I guess that it is time to replace the Fire X

[Mike G.]

During the weekend I replaced all of the cabin fire extinguishers on my 1977 Pearson 323. While nosing around the cockpit lazarette I found one mounted in a corner. It has an expiration date of 1978. I wonder if I can bring it to the Antique Road Show for an appraisal?

Mike

 

[Ed Schenck]

Do they really expire? There is so much expense and trouble with expiration dates. There are the fire ext's. and the flares and I worry about the PFD cartridges. Then you spend the bucks and still have to find a way to get rid of the old ones.

Who has been inspected and were you up-to-date? If not then what did the CG do?

 

[Rich Stidger]

I am not aware of the dry chemical type expiring. I've always thought that as long as they will shake and you can feel the powder moving and that the pressure gauge is in the green, that they are OK.

On the other hand, I have a couple of halon-type automatics in my engine and genset compartments and they must be weighed and certified every six months in order to satisfy CG requirements. I take them to my local fire extinguisher service shop and they weigh and tag them for me at no charge. I do this in April each year and then I am good for almost the entire boating season.

The issue with the halon-type is that they can lose charge and still show proper pressure. Weighing is the only way to determine if they are still sufficiently charged. One year I had one that was about 20-30% low. It was only about 4 years old. Fireboy agreed that it should last much longer, and they replaced it for me at no charge including shipping both ways. Good company IMHO.

 

[ghost]

Who has been inspected and were you up-to-date? If not then what did the CG do?

I got inspected by the Marine Police/CG about 10 years ago while motoring along in 2 knots of breeze.

They wanted to know how many people were on board and I had to show them the same # of life jackets. (no problemo)

They wanted to see my up to date flares. I had lots of flares(I keep all my out of date flares just in case) but the 12 current flares I needed were 1 year expired. ($300 problem.) They took all my info from my drivers licence and wrote a $300 fine.

They then checked for my VHF radio licence and Toronto Harbour Licence. (No problemo)

They were quite firm & all business and I was polite to them the whole time but thinking back I think a warning would have been appropriate.

I did learn my lesson and now make sure everything is legal including fire extinguishers.

 

[Rick D]

In A Related Topic....

...not a hijack, but more of a sideswipe, I was going through my equipment check list for a race and found my 12 gauge flare cartridges are expiring this month. I went to four West Marines and one Boatersworld to find they were unavailable and backordered. Of course, they have a brand-new whole kit for $90 if I wanted to buy it... Looked on-line only to find that they can't be shipped; no surprise there. Annoying to say the least. I e-mailed the race committee so they would take it into consideration during inspections.

 

[Paul Cossman]

I had my dry chemical type fire extinguishers re-certified in NZ, and after noting that the pressure was still in the "green" area of the gauge, the guy just pounded the fire extinguisher tank with a rubber mallet (to shake up the settled powder) and hand shook the unit. That was all he did before giving me a new certification. Here in the US the re-certifier took the head off the tank and refilled it with powder and recharged it. The NZ experience was almost free; the US experience almost as much as a completely new unit. Now I just use the mallet myself and don't bother with the certifications. A couple of months ago the USCG boarded and did a safety inspection, and they considered the fire extinguishers acceptable since they were in the "green" on the gauges. I just assumed that they don't require recent certifications on them. Am I wrong about that?

 

[ITMaster]

I'm not sure about the USGC or other Law Enforcement Agency requirements regarding expiration of Fire Extinguishers for private use. From what I have found, they don't seem to have an expiration date for private use.

In a commercial environment, such as I am in (non-marine BTW), we are required to conduct a Hydro Test every 6 years or replace the bottle. The cost of a new replacement extinguisher is the same as the Hydro Test, so I replace them.

It seems that the authorities are more strict for commercial applications than for personal use.

For routine inspections, unscrew the hose and back blow it out to insure no mud dobbers or spiders or other critters have set up a shop in there and verify the meter shows in the green. Make sure the pin is in place and that a light weight break away retainer tab is present to prevent accidental loss of the pin or discharge of the bottle. Additionally, the rubber mallet and shaking of the contents is a good monthly habit to get into to help prevent settlement and packing of the bicarb.

With regard to replacement though, it would seem a shame to have a device on board that one would consider satisfactory for an intended use, to only have it fail when it need not. I make practice of replacement every 6 years and retain the expired for a backup like many do with the flares.

Eventually, we will conduct an informal "Proper Use of a Fire Extinguisher" workshop at our local marina and put down a burn pan and let the kids or anyone that wants to get some experience with the use and handling of a fire bottle get the experience, and I use those old ones for that.

 

[TimCup]

Ed, I was stopped by the CG-

I was using the powerboat and was actually speeding (certainly not a problem in the sailboat!), and they checked EVERYTHING- expiration on flares, extinguishers, life vest count, throwable flotation, etc. The only thing he didn't check was the Halon system in the engine area. I actually keep most of the safety items in a large bag, and take it to whatever boat I'm using, so keeping things up-to-date is pretty easy (also, because there areat least 5 West Marines or Boaters Worlds within 20 minutes!).

cup

ps- in the intercoastal, you USUALLY assume regular speed after going under a bridge, but this sign said to remain at "no wake" and I didn't pay attention. Got off with a warning!

 

[Benny]

I believe dry chemical extinguishers do have an expiration date but it is something like 10-15 years. Do shake them once or twice a year to prevent the chems from settling. I have used marine (white) and household (red) extinguishers interchangeably, is there a difference? I think I looked once and the type of fires covered were the same.