I have some questions about fire extinguishers, specifically 10lb'ers. I
have been looking at them for a while now (probably a couple of years) and
am going to spend the money and pick a couple up. They seem to be a
commodity item as they are always ~$30us, although I have seen some on sale
for $25-$27, rarely. What I have noticed as different are the different
ratings, two different ones actually (sorry I don't remember what they are,
one is an ANSI standard I think). What are the differences between the
standards? Also what is required for USCG approval?
Some features I am looking for are
- 10 lbs or greater (but price will probably limit me to 10lbs, unless I
can pick up something larger used cheap).
- Good rubber nozzle
- USCG approval
- Metal Bracket
- ABC of course, all my general purpose extinguishers are,
What else should I put on the list?
Anyone got a line on these things, perhaps in quantity?
Also any experience in Halon/alternative for electronics? I may be sitting
on a sizable investment in electronics soon and may need to equip the house
with one or two.
Fire extinguisher inspection, can't you just weigh the extinguisher with an
accurate scale to check it (against an established baseline)?
Also I was told a long time ago (probably in a USCG course when I was a
kid, learned some real good stuff there, and I was just a young brat of
maybe 10 who wasn't even taking the course (folks were). to shake the
extinguishers periodically to keep the powder from caking. Also to
shake or in the case of larger bottles just to give them a quick tap or two
on the ground before using (I know, in an emergency who remembers, but?).
This is a good idea, right?
Thanks
Matt Wehland
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