fire extinguisher

[QuickMick]

A fireman just came into my office to tag my extinguisher...
so i asked him about the kiddy's on my boat, mentioning that they all read needle green and that i wondered if they needed any of type upkeep.
he seemed to think that, provided needle green, they would still be pressurized and as a noncommercial vessel they didnt need to be tagged. anybody know if USCG has particular requirements in this regard (for a non-comm. vessel) and even if not, is there anything you do to get them checked out? heck i have four of em, im just betting that one of em will fire off if needed...

[Gene T]

One thing that should be done to fire extinguishers at least annually is to tip them down and up a few times working the contents, you can feel the contents move. But I agree green means pressure so should be OK.

Gene

[DwayneSpeer]

Non commercial vessels don't need annual recertification. However you should, if you really want to stay on top of safety, tip them upside down and hit the bottom with a rubber mallet monthly. That will keep the contents from settling permanently on the bottom. Of course, if they are halon there is nothing to be done at all.

[hellosailor]

Mick, if there is a local USCG Auxiliary in your area? Anytime you have a question about meeting USCG regs, they can answer it for you. They'll also come to your boat--free--and give you a courtesy inspection. If it fails, there's no penalty or problem, you get a list of what needs to be upgraded. if it passes, you get a "go bother someone else" sticker to put on your boat, that tells the locals to go bother someone else, your boat has already been inspected and found in compliance.

Hard to argue with that price.

BTW, if you've never actually used one of those dry powder extinguishers? Ask your fireman if they ever do any demonstrations. If an extinguisher needs to be recharged, usually they empty it and refill it, so you might as well USE it to see how it works. The small ones are basically good for a waste basket or single stove burner, much more fire than that and you'll need more extinguisher real fast. (And, they make a lot of noise, dust, and mess. BIG mess.)