Will my fire extinguisher work?

[DumnMad]

These guys lost a very nice yacht. Thank goodness they were in a good spot for it to happen.

Support stuns pair after boat fire - national | Stuff.co.nz

[ontherocks83]

I'm sure there's a back story to what could have caused the fire but it just goes to show you that things like that can happen at anytime. Just glad they weren't in the middle of the Pacific when it happened

[hellosailor]

Extinguishers always have some type of pressure gauge or test button on them, along with a gross weight to indicate a proper full charge. As long as you look them over every once in a while, the odds are quite high that they will work. But most folks don't realize a "liter" sized extinguisher is about enough to put out a trash basket or a skillet, and a grease fire will often just spread if you hit it with a regular extinguisher. Either way once it spreads, you need more extinguisher, FAST. And they're all not the same, not all equally effective on everything. Then there are the cushions, which are almost always urethane foam, which produces nasty toxins very quickly and also makes darn good fire kindling.

Will they work? Almost always. Will that be good enough? Maybe.

[ozskipper]

Perhaps its time to give the dry powder extinguishers a shake,, They need it from time to time.

[FSMike]

The materials in fire extinguishers tend to settle over time, often into a quite solid mass at the bottom of the canister. When this happens, you usually have a nonfunctional extinguisher.
To prevent this, once a month or so turn the extinguisher upside down and beat on it with a rubber hammer. You should be able the sense the materials sliding back and forth from one end to the other when you turn it back and forth.

[StuM]

Don't just glance at the guage to see if it is in the green. Also take a good look under the handle at the safety pin and spring/plunger.

Last boat fire I was involved in (a Maritimo 48 had an electrical fire about 4 miles away from the Marina while I was on SAR duty), a couple of extinguishers had rusted/seized plungers.

[bobconnie]

And folks call me old fashion for haveing All kinds of CO2 extinguishers aboard along with the REQUIRED ones !! Fire is one of the things Im really afraid of !! Most all of the things that can happen at sea I feel I am perpared for and can handle! But fire is real scarey thing when your alone out there ! Never happend yet but my CO2 stuff has handled a couple of small things real fast, before it could spread! Sure hope these folks get back to sea soon and that there dream is still strong !!

[Emmalina]

Originally Posted by ozskipper

Perhaps its time to give the dry powder extinguishers a shake,, They need it from time to time.

My friend used to service extinguishers.. Turn upside down and bang with a rubber hammer to loosen the powder... You can feel it drop!!!!!
I also found a new type here in a hardware store that sprays water mist.... Interesting so i bought one. Hope I never have to try it !!!

[StuM]

> guage

Too late to edit. You know what I mean