Reasons to Recharge Your Fire Extinguisher

You jolt awake in your bed to the smell of smoke. Leaping up, you grab a fire extinguisher and press the handle, only to have a thin, weak fog come out.

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Then, you jolt awake from the dream you just had about a fire.

Good thing it was only a dream, right?

Well, a scenario like that could be more realistic than you think, especially if you don&#;t ever recharge your fire extinguisher in your home or workplace.

Don&#;t worry, though. We know that this may sound complicated, which is why we made this handy guide for the best reasons to recharge your fire extinguisher.

Let&#;s get into it.

Why You Should Recharge Your Fire Extinguisher

You might be thinking, &#;Well, it doesn&#;t need to be done every year, so I can get by without it, right?&#;

Well, no &#; in fact, an annual recharge is the safest and most guaranteed way to make sure your extinguishers work in the event of an emergency.

With that in mind, let&#;s look at some good reasons to perform this annual maintenance on an extinguisher.

1. Pressure

The first and most obvious reason is to make sure the extinguisher has enough pressure.

Without proper pressure in the canister, the extinguisher&#;s range may not be high enough to reach flames, especially in places with high ceilings or tall furniture.

This is especially important if someone discharged the extinguisher recently.

2. Retardant Refill

A yearly inspection will make sure there&#;s enough juice in the extinguisher to put out any blaze.

Without these checks, someone could press down on the handle and nothing could come out, leading to an even larger emergency.

3. Regular Maintenance

Alongside refill and pressure checks, you should recharge your fire extinguisher to perform a regular inspection on it, inside and out.

While damage on the exterior might be obvious (like dents or holes), damage to the interior can weaken the extinguisher&#;s overall integrity. However, you can&#;t always see the damage inside, making an in-depth inspection is a great preventive measure.

4. Wear and Tear Service

Like your car or your shoes, an extinguisher should also be checked for wear and tear in an annual inspection. This means looking over any necessary safety labeling, as well as checking for blocked hoses or leaks.

Corrosion can also occur over time, weakening the structural solidity of the extinguisher and creating a potentially life-threatening situation in an emergency.

5. Save Money on Replacements

Finally, you can save a substantial amount of money on replacements when your fire extinguisher yearly. In addition to safety concerns, it can be expensive to replace extinguishers if they break, especially without being used.

Are you interested in learning more about extinguisher filling? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!

With yearly recharges and inspections, extinguishers can continue operating in top shape and perform their job when they are needed.

Now What?

With our handy guide, you can make an educated decision on when to recharge fire extinguisher.

Need more answers? Let us help! You can read a large variety of fire and fire safety blog articles on our site, or contact B&W Fire Security Systems if you need more assistance.

The maintenance or servicing of fire extinguishers is crucial because they play a vital part in putting fires out before they get out of hand and also protect your family, Fire Extinguishers Need to be Serviced business, staff, and visitors. Hence, it is recommended to get your extinguishers checked regularly to ensure their proper working condition, and in case the extinguishers don&#;t get serviced, they could result in disaster. Having your equipment serviced is extremely important. According to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order , it is mandatory that fire extinguishers and other installed fire safety equipment are required to be installed and maintained following the manufacturers' instructions or relevant British Standard Code of Practice.

Here is a list of the top four reasons why your fire extinguishers need to be serviced regularly.

1. Internal Damage

There is a maximum chance of occurring of any damage to the fire extinguisher after using it over some time. Corrosion can occur inside the extinguishers (because of using aluminum or steel material), which is the foremost reason for weakening the integrity of the cylinder over time as well as causing the extinguisher to fail when operated.

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Apart from this, the discharge hose on the extinguisher is one more part where debris or insects can get blocked that can reduce the efficiency of the extinguisher when used. Even the O-rings on the hose can also deteriorate the functionality of the extinguisher.

2. Potential Leaks

If indirect leaks can occur from the fire extinguisher, then it could make the extinguisher useless. The best part is that modern fire extinguishers have pressure gauges that can help you check the potential gas leaks within extinguisher if it occurs. However, pressurized fire extinguishers sometimes fail to identify the leakage part. Therefore, it is advisable to check and get serviced the extinguisher if it has lost pressure or a faulty gauge (not applicable for CO2 extinguishers, which operate at very high pressure and have no gauges).

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3. Occurrence of Wear & Tear in Labels

Fire extinguishers experience general wear and tear over time even when they are not in use. This problem occurs, especially if the cylinders are installed outdoors in idle condition, fading, illegible maintenance, or in an active warehouse setting.

For this reason, make sure all the labels pasted on the extinguisher are readable as they contain important instructions. They are also useful for proper use (useful for anyone when he or she need it to fight a fire practically) and essential for the service technicians for a record of fire extinguisher maintenance, inspection or testing.

4. Negligence of Recharging

A fire extinguisher is advisable to recharge a fire extinguisher even it was discharged for a short burst or partially. This ensures fire cylinders are ready to use again in the future without giving you any trouble to operate.

There is a chance of leaking gas after using the extinguisher over time (a fire extinguisher pressure gauge shows there is enough gas in there), thus it is best to get the fire extinguisher serviced.

Over to You

If you are not sure when your fire extinguishers got serviced last time, or they have not been checked for long, then contact Variex.in or give us a call to schedule a visit to your place. Our team of experts is ready to help provide the highest quality service for all of your fire extinguisher needs. They also suggest which fire system is best for your business and ensure a quality installation.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit fire extinguisher refilling equipment.