Source of fire extinguishers?

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alldownwind

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I need to replace one of my Firemaster powder extinguishers.
Firemaster (who used to be in SE London until a year or so ago) seem to have disappeared.
Any suggestions please for current sources of extinguishers at sensible prices?
 
Ha! Hadn't thought of them. Product 19094-89 £14.99 and I can collect.
Any startlingly cheaper offers? I know sometimes Lidl have them but not at the moment apparently.
 
They were still there a few months ago and their web page is up. You could give them a ring to find a stockist near you. They sold me a replacement but said "we don't do retail anymore". They are part of UK fire whose contact details are


Uk Fire International Ltd
The Safety Centre
Mountergate
Norwich
Norfolk
NR1 1PY
England

Tel:
+44 (0) 1603 727 000

Fax:
+44 (0) 1603 662 796

Email:
enquiries@ukfire.co.uk

but I doubt if they are as cheap as Screwfix
 
Do you have a local Wickes ? I bought mine from their a few weeks ago.

thought they were alot better than the screwfix and lidl alternatives on offer
 
I bought my last two at Screwfix, same price as B&Q, but 2kg instead of 1kg, and Kidde brand is ok by me. I think they may have changed their offerings now.
Brackets were a bit mickey mouse, so I backed them up with some hardwood chocks on the bulkhead and a bit of shockcord.
A chap in our club ran aground the other year and launched the extinguishers across the cabin as the boat stopped dead!

Don't forget the fireblanket, its a lot less messy!
 
Do you?

I just fired three of my retired extinguishers - all powder - and they all gushed away happily.

News?

Well, two were 10 years out of date and the third was, wait for it, 18 years OD. Sound a bit like the OD flares story?

One note of greater interest. Would you reqally want to fire these things except in greatest need? How about fire blankets or CO2 extinguishers instead? Better I think. I can assure posters that powder gushes out in uncontrollable clouds - it is a fine as talcum. The boat (and engine?) would take a long time to clean. There has to be a better way...


PWG
 
Hi Peter, yes, fully agreed o' boy.. !

I think CO2 is the way to go.. the new ABC units are jack of all trades.. master of none... you have to decide on the combustibles in your home / part time home etc..

For me, the CO2 is the best.. least mess, sorts the issue. (Fire triangle etc)....

Have a tap, away from the engine, to turn off the fuel supply.....
Have a battery switch AWAY from the engine room...................

In other word be able to kill the fuel supply.. and the electtrics... VERY heavy (arc welding !) current if shorted......

AWAY from the donkey... that way u have a reasonable chance of controlling it all.. without it.. nope.. just another example of lateral thinking....... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
The downside of CO2 is that it disperses , or can disperse, without cooling the fuel thus allowing oxygen back and completing the fire triangle again. You may have shut off the diesel supply but a substantial puddle could remain, you may have shut off the electrics but if hot embers remain they can reignite once oxygen returns. If GRP or wood are involved then re-ignition is a very real possibility.
CO2 is also an asphyxiant.

Dry powder on the other hand remains, blanketing the fuel and preventing access again to the hot embers by oxygen.

A fire that reignites again after you have fired off all your extinguishers is going to leave a lot more of a mess than dry powder!

Rather more lateral thinking required on your part IMHO.
 
Our Firemasters have pressure gauges indicating the pressure is fine. I'm sure the old one will work but it's out of validity. I retired my out of date Firemaster because of reports on this website that the French inspectors look at the date and not the pressure gauge on a fire extinguisher. As we keep the boat in France the risk of a fine is small but exists. Firemaster said that the retired one was OK but that it would be cheaper to buy a new one with certification valid for several years rather than have the old one recertified validity one year. I took the cheaper option buying a new one and keep the old one in the shed and not on the boat
 
[ QUOTE ]

Dry powder on the other hand remains, blanketing the fuel and preventing access again to the hot embers by oxygen.

[/ QUOTE ]

and wrecks the engine if ingested.

What's wrong with water?- there's a lot of it about.
 
Hi Vic
On fire suppression courses when I worked for the NHS, we used water with a very fine spray to remove heat from the triangle also.. worked well on fuel. Dont get me wrong, I have at least 6 ABC powder types aboard.. but after seeing the damge powder can do to the engine bay I would NOT use that as first choice.. I always have backups available.
Quite lateral me thinks.. maybe yours is twisted lol.
Joe.
 
Quote:

Dry powder on the other hand remains, blanketing the fuel and preventing access again to the hot embers by oxygen.

____________________________________
This is not correct: a fire generates a substantial draught driving away the talcum powder unless one can get in really close. How much roasting can your face and arms take? Foam/CO2 is more practical in a boat situation.

A little experience of the real thing beats your misplaced appeal, methinks, to more lateral (but irrelevant) thinking!

PWG
 
[ QUOTE ]
This is not correct ............... a substantial draught driving away the talcum powder

[/ QUOTE ] Equally useless then!

I must admit I had not realised that talcum powder was used in extinguishers.
I thought that although sodium hydrogen carbonate was used in extinguishers for class A and class B fires ( solids and flammable liquids ) ammonium dihydrogen phosphate was used for Class A, B & C fires and which has the advantage that it melts at a fairly low temperature so blanketing the embers and preventing re-ignition.

For what fires is talcum powder recommended and what are its advantages over
the other two mentioned.
 
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