Refilling fire extinguisher

I'd give your local fire station a call to see if they know which, if any local company offers this service.

A fire onboard has to be the worst thing that could happen, so I'd be inclined not to cheap out myself.
 
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If this is for a boat there should be no reason to use CO2 onboard unless you want to commit suicide.

Water Mist or powder if you like fighting fires unable to see or breath easily.
 
Sandy said:
If this is for a boat there should be no reason to use CO2 onboard unless you want to commit suicide.

Water Mist or powder if you like fighting fires unable to see or breath easily.
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Can't afford water mist and can't afford the mess and engine destruction of powder.
I extinguished my engine fire with CO2 and survived. What did I do wrong?
 
Graham_Wright said:
Can't afford water mist and can't afford the mess and engine destruction of powder.
I extinguished my engine fire with CO2 and survived. What did I do wrong?
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Well, CO₂ kills a fire by removing O₂ from the fire triangle, Oxygen, heat and fuel, but in a confined space like a boat it can also remove the O₂ that you need to live. Sounds like you were lucky this time.

If described this was an fire in the engine bay and contained to the electric bits of the engine fine, BUT what if it had spread to other combustible materials, e.g. wood, oils and plastics, the CO₂ would not have extinguished those materials as it does not remove the heat part of the triangle.

I am no fan of powder extinguishers, as you can't see 10 cm in front of your face and breathing is horrid - I know I've done it in a Fire Service 'Hot House' - but they are certified for Class A (combustible materials), Class B (flammable liquids) and Class C (flammable gases). Foam are seen as Class A and B, but primarily for Class B as long as you know how to use them on a liquid fire.

Water Mist are new and more expensive than many, but they work on removing O₂ and cooling. While not certified on electrical fires they do work.

It is all about looking at what you have got onboard that is flammable and matching it with the correct class of extinguisher. My view is that combustible materials are the greatest risk, then flammable gases then liquids and lastly electrical. But at the end of the day it is about mitigating risk to the As Low As Reasonably Practicable.
 
To me to put oit an engine fire in an enclosed engine room is to have a fire sensor (smoke of flame) with a remote operated CO2 extinguisher so that the fire can be comptroller without opening the engine room hatch.

Once the fire is out access should be a lot safer.
 
rogerthebodger said:
To me to put oit an engine fire in an enclosed engine room is to have a fire sensor (smoke of flame) with a remote operated CO2 extinguisher so that the fire can be comptroller without opening the engine room hatch.

Once the fire is out access should be a lot safer.
Click to expand...

That’s overkill for most of the boats that folks sail. There are lots of low cost, safe to use, automatic engine room extinguishers available, Attach to bulkhead and forget.
 
When I got my boat, some 14 years ago my preference was for an automatic CO2 extinguisher in the engine compartment. Should be OK as long as I turn the fan off. However, my insurance policy was quite clear that claims for fire damage would only be met if there was an automatic powder extinguisher in the compartment. So I fitted one on the grounds that I would probably also claim for a new engine after it had ingested the powder.
 
The only fire I have had on board was electrical. One squirt of a CO2 extinguisher did the job. Much less mess to clear up.
 
Back in the 70s I had a petrol fire on board my Stella, out in the N sea. Flames ran all along the bilges & up around the engine (Stuart Turner:(). I had recently been given 2 free powder( EDITED I ORIGINALLY WROTE FOAM BY MISTAKE) extinguishers by Chubb as part of the deal to fit them to my factories & take on a service contract.
It took both of them to put the flames out as the petrol ( about 1+ pints, started off with a spark from the ignition) was running along the top of a flooded bilge (we had a serious leak & were pumping every 30 mins) & as I put one section out it ran back from another. I had to lift all the floor boards & engine cover to get at it.

It was extinguished on the last squirt of the last bottle. I did not have a problem with being able to see as described in #10 inspite of using in confined spaces. In fact I was hugely impressed with them. It did make a mess but apart from my crew's open clothes bag getting an accidental "squirt", we were able to wash the powder into the bilges with some buckets of water & a soft broom. The engine got a similar treatment & did not suffer much from the ordeal either. We then pumped it out via the bilge pump.

So I dispute the doom mongers, from my own experience of actual use. My current boat is fitted with powder ones.

On a more amusing note.
We were racing in the Crouch & short tacking along the shore. My crew slipped & kicked the extinguisher off its bracket; whereupon it immediately started to discharge. It spun round on the cockpit floor & under/over the seating, like a giant catherine wheel spraying everything, including him, in white powder. Not realising what had happened it momentarily scared the c..p out of us both.
Neither of us could move as it turned the varnished wood floor & seats into a skating rink. We had to flush it into the bilges with buckets of water & wash the area with a soft brush.
The boat near us thought that we had blown up, as a cloud of powder shot into the air
 
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penberth3 said:
Your mistake was having an engine fire because you neglected some basic checks. Details are in your other thread, yes?
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That is not helpful!
I have returned to the boat and discovered that my guessed diagnosis was wrong. The alternator connection is elsewhere not on the solenoid. The battery connection to the solenoid bolt is very secure. However, the bolt is not attached to the solenoid! Complete mystery. I’ll report back when I have found the cause and hopefully fixed it. I hope I can swap just the solenoid which is accessible. The starter is not so easy.
 
Daydream believer said:
Back in the 70s I had a petrol fire on board my Stella, out in the N sea. Flames ran all along the bilges & up around the engine (Stuart Turner:(). I had recently been given 2 free foam extinguishers by Chubb as part of the deal to fit them to my factories & take on a service contract.
It took both of them to put the flames out as the petrol ( about 1+ pints, started off with a spark from the ignition) was running along the top of a flooded bilge (we had a serious leak & were pumping every 30 mins) & as I put one section out it ran back from another. I had to lift all the floor boards & engine cover to get at it.

It was extinguished on the last squirt of the last bottle. I did not have a problem with being able to see as described in #10 inspite of using in confined spaces. In fact I was hugely impressed with them. It did make a mess but apart from my crew's open clothes bag getting an accidental "squirt", we were able to wash the powder into the bilges with some buckets of water & a soft broom. The engine got a similar treatment & did not suffer much from the ordeal either. We then pumped it out via the bilge pump.

So I dispute the doom mongers, from my own experience of actual use. My current boat is fitted with powder ones.

On a more amusing note.
We were racing in the Crouch & short tacking along the shore. My crew slipped & kicked the extinguisher off its bracket; whereupon it immediately started to discharge. It spun round on the cockpit floor & under/over the seating, like a giant catherine wheel spraying everything, including him, in white powder. Not realising what had happened it momentarily scared the c..p out of us both.
Neither of us could move as it turned the varnished wood floor & seats into a skating rink. We had to flush it into the bilges with buckets of water & wash the area with a soft brush.
The boat near us thought that we had blown up, as a cloud of powder shot into the air
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Hi DB ... just a little confused ...

You recall a petrol fire in bilges and used FOAM Extg's .... but then talk about washing of the powder ??? Two separate incidents ?
 
rogerthebodger said:
To me to put oit an engine fire in an enclosed engine room is to have a fire sensor (smoke of flame) with a remote operated CO2 extinguisher so that the fire can be comptroller without opening the engine room hatch.

Once the fire is out access should be a lot safer.
Click to expand...
I do have an external CO2 extinguisher in the cockpit deep locker. It can be activated from the locker and discharges through the bulkhead. One day I’ll connect it up😐
 
RunAgroundHard said:
That’s overkill for most of the boats that folks sail. There are lots of low cost, safe to use, automatic engine room extinguishers available, Attach to bulkhead and forget.
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Some time ago I had an automatic fire extinguisher that went off due to heat from a running engine in an enclosed engine box.

I prefer to be able to shut down the engine before setting off the extinguisher if its safe to do so

The same applies to an automatic powder extinguisher as this would save damage to the engine. It could also be possible to restart the engine to get back home
 
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