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Useful or shelf life of kitchen fire extinguisherWhile inspecting the fire extinguisher in my kitchen I wondered about its age. I know it is old but not sure how old. So I started looking for any indications of a manufacturing date or something and the only thing I found was "1993" in one corner of the label away from any printing and on the opposite site of the panel containing all the specs, ratings and manufacturer info. It is a First Alert model FE1A10 non-rechargeable extinguisher. The popup thing that indicates proper pressure pops back up as it should and the powder can be felt moving around when flipped over. How long do these things last? |
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 rfharThe World Sport, Played In Every Country
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join:2001-03-26
Buicktown,Mi |
rfhar
Premium Member
2014-Oct-4 9:21 pm
[Electrical] Re: Useful or shelf life of kitchen fire extinguisherAn old timers trick was to take a rubber hammer and beat the side of it to loosen up the powder inside. I cannot say if beating an extinguisher was helpful. |
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 TexDave's not here
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join:2012-10-20
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quote:
What is a fire extinguisher life expectancy?
Non-rechargeable fire extinguishers generally have a 6 year life expectancy. Keep in mind life expectancy depends on a number of factors. A fire extinguisher should be tested weekly according to the user's manual. As long as the pointer is in the green area or the pin indicator pops back up when pushed, the extinguisher is properly pressurized and ready to use.
» www.firstalert.com/resources/faq |
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Past certification of working condition. It'd most likely work but for that size and type spend the $20 to replace it. Use that one for practice then pitch in the recycle bin. The oldest I have is an Amerex from 1987. Visually in good condition and still registers full pressure. Probably not the first one I'd grab though if needed, have other dry chemical and clean agent extinguishers handy. |
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to rfhar
said by rfhar:An old timers trick was to take a rubber hammer and beat the side of it to loosen up the powder inside. I cannot say if beating an extinguisher was helpful. I actually do that when I inspect this extinguisher. I flip it over a few times and hit it several times with my hand and make sure the powder feels falling inside when flipped over. I admit though, that I do not inspect it as often as I should but at least I do it a couple of times a year. |
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to ImpetusEra
said by ImpetusEra:Use that one for practice then pitch in the recycle bin. I had actually thought about doing that but my yard is small and it gets very messy with this type of extinguisher. My neighbors would probably end up sharing part of the dry chemical. |
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to Tex
If the extinguisher is from 1993 then it is three times its life expectancy. hmmm... There is a chance it is from that time. There was a small kitchen fire around 1993 if I recall correctly and it is very likely that my father bought this one back then to replace the one used in the fire. |
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 DataDocMy avatar looks like me, if I was 2D.
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While you're at it get one for your car. I carried one for years and then ended up using it to put out a car fire on I95. Two weeks later I put out a neighbor's car fire across the street from me. Both were some sort of wiring fire under the hood. Dry chemical easily took care of both. |
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 John Galt6Forward, March
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join:2004-09-30
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Get a couple of new ones. A fire extinguisher is one of those things that when you need it, you really need it! |
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 LazMan
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join:2003-03-26
Beverly Hills, CA |
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It's cheap enough to replace them..
As long as the pressure gauge is in the green; it's technically fine. The extinguishing agent is treated to prevent clumping...
That said - it can clump up; and turning a dry chem upside down, and giving it a smack every month isn't a bad habit to get into...
I'd toss that one - and buy a replacement. |
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I'm glad I read this thread... have no idea how old mine is but know it is very very old so I just ordered a new one and some for stocking stuffers for my family. |
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 dosdoxies
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join:2004-12-15
Wallingford, PA |
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And remember to test them 24 hours before any fire.  |
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 runnoft
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join:2003-10-14
Nags Head, NC |
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We made a long-distance interstate move recently, and fire extinguishers are one of those things on all movers' prohibited list--you can't move one on an interstate moving truck. We had three fire extinguishers that were about that age. You also can't dispose of them full. All three gauges were still in the green, though one was just barely green and another needle was only about halfway into the green. So I took them out back and fired off each one in a large garbage bag to empty them out for disposal. They all still worked great. What a mess though. My clothes were covered with dust and I was coughing hard. I think the six-year expiration is just a guideline to drive sales, and a way of saying, Don't blame us in the unlikely event our ten-year old extinguisher doesn't work. If it's pressurized, it's quite likely still good. |
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 Lurch77
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join:2001-11-22
Green Bay, WI |
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I'm lucky in the fact my employer has a very large fire protection division. I can buy extinguishers at cost. I'm not one of the fire protection guys, so I don't know the details of expiration and such. I just know that I can bring mine in yearly and they'll inspect them for me.
A note about using them in an automobile. These should be inspected and replaced more frequently. The vibrations and jarring can cause the dry chemical to compact into a cake at the bottom of the tank much faster than a static extinguisher in a building. |
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tvsjr
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join:2004-10-09
Dallas, TX |
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Rather than throwing it away/replacing it, most fire extinguishers are serviceable. First Alerts may not be (intentionally) but almost any Amerex/etc. will be. Find someone in your area who services/inspects/maintains extinguishers for local businesses. Stop by their facility or give them a call and see if they'd inspect it for you.
I know someone who works in the business. Inspections on dry-chems are done by turning the extinguisher upside down, listening for the agent movement (literally press ear against extinguisher), checking the pressure, etc. It's a simple process, but you need a properly tuned ear! Other types can be simple (CO2 - simply weigh it) or much more complex (purple K, Halon/Halotron/etc.) |
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said by tvsjr:Rather than throwing it away/replacing it, most fire extinguishers are serviceable. First Alerts may not be (intentionally) but almost any Amerex/etc. will be. Find someone in your area who services/inspects/maintains extinguishers for local businesses. Stop by their facility or give them a call and see if they'd inspect it for you.
I know someone who works in the business. Inspections on dry-chems are done by turning the extinguisher upside down, listening for the agent movement (literally press ear against extinguisher), checking the pressure, etc. It's a simple process, but you need a properly tuned ear! Other types can be simple (CO2 - simply weigh it) or much more complex (purple K, Halon/Halotron/etc.) It's way too old for simple dusting off and thump on the bottom. Non-serviceable extinguishers are "good" for 12 years. Serviceable ones need the agent removed and internals inspected (new O-rings and such) every 6 years and hydrostatic testing after 12 years. CO2 and any other wet agent extinguishers need hydrostatic testing every 5 years. |
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 antdudeMatrix Ant
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join:2001-03-25
US |
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Are those little circular measurement that show red, yellow, and green accurate? I have a few of those that are old too. |
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 cb14
join:2013-02-04
Miami Beach, FL |
to ImpetusEra
the local fire code for commercial properties here requires fire extinguishers to be inspected and certified by a licensed contractor every year and replaced after 10 years.
I would not throw away a 10 y old with the gauge in green after 10 years, rather keep it as an additional line of defense. |
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Lurch77
Premium Member
join:2001-11-22
Green Bay, WI |
Lurch77
Premium Member
2014-Oct-5 7:56 pm
If it is for personal use, and you know it may not be reliable and you accept that risk, maybe. If other people are going to use it, thinking it is good for sure, it could be trouble. |
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John Galt6Forward, March
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Happy Camp |
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Trying to save a few bucks on something that might mean the difference between life and death is false economy.
Our local hardware store just had 1A-10BC extinguishers on sale for ~$11 each. Is the risk of failure worth saving that small amount of money? |
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 KLH
join:2001-09-24
Vincennes, IN
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This thread had me go check my extinguisher in my Kitchen, and I'm glad I did. The date on it is 1987! Guess I better go out and buy a new one. |
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 UHFAll static, all day, Forever
MVM
join:2002-05-24 |
to John Galt6
said by John Galt6:Trying to save a few bucks on something that might mean the difference between life and death is false economy. I wish someone would tell my boss that, our inspections are to have someone look at the gauge once a year and sign the log. And by "someone" I mean any old random employee, not anyone trained in fire extinguisher maintenance. Before we had a fire about 10 years ago they hadn't been inspected since 1978. |
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HarryH3
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join:2005-02-21 |
HarryH3
Premium Member
2014-Oct-6 9:24 am
Wouldn't it be a shame if "someone" mentioned it to the local Fire Marshall...  |
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to dosdoxies
said by dosdoxies:And remember to test them 24 hours before any fire. Yeah sure... I also test my matches to see if they light up. So far not single one has failed. |
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to tvsjr
said by tvsjr:Rather than throwing it away/replacing it, most fire extinguishers are serviceable. First Alerts may not be (intentionally) but almost any Amerex/etc. will be. Find someone in your area who services/inspects/maintains extinguishers for local businesses. Stop by their facility or give them a call and see if they'd inspect it for you. Mine is not serviceable. It is a disposable extinguisher. You use it, you have to fully discharge it and put it in the trash. It might be possible to refill but I doubt any business doing this type of service will want to recharge one of those. As far as inspection is concerned, they will sure do the same thing I did. Look at the pressure indicator pin (no gauge in mine), make sure it pops back up, shake and tap it and feel if the powder moves freely, look at the nozzle to make sure it is clean, look at the container to see if there are no dents or other damage. I did that already. I pressed my ear against the extinguisher as per your comment on that and I can readily hear the dry chemical pouring and moving around. It is quite noticeable and don't think the ears need to be too tuned. At least not for the dry chemical type that I have which you can also feel in your hand when the powder moves by the shifting weight. Can't tell about other types. |
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to John Galt6
said by John Galt6:Trying to save a few bucks on something that might mean the difference between life and death is false economy. I am not trying to save a few bucks. It is just that I wanted to know if an extinguisher that old is fine or not. It is probably fine but at that age it is not worth the risk and they are cheap to replace. |
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moofo
join:2004-02-04
Montreal, QC |
to UHF
I was fortunate enough to come by an Halon extinguisher not so long ago. Since it's gas, they don't need much babying, they don't make a powdery mess when you use them but I won't be able to have it refilled when it's empty.... |
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ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC |
to rfhar
said by rfhar:An old timers trick was to take a rubber hammer and beat the side of it to loosen up the powder inside. I cannot say if beating an extinguisher was helpful. I bought 2 commercial extinguishers last fall and they told me to turn them upside down 1x a year. Since they're in a residential use type application they didn't need anything other than that. Unless the pressure goes down. |
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runnoft
Premium Member
join:2003-10-14
Nags Head, NC |
to John Galt6
said by John Galt6:Trying to save a few bucks on something that might mean the difference between life and death is false economy.
Our local hardware store just had 1A-10BC extinguishers on sale for ~$11 each. Is the risk of failure worth saving that small amount of money? I get your point that a properly working fire extinguisher is important to have, but this is overstated here. In a very few isolated incidents in a normal home or office fire situation in which someone has to fight his way to a blocked exit, a fire extinguisher will "save lives," but typically, smoke detectors save lives, and fire extinguishers reduce damage to property. |
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 ffblackieYou called 911 for this?
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Knoxville, TN
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Re: Useful or shelf life of kitchen fire extinguisherFor a 'servicable' extinguisher (i.e.: not a cheapie), it is supposed to be discharged and visually inspected after 6 years then discharged and hydro tested after 12 years.
Unless you just have wads of cash to burn it's more economical to just buy a new extinguisher every 6 years and then use the old one to practice or train someone on proper use.
At the same time, once or twice a year you should also turn the extinguisher upside down and shake it or tap it lightly with a rubber mallet to keep the dry chemical powder from settling and compacting at the bottom of the extinguisher. |
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