Hi Brijacq, welcome to the forum I don't know if it's the law to fit them but our Retreat came with a fire extinguisher mounted in a cupboard.

Mine came with one under the seat of the lounge.

I installed another just by the entrance & one in the Patrol too.

Must get a fire blanket for the kitchen.

All so cheap too.

If I bought another it would be foam. The Co2 are bulky. expensive and selective.

Powder seem to be the preferred choice for our job.
I have one in everything that rolls and floats
2 boats. 2 cars, and a caravan.

6x4 for garden rubbish can help itself.

I believe all new vans are to be equipped with a powder extinguisher and a smoke alarm. The reasoning is the smoke alarm wakes you up and you have to fight through the toxic fire fumes from all the plastic burning to where your fire extinguisher is by the front door at the other end of the caravan. Why don't caravans have two doors, just imagine the air flow from a sea breeze with two doors on a caravan! In Victoria, minimum is the smallest powder type extinguisher. Every two months, grab it out of your caravan, check the dial and give at least a dozen light taps with a hammer to get the powder moving and re-settle it. If the guage shows recharge, throw it in the bin and buy a new one.

I use a small rubber mallet to the same thing. Works better and no damage to metal, only I do it at the start of each month, a few taps and all ok. IMO.

I have 2 extinguishers for the van and 1 for the tug and they all get bashed, no favourite's with me.



Keep Safe on the roads and out there.

Tony Bev wrote:

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Back in the day, as a young man in a very small town, it was the task of the volunteer fire brigade, to replenish the fire extinguishers.
After removing the powder we would put it through a fine sieve, before replacing it
For whatever reason, there was sometimes hard caked powder which had to be thrown away

In an out of date fire extinguisher, there is always the chance that some of the dry powder has gone hard

(We can see what pressure we have, by looking at the gauge but we can not see the condition of the dry powder)

In a worst case scenario, if the caked dry powder blocks the tube or nozzle end while the extinguisher is being used, you will end with no more powder coming out
I am not sure, so I could be wrong, that hitting the fire extinguisher with a rubber mallet, would actually break up any caked powder, as the powder became fairly hard when it went into a cake form

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 Reminds me of my younger days in small country town. I had to check & refill all of my extinguishers on an annual basis.

There were several types including the brass CTC??? ones that were filled with a fluid that was very good as a dry cleaning fluid.  I think that they worked by twisting the handle & pumping out the fluid. Of course they were always empty.  Then there were the ones that you tipped upside down & gave them a good bump & directed the foam? to the fire until they ran out.  Couldn't turn them off.  But best of all were the CO2? ones that went WOOSH & sent out great clouds of CO2 when you pulled the trigger.  Great for chilling beer long necks & scaring the unwary.

.......................................

This thread reminded me to check my extinguishers in the van.  The original 19YO one was indicating 'refill' so I replaced it with one of those on sale at Aldi.

-- Edited by Cupie on Wednesday 8th of March 2017 08:07:11 PM

-- Edited by Cupie on Thursday 9th of March 2017 12:00:08 AM

most have powder units and located just inside the door on the side of the cupboards above the stove.

Great for use if you get an unexpected visitor at night. Take the unit down, pull the plastic pin lock out and let them have a face full - better then trying to swing a base ball bat or whatever

I keep my old, replaced, extinguisher tucked away in the corner near the new wall mounted one on the basis that if I have failed to put the fire out with the new one I may as well give the old one a try.

Just got my hands on an Aldi 1 Kg (on special) fire extinguisher

It has a 5 year warranty, a tag you can punch a hole in the month year (just like the old time car batteries)

The bookwork Service Instructions say

Quote
Maintain it in accordance Australian Standard AS1851

Every Six Months

1. Check that the extinguisher has not been discharged
2. Check the extinguisher for damage and corrosion
3. Check operating pressure. Gauge pointer should be in the green zone
4. Check that nozzle is not blocked
5. Invert extinguisher to ensure that powder remains free flowing
6. Check cylinder date stamp. If over 5 years old the cylinder requires a pressure test and refilling

NOTE: Where fire extinguisher is subject to constant vibration or extreme heat (eg in vehicles) more frequent checks are recommended
Unquote

 

So, after 5 years just buy a new one to comply with Standards, as they range between $15 and $30. Cost of test/refill would be more than that. Thanks all.