Cottage Q&A
QUESTIONIs it possible to refill a fire extinguisher? I had to use mine to put out a small blaze at the cottage and would like to top it up again.
ANSWER
There are two types of household fire extinguishers: rechargeable and disposable. Which type you have may be printed right on the cylinder along with the instructions for use.
If not, and if you no longer have the package it came in, you can find out by taking it to a recharging service, advises Stephen Hernen, fire chief for Lake of Bays and Huntsville townships. (Look in the Yellow Pages under "Fire Extinguishers.") If the fittings and nozzle are made of plastic, it's probably the disposable type, says Raffi Nersesian, product manager for extinguisher manufacturer Kidde Safety. If they're metal, it may be designed to be recharged.
However, Nersesian notes, even if it's described as rechargeable, a small, inexpensive ($20-$30) extinguisher can cost almost that much to recharge. As well, using and recharging it can weaken the gaskets and seals so it slowly loses pressure - letting you down when you need it. Hernen adds that the older the extinguisher, the less trustworthy its gaskets are - so if it's been stored at your cottage for 10-12 years, you'd be better off replacing it.
Small all-purpose extinguishers such as we've described above are typically rated 1A-10BC. A heavier-duty extinguisher, such as one rated 3A-40 BC or 4A-60BC, made for use in offices and workshops, is generally more robustly built - so it tends to be worth recharging, and is more trustworthy when recharged.
If you decide to buy a new extinguisher, remember to discharge the old one completely before disposing of it with your garbage. (If punctured or incinerated, a pressurized cylinder could explode.) Alternatively, suggests Nersesian, you could purchase a new one but keep the old one handy too, so you have extra firefighting power in a future cottage emergency.
* Published in the September/October 2003 issue of Cottage Life
