Lin > wrote in
est:

> Pete C. wrote:
>
>> No, you can not test fire a fire extinguisher. If you test fire it,
>> besides the obvious loss of capacity, the valve will not fully seal
and
>> the remaining pressure will leak down to zero in short order.
>
> Admittedly, when I read that particular question in the poll I somehow
> misread it and clicked on the "yes" for test firing.


Well, I 'test fired' my kitchen extinguisher about 2 weeks ago.

Got a frantic call that a nearby neighbours washing machine had caught
fire in their garage.

I grabbed the ext off the wall from the kitchen, and another from the
boot of my car, and raced over.

Electrical smoke and fumes, and dry powder dust in a confined space is
*not* a good thing to taste!!

If it had been left a few minutes more, the whole house would have gone
up. The Fire Brigade didn't arrive till about 6 minutes after I'd put it
out.

The *very* happy neighbours have since replaced both extinguishers for
me, and have bought some of their own :-)



> Not such a bad
> thing, because it made me curious about the extinguisher and I find
that
> there is indeed no way to test without pulling the pin. It's a fairly
> good size model, very weighty, that stands ready to serve in our
pantry
> -- about five steps from the stove.


Just check the pressure gauge periodically. If it starts to slip into
the red, pull the pin and practice with it...... *after* you have bought
a replacement and installed it :-)



--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia

I was having dinner with my boss and his wife and she said to me, "How

many potatoes would you like Peter?". I said "Ooh, I'll just have one

please". She said "It's OK, you don't have to be polite" "Alright" I

said "I'll just have one then, you stupid cow".