My friend believes that once a fire extinguisher has been used, it will not work again until recharged. I however do not agree, if anyone could help me settle this dispute it would be greatly appreciated.
2007-05-11 09:25:01 · 6 answers · asked by John H 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Other - Home & Garden
Excellent question!
Lots of answers here and some good logic too!
Let me first say, you are your friend are both right, to a certain extent.
Once you use a fire extinguisher, you will always want to have it recharged after, no matter how much agent is left in the unit.
WHY?
The extinguisher may work again, depending on the type, but MOST will leak off once chemical has entered the valve. Dry chemical, foams, and halogenated agents are notorious for this. For example, the dry chemical gets on the clean o-rings after the unit is activated so they are not sealing the unit anymore and the nitrogen (the propellant) will now slowly leak off. It may only be a matter of hours or a few days before the pressure will be at zero. At that point the unit is unusable and your friend would surely be right. Foams and halogenated agents can have the same effect, but the leak will be slower. (Weeks instead of days or hours.) Most CO2 will actually hold a charge for some time, but since CO2 units don't have gauges, you have no way of knowing if there's still pressure or not.
Now that you know that. Here's food for thought:
If you had to extinguish a fire and you can't save the agent for future use, why not just use the whole unit to help insure the fire stays out!
2007-05-12 16:40:45 · answer #1 · answered by todvango 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
For safety reasons, once you have used a fire extinguisher, you need to get it recharged no matter how full it is. You don't want to have a partial charge the next time you need it.
2007-05-11 14:35:46 · answer #2 · answered by legityeti 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If not empty, it will work again. Problem comes when you need it and it has very little product left in it. Once an extinguisher is used, it should be recharged.
2007-05-11 09:30:43 · answer #3 · answered by sensible_man 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like your talking about a CO2 extinguisher.
1- Yes - for a short time.
2- Dry chemical - best to have full pressure available.
3- Liquid invert - (mixed chemical) - No
4- Liquid Pump - Till your arm gets tired or the liquid is gone.
Good Luck - But don't stretch it ! ! !
2007-05-11 10:26:16 · answer #4 · answered by norman8012003 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they recommend having it recharged for obvious reasons. safety first i guess, plus they get money too. if its not all used, it ll still work, but in case of a real fire, a full extinguisher would be a nice thing to have
2007-05-11 09:32:15 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Once the pin has punctured the safety diaphragm, the c02 begins to leak out slowly. It will not be too long before all the pressure is gone-then it will not work.
2007-05-11 09:41:25 · answer #6 · answered by johnnywalker 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋