RFI kitchen/home fire extinguisher

[STI]

My search-fu is weak or I can't find this topic here.

Advice from those who are in the know, as to what features, size, or specific models I should be looking for?

Thanks!

[whomever]

I don't claim to be an expert, but my preferences:

1)I like ones with a pressure gauge. I have had ones with the gauge that lost pressure after a few years. W/o the gauge, you'd never know.
2)I always get ABC rated ones. A=wood paper etc, B=liquids (cooking oil), C=electrical. I don't want to have to match a particular extinguisher to a particular fire in the heat ... pun intended ... of the moment.
3)I'm of the 'bigger is better' school of thought. Maybe I'm compensating, but I'd hate to have it run out at an inopportune time. Our vehicle ones are 1A:10BC, the house ones are 3A:40BC and up.
4)There are kinds that make less of a mess than dry chemical ones. I don't care; if I'm using a fire extinguisher inside my house, the resulting mess is not a priority at the moment. Reasonable people can disagree about that.
5)I recently learned that the powder inside the extinguisher can cake up over time. Best practice is to annually grab that sucker and shake the heck out of it, until you feel the contents sloshing around.
6)Always mount it between the place of likely use and the exit. You never want to be going deeper into a burning structure to get the extinguisher. Don't die trying to save your house; you have homeowner's for a reason. Call 911 before dicking around with an extinguisher.

[peterb]

Good list. I’ll add:

I prefer metal handles to plastic.

Make sure everyone who might have to use it can handle it. Bigger is not better if someone can’t lift and aim it.

[Cookie Monster]

I’ve got 6 - 4 in the House - kitchen, next to wood stove, next to my bed, and in the closet next to the kids room - 2 upstairs and 2 downstairs. A mix of 5 and 10lb extinguishers - ABC types I got the at Home Depot. I made sure they were refillable and I aimed for the higher price point ones.

2 more 20lb in the detached garage if I need back up. I live in the sticks and the volunteers are probably 20 to 30 minutes out even thought the fire station is a mile away.

I take 3 in a year to the local welding gas supply place and get them checked, usually got to leave them for a few days. Clint Smith inspired the madness.

[NEPAKevin]

Good list. I’ll add:

I prefer metal handles to plastic.

Make sure everyone who might have to use it can handle it. Bigger is not better if someone can’t lift and aim it.

Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

[Sasage]

Firefighter/Medic here.

I would recommend an ABC for general purpose and a Class K if you do a lot of cooking/frying with oil.

Metal hardware with a pullpin.

Have them staged where they are readily available at a point of egress. If you have to go through a fire in the kitchen to get an extinguisher it's no bueno.

We use Amerex brand extinguishers on the trucks .

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk

[TQP]

Lots of good info so far.

What you want is an ABC rated dry chemical extinguisher. I will echo the recommendation up thread that bigger is not necessarily better, you want something everyone can handle/maneuver. The 1-A:10-B-C I just googled up weighs 4 pounds.

www.fireengineering.com fire-extinguisher-testing . I think they may have changed the testing procedure slightly since this article was written, but this will give you an idea of how much fire a trained operator can put out with one of these things.

The smaller BC rated dry chem extinguishers have the same filler as the ABC ones, they just don't have enough agent to put out one of those test cribs.

I personally have a 1-A:10-B-C across the hall from my kitchen ( on the way out, as previously mentioned) and one in my garage. I should have 1 in the basement too. I'm going to Lowe's when I get off work anyway, I'll pick one up.

I will repeat the advice to call 911 first, and only then consider trying to fight the fire.

If you're in Cookie Monster's situation, and are likely to be on your own for a while, you may want to roll heavier.

[beenalongtime]

Lot's of good advice that I won't reiterate. I will ask, where do you work?

Do you have fire extinguishers there, and how often do they get inspected?
I get/buy them from our supplier, as I can get larger extinguishers, cheaper from him, then what I can buy them from elsewhere (he buys in bulk). I still would like and need to replace a little one, that I gave to a neighbor who had a self repair incident. That is my toy car one. (old VW)
A trick our guy taught me was to tap the bottom with a rubber mallet, to help with settling.

[TQP]

Extinguishers in commercial service are supposed to be inspected once a year.

The annual inspection consists of the service guy coming out, checking the gauge, the hydrostatic test date (most are good for 12 years), the nozzle for obstructions (spider eggs, dead bugs, etc), and whacking the extinguisher a few times with a rubber mallet.

I don't keep a rubber mallet in my kitchen, but I do bounce that one on the floor a couple times when I think about it.

[RoyGBiv]

IIRC, I paid $40 for these at Costco a few months ago.
https://www.costco.com/First-Alert-F...100351496.html

Features:3-A, 40-B:C UL Rating
Multi-purpose use
5 LBS

I also have an additional 10 pounder near the kitchen and another on the deck near the grill.

Thanks for the reminders to place them between the potential fire source and the exit. I relocated the smaller one in the kitchen.