Posted By Chas We have water and powder fire extinguishers that are serviced every year. The water ones are approaching 10 years old and the powder ones are about 5 years old. Should we be considering replacing them with new ones (as advised by the service company) or are they likely to be ok for a few more years assuming the servicing regime stays the same? Does the powder in the powder extinguishers need replacing? Is this just a sales ploy to sell us extinguishers, or am I just being too cynical? Thanks in advance.

Posted By Steve Cartwright Extinguishers can last for years providing they are maintained. Things to look out for are cracked/damaged hoses, any signs of rust on extinguisher, handle is in good condition, you can read the writing on the extinguisher and the gauge is not damaged. All the parts can be replaced. Useful tip for powder extinguishers is to get someone to give them a shake (tip them upside down) about once a month. This should prevent the powder going hard. The other one to watch out for is the gas cartridge. Sometimes they will tell you it needs replacing. It only needs replacing if it has been discharged. My guess is its a sales ploy. If you need more info let me know. Steve

Posted By Ron Impey At one of my sites the extinguisher maintenance person was caught on CCTV bashing an extinguisher with a rubber mallet then saying it had to be replaced because of the dent.

Posted By JohnR On the subject of Gas cartridges, it is definitely not true to say that unless they have been discharged, they will not need to be replaced. Any Gas cartridge has to be overhauled after it becomes 10 years old. Once it has been, it should be able to last for a further 10 years. If its overhaul has still not been completed within 15 years of either manufacture or last overhaul, then it must be replaced and permanently decommissioned. The weight loss tolerance for any gas cartridge is 10% of the contents original weight. This also applies to CO2 extinguishers. JohnR

Posted By Steve Cartwright When I did the FETA Maintenance course I was told to give Powder extinguishers a shake on a regular basis. Gas cartridges very rarely leak, however water, foam and powder extinguishers have to be discharged at least once every 5 years. Does not matter if they are stored pressure or have a gas cartridge fitted they still have to be discharged. CO2 extinguishers have to be discharged every 10 years. CO2 extinguishers have to be factory filled. I've seen fire extinguishers that are 25 years old, and as long as they get serviced once a year it does not matter how old they are providing they are in good condition. The other thing to watch out for is they sometimes tell you that you have not got enough extinguishers. When I went to one of our branches I found 8 extinguishers in it. The branch was about the same size as 3 bedroom semi. They also put fire blankets in a kitchens when all we had was a microwave and a kettle. Steve Steve

Posted By Alexander Falconer Believe it or not, fire extinguishers, like many other things have a shelf life. Whilst not fully versed about the ins/outs of testing, etc. there will be a maximum number of times the body will be permitted to be pressure tested, before being disposed. BS 5306 pt 4 should provide some of the answers you seek Now to open that Glen Moray (only a 12 year old, I'm afraid)! Alex

Posted By chris white Alot of tips already given, some right some not so right. I own a fire protection company and started off doing fire extinguishers for one of the well-know national companies. BS5306pt3(2003) is the service standard and the installation standard (do I have enough) in BS5308pt8 (2000) Like everything in life the extinguishers are made to a budget with most manufacturers giving a 5-year warranty but expecting a 10-year life. water, water additive, foam, powder & wet chemical extinguishers get serviced anually called "basic service". every 5-years they get "extended serviced" which used to be called discharge test. They are internally examined and refilled if all OK. CO2 extinguishers get serviced annually and every 10years get tested (off site) but this not done by most companies for various quality, cost and logistic reasons I'll not go into. CO2 cartridges (like CO2 extinguishers) have a 10-year in service life then they are scrapped as it is not econimical to test them. During their service life they can only loose upto 10% of their contents weight, but as maintenance is preventative you must ask why? did it loose weight. I would replace it. hoses are basically rubber and therfor subject to wear and tear especially when exposed to temperature extremes. I'll leave it at that to avoid a long post. Hope that helps a bit. Chris.