Fire Extinguishers

Annual visits to the fire extinguisher service facility is a good idea too.

You don't need to "pound it". A few gentle raps on the bottom edge, working around the edge, the shake it. You should be able to feel the power "sloshing" inside the cylinder. That lets kyou know that it hasn't compacted at the bottom.

nomad.297 wrote:
The best thing to do would be to replace the miniature extinguishers provided with RVs with one of suitable size and purpose.

Bruce

Those in an RV that you call miniature do suit their purpose. They are meant to extinguish a very small fire or to knock down a larger fire in order to escape from the RV, They are not intended to douse a raging fire.

There's nothing wrong with them but they do need frequent beating or they won't work. I replaced mine with an AFFF by the door and sent the factory powder outside to a storage bay. I also added another much larger powder on a cranny for "that" time just in case. Additionally, AFFF in the bedroom, Halon in the kitchen, and three automatic AFFF & Halon in the fridge and engine.

The beatings happen today

The best thing to do would be to replace the miniature extinguishers provided with RVs with one of suitable size and purpose.

Bruce

I got rid of my dry power little extinguisher and bought three Foam type extinguishers to distribute around our motor home. In most cases, the Foam type extinguishers are superior to the dry chemical type. I'd recommend anyone concerned about fire and their response to go to this web site for information and products. Mac the Fire Guy

In commercial use the facility will have a fire prevention service come in and inspect, and certify their extinguishers per a schedule (I think monthly) and yes, they do that for Dry Chem types.. Wet chem types (Contact Mac The Fire Guy) do not need this type of service and may actually do a better job on most fires.

(Mac explains way better than I do). Of course the best place to be in a fire...

ELSEWHERE, but that's not always an option.

I have the 5 pound toy that came with the RV
A 25 pounder I need to get serviced when I get back to MI.
And two Wet Bottles (About a pint each) from Mac the Fire Guy.

And a water bottle.. Compressed air over water, Re-filled and re-compressed when needed,, This is my "Campfire" extinguisher so it gets a lot of use.

Modified garden sprayer (I added an automotive valve stem so I can "pump it up": with my air compressor instead of elbow grease).

RoyF wrote:
I pound mine once every month year round. Someone on this forum who claimed to be an expert recommended monthly shaking or pounding.

I turn the dry chemical fire extinguishers that I have in my home and in our garage upside down once a year and hit them with a hard rubber mallet several times.

I can see and understand why it may be a good idea to do the same to dry chemical extinguishers in an RV more often like suggested. From the jostling they get while traveling down the road, the dry chemical powered will settle more quickly and pack to a pretty hard substance. Once that happens, if you need to use the extinguisher, basically all you will get out is compressed gas.

I pound mine once every month year round. Someone on this forum who claimed to be an expert recommended monthly shaking or pounding.