Fire extinguisher

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Anybody know of a good source of fire extinguisher.  What type would be best for welding?  I have a disposable one, fortunatly have never used it.  Looking for something rechargeable and portable.Thanks.
Reply:Water is best for welding because it has the greatest cooling effect.  You can recharge and refill water filled extinguishers at home using something as simple as a bicycle pump.
Reply:get yourself a halon extinquishertakes the oxygen away so fast nothing has a chance ...zap!
Reply:Originally Posted by 76GMC1500Water is best for welding because it has the greatest cooling effect.  You can recharge and refill water filled extinguishers at home using something as simple as a bicycle pump.
Reply:Halon is an environmental hazard in that it is extremely efficient at destroying the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere that protects all of life on earth from the sun's UV.  While you can still buy Halon fire extinguishers, production of new Halon was prohibited back in the mid-90s and all Halon now in use is recovered/recycled from older uses like fire extinguishers.While Halon is an excellent fire suppressant and is very clean to use, as it leaves no residue, I'm not sure it is a good idea to use it for mundane situations like in a welding shop.  It would be a shame to discharge it on a burning rag that could have been adequately handled with another less damaging suppressant.  It is mandated for aircraft uses, and the remaining stocks would be better preserved for such critical applications.  Once it is discharged, it is lost forever and is eventually going to work on the ozone layer.  I'm not sure of the actual numbers, but I believe that I have heard that one Halon molecule can destroy thousands of ozone molecules before being broken down.  I see in the Grainger catalog that a material called Halotron is claimed to have the advantages of Halon without the environmental risk.I'm not knowledgeable enough to recommend a fire extinguisher best suited to welding shops, but a fire extinguisher service shop might be able to advise you.  I have a couple of 25 pound CO2 bottles and a couple of 10 pound dry chemical extinguishers around my shop.  I think pressurized water extinguishers would be very well suited for welding shop use, as it is extremely likely that a fire would be at the work location, not in the welding machine or electrical system.Don't limit yourself to a single "perfect" fire extinguisher.  Perhaps a good strategy would be to have pressurized water extinguishers around the shop for wood/paper/rag fires and a couple of CO2 extinguishers for electrical fires.awright
Reply:Seeing as I do both wood and metal work in my shop and have managed to set the saw dust (and myself) on fire several times, I went out and got a 5lb ABC Kidde Extinguisher at Lowes (less than $25 on sale).   FOr my needs an ABC is the best choice because it handles flamable liquids (A), flamable solids (B) and electrical fires (C).   Funny though, I've not had any incidents since placing the extinguisher in my workshop.There are no small projects
Reply:Halon is the single perfect extinguisher and I don't think it should have been banned because an out of control fire puts out a lot more ozone depleting chemicals than discharging a halon extinguisher.  There are a few new kinds of halon coming out that are supposed to be very effective.  Some kind of propane base instead of fluorocarbon base.
Reply:get an ABC 20 pound  bottle..good  for  electric/wood/paper/gasmost home insurance plans will fill them for  free(if you are not making an insurance claim)
Reply:Dry powder is a good choice for several reasons:   When placed properly at the base of the flames the heat on the powder continues to produce carbon dioxide to snuff out the flame.  If you weld magnesium you can select special powders that can handle burning metals ( expensive)    Carbon dioxide gives a low amount of punch for the weight although it doesn't leave residue.  A breeze carries it away rapidly.     Halon and other specialty chemicals are intended for electrical fires or where damage can be done to wiring or fragile components.  They are dangerous in confined spaces.      Several 2.5 pounders located strategically is a lot better than any single unit over ten pounds.     Used properly in short bursts at the base of the flames a 2.5 pounder is all you need.  After that it is time to start running because the fire is pretty damned big and there is no use being a dead hero.     As mentioned dry powder is a universal extinguisher A,B,C
Reply:Halon is safe to breath.  In sufficient concentration, it will displace oxygen just as CO2, but the concetration required to extinguish a fire is much lower than CO2.  You will breath more quickly and be light headed, but you wont be dead.
Reply:OK, here is a queston to ponder.  We weld with argon and CO2...wouldnt both make good extinguishers...I have a couple of small (40cf) bottles of each and at the pressure they are at, they might even blow out a fire...or maybe blow the fire into the yard...What about that for a fire extinguisher that's refillable at your local welding supply store.  Any thoughts???Note, I havent tried this...I have a bucket of sand.I have always been sooo much better at starting fires than putting them out.Last edited by smithboy; 03-10-2006 at 04:31 PM.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Thanks for all the responses.  I think I will get a few more small ABC extinguisher.  I hadn't thought about sand for the shop, though I have some.Smithboy, that is a creative solution.  However, in my own speculation I think since the Argon is inert, it really just takes up space not allowing O2 to enter it environment.  So if the entire fire were encased with argon, then it would eventually burn out.  Otherwise I think the argon would just temporarily extinguish a  path where it immediately made contact.  Perhaps the CO2 would be present in quantities great enough to extinguish the flame.  Not sure what produce arise when CO2 burns.  I think you get some water from the reaction, though.  Just specutating, perhaps there is a chemist, who can comment.
Reply:CO2 is already fully oxidized carbon, so there are no products of combustion of CO2.  It is a cooling and smothering agent, only.I believe that CO2 tends to remain closer to the ground and, therefore, function better as a fire suppressant than, say, argon because it is much colder than argon after discharge.  This is a result of being vaporized from the liquid form in which it is stored in the bottle, whereas argon is simply highly compressed gas in the bottle.  In fact, you can also get dry ice "snow" after the initial discharge cools the CO2 bottle, keeping the material near the ground and cooling the fire even more effectively as the snow continues to vaporize.The liquid form of storage also allows a larger volume of CO2 to be stored in a given size of bottle compared to most other gasses that do not liquify at room temperature at practical bottle pressures.  Since CO2 liquifies at about 900 PSI at room temperature, a lower pressure bottle can be used compared to the 3000 PSI bottle required for most other gasses.  This means that you have more gas and less steel in your fire extinguisher.I'd guess that argon would be much less effective at fire suppression than CO2, but use it if that's all you have at hand.  But it would probably take you longer to unlimber an argon bottle from storage or from its hose/regulator hookup than the time you have available in a real fire.  I definitely would not rely on my argon bottle for routine fire protection.awrightLast edited by awright; 03-11-2006 at 01:47 PM.