Fire Extinguisher recommendation update

[Brian Kent]

Planning my fire extinguisher needs:

20' x 24' garage woodworking shop. Some equipment on the opposite end of the garage as the door.
ABC rating
I am deciding between a 5lb and 10lb unit near the door.
Also considering a 2.5lb or 5lb on the opposite corner in case I am stuck in the garage with a fire near the door.

Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

I have read past threads, which is where I came up with these guidelines, so I am just double-checking before I "pull the handle".

[Marty Tippin]

I didn't do a lot of research, just bought the next-to-biggest one they had at the local Big Box. It's hanging right by the door. Right next to where the first aid kid would be if I ever got around to buying one... ;-)

[Bill Adamsen]

Brian:

Important topic ... thanks for bringing it up ... prompted me to check all my gauges and re-read instructions. I have two 9 lb. in the shop (3A:40B:C) one mounted by the door, and another by the cyclone bin. But there are many windows so it would be hard to get trapped by a fire. Locations means no more than twenty feet away from anything in the shop. I will get another - likely two actually - for the lower level. That has just one large door, so I'll need to think strategically about placement. I point the extinguishers out to every visitor and quiz my kids on how to use. Good topic!

[Rick Moyer]

Something else: I believe the box store ones are not re-fillable, whereas the better ones can be re-filled. I'm not sure on cost differences, but something else to take into consideration maybe.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Brian....check at your local Costco store if you ;are a member. I found the most affordable deal there.

[Charles Lent]

Keep in mind that dry chemical extinguishers make a huge mess and the powder is difficult to get out of machinery once it gets in there. With the sizes of dry chemical extinguishers that you have all chosen, I think you will all be pretty well covered for the sizes of your shops, but I suggest that you each find yourselves one 20 lb CO2 fire extinguisher and plan to "use it first" when you have a fire. CO2 won't leave behind a huge mess like the other extinguishers and you can use it on almost any kind of fire, although the CO2 extinguisher is technically not rated for paper and wood fires like the dry chemical is, it will still put out a small wood or paper fire, just not as well as the dry chemical.

I'm saying this because you will likely discover a fire very quickly if it occurs while you are in your shop and while it's still a relatively small fire it should be easy to put out with the CO2 extinguisher. If you can put the fire out with this extinguisher you will have no mess, other than the immediate fire damage, to cope with. If you use a dry chemical extinguisher on this small fire you are going to create a huge cloud of this chemical dust that's going to get into all of the tools and materials that you have in your wood shop, as well as your lungs. Instead of a 10 minute clean-up you will likely spend several days or weeks cleaning up after using this dry chemical extinguisher. The dry chemical is rated for wood fires and the CO2 is not, but CO2 can still work on smaller fires if you can use it quick enough. If it fails, you still have the dry chemical there to back it up. At this point you will want the fire out and no longer care if you have a big mess clean up afterward.

I'm a retired fire marshal and I have a 20 lb CO2 and two 10 lb dry chemical extinguishers in my 14 X 26 wood shop. The CO2 and one of the dry chemical extinguishers is located next to the door and near my usual work area. The second dry chemical is on the opposite end of the shop near the garage door. There is also an outside water faucet and 50' garden hose between the doors. It may be frozen in part of the year, but it's good fire protection the rest of the year. I will always use the CO2 extinguisher first, unless it's a whole wall sized fire.

Always call the fire department when you have a fire, even if you think it's out. If you can yell to someone to do this for you while you are using the extinguishers, great. If not, call them as soon as you have used the first 1 or 2 extinguishers, whether or not the fire is out. Don't wait until you have used all three or more extinguishers, the neighbor's, and your own garden hoses, and the fire is now consuming half of your shop. Do it as soon as you leave the building. Remember, it takes long and very precious minutes for the firemen to arrive. If you think it's out, tell them this when you call. They will make certain that it's out and determine what caused it when they arrive, but they won't risk their own lives getting there if they are told that it appears to be out. Their investigation after their arrival will later help you make the insurance claim.

Charley

[Lon Crosby]

Forwood shops, there are vastly better solutions than powder and/or CO2. It is astandard 2.5 gallon pressurized tank filled with water and a quart of emulsifier/penetrantsolution such as ColdFire. Not toxic (you can actually spray people down), noresidue (other than soap) and superior performance. Works on combustibles(wood, paper, etc.), fuels including alcohols, metals and electrical (if youhave an EU approved micro-spray nozzle on your extinguisher; or in a pinch). Youcan use salt to make it freeze proof or use RV antifreeze instead of pure waterwhen you fill the extinguisher but I don’t think that the use of RV antifreeze (a propylene glycol in water solution) is UL approvedyet. The biggest advantage is that it is inexpensive so that you and everyoneelse in your family can practice putting out real training fires.

[Steve Meliza]

Where are good places to look for professional quality/size fire extinguishers? I'd like to have a pressurized water extinguisher too.

[James Nugnes]

So Lon I am wondering if you have experience with the extinguishers sold by ColdFire itself. Apparently they come with aspirating foaming nozzles as the standard and you can get the extinguisher and ColdFire from the same supplier.

Any experience with the extinguishers from ColdFire?

[Chris Fairbanks]

Zoro is having a 20% off sale if you spend $300. Not going to cover that with extinguishers but if there are a few other tools you need then you can get a sweet deal on Amerex extinguishers. I have a 20lb dry, a large co2 and a large pressurized water in my shop now. The nice thing with the water one is I have been able to show my wife and son on how to use an extinguisher and they feel comfortable if they ever have to use one now.

[Lon Crosby]

James, I use their concentrate in extinguishers placed on mechanical equipment (farm tractors, combines, trucks, cars, etc.) and in buildings. For the 2.5 gallon extinguisher per se, I buy them at yard sales and re-condition them if necessary. I also use hand pumped garden sprayers and backpack sprayers in what the prairie and timber stand improvement communities call controlled burns where cold-fire’s concentrate goes into the back-up sprayers. The primary sprayers, which are used for fire control, use a simple mix of liquid dish-washing soap and water. The hand-pumped sprayers are actually easier to use and more effective in most situations. The control of spray pressure and spray pattern lets one do a lot with a little bit of liquid as opposed to releasing a blast of water and flooding everything. For extinguishers in building and on vehicles/equipment, the added performance of Cold-fire or equivalent is worth the money.