They should be serviced every 12 months, I think a discharge test should be done every 10 years,check with your supplier

thanks for your advice. My query started because I've just found out that last year our maintenance provider claimed that they were past their life and charged us a exhorbitant price to replace. The ones he took away were like new and have been maintained religiously since they were bought about 7 years ago.

I have to admit that one of our regional offices once mentioned to me that they had all their fire extinguishers replaced - by a large, nationwide supply company - as they were now out of date. It was news to me and I meant to go away and look it up - but forgot. It is a small office, nothing special or unusual. I think we moved into it less than five years ago! Ever feel you have been conned?

Powder, foam and water are required to be inspected yearly, every five years they need to be emptied and stripped down and if no issues are found they can be re-filled and follow the same regime yearly inspection, 5 yearly discharge and inspection. Co2 need yearly inspection and then every ten years discharge and pressure tested if they pass they cab be re-filled and follow same regime yearly inspection and ten year discharge and pressure check. Most companies now a days will either replace the extinguisher for a new one at the 5/10 yearly inspection or replace with a unit that has already been fully inspected and refilled. The cost of refilling and pressure testing a co2 can work out more than replacing with a new one or at least what the extinguisher company pays for them as to what they add on to you the customer is a different matter A new co2 and water etc can be bought between £20-£40 from online companies, But legislation changed recently so you now need to have them installed by a qualified extinguisher engineer so they can check the extinguisher is suitable for the fire hazard in that location and they are correctly installed. Just to note co2 extinguishers have there manufacturing date stamped on the bottle (at the top) so long as you are within 10 years of this date then they should only need the yearly inspection. if someone is trying to sell you a new one saying the old one is out of date then check the manufacturing date first. If you think you have been ripped of complain to the company or the governing body which i think is BAFE? I'm sure fire extinguisher experts will be along to either agree with what i have said or not. Phil

Phil, could you please clarify "legislation changed recently so you now need to have them installed by a qualified extinguisher engineer" as I was not previously aware of this change.

The key bit to the new changes are stated here. "Portable fire extinguishers should not be any different and most fire companies installing portables have been doing this for a number of years now. The standard reflects this and sets out the steps to be taken when installing a new extinguisher. This should give the customer more assurance that what is installed will do what it is supposed to, when it is needed. What the standard says, in short, is this step should be carried out by a competent person and immediately prior to placing the extinguisher in its designated place. The committee recognised that under the Fire Safety Order the responsible person (previously referred to as the user) has far more wide-ranging responsibilities. The standard provides additional guidance for the responsible person: this now includes a check for missing parts, a requirement that results are recorded, and, if they have any doubts, the responsible person is guided to consult a competent person. Furthermore, again to ensure compliance with the Fire Safety Order, the responsible person is required to advise the competent person of changes likely to affect extinguisher cover." Now if you are replacing an extinguisher like for like you may question if you need someone to service install it but i would say someone needs to check that it is fit for purpose, just because you bought a new extinguisher who says it's OK to use. anyone else got views on this. You can find more information on changes here or refer to the BS standard. http://www.info4fire.com...extinguisher-maintenance Phil

I may need a little education, but I was not aware that a BS standard was "legislation"?

So the legislation has not changed then.