to put out a small controlled fire, perhaps in a dustbin, and do some training.
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+1

I did this when my order of new foam extinguishers included a buy-one-get-one-free that I didn't need and had no space for. I made a camp-fire sized blaze of pallet wood and paraffin on my unused vegetable patch and then put it out.

Pete
 
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