Idea for fire extinguisher...

[benbradford]

What chemicals do they use in fire extinguishers? Could these be reutilized for brewing? Hop back? Herms?

 

[snccoulter]

It depends on the extinguisher. does it have an A, B, C on it? There is a good chance it will tell you what is in it on the label.

 

[outside92129]

Some extinguishers use water as the chemical. I suppose you could reuse the chemicals for your next batch but most people would just water the plants just in case there's something else floating in it : )

Anyways... i think HERMS/RIMS would be a good use for a steel extinguisher. A hopback would be a pain as there wouldn't be an easy way to constantly open/pack hops/close/open/cleanout the unit. Of course some ancient extinguisers have a 3-4" screw top opening that would work for cleaning... except that they're 5-10gal. But it would be cool to repurpose one as a keg.

A lot of the chemicals used are relatively harmless, depending on what you have it might be worth cleaning out and doing some DIY.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_extinguisher#Types_of_extinguishing_agents

 

[Kindyr]

There are two kind of fire extinguishers I can think of that might have brewing capabilities. The first is a true C02 fire extinguisher, where the tank of the unit "should" be able to be used like a regular C02 tank.

The other would be one of the presurized water extinguishers. As far as I know, these have no chemicals in them. They are kind of a giant super soaker, you fill them with water and presurrize them from an air hose. The ones I've seen have an opening for water to be poured in, a shrader valve for pressurizing, and are made of stainless steel. Tall and slender, I could see where they could have potential, as they wouldn't take up a lot of floor space, though I don't know how they could be specifically used as I'm new to homebrewing.

I'd avoid any of the chemical extinguishers personally. too many questionable chemicals to be used around something that's going to be drank, and I think most of them have aluminum tanks.

Now I'm going to have to check the stainless fire extinguisher tanks the next time I get to the scrap yard.

 

[tektonjp]

No, none of you are answering the OP's question.

"What chemicals do they use in fire extinguishers? Could these be re-utilized for brewing?"

Please don't use any of the chemicals used in fire extinguishers in brewering. You'll get sick from the beer, or at the very least, you'll post a question about off flavors which we can't answer.

Just say no (to chemicals, that is).

( note for the humor impaired - the above was tongue in cheek)

 

[BrewinJay]

A google search found this "Fire extinguishers contain different chemicals, depending on the application. Handheld extinguishers, which are commonly sold at hardware stores for use in the kitchen or garage, are pressurized with nitrogen or carbon dioxide (CO2) to propel a stream of fire-squelching agent to the fire. The active material may be a powder such as potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3), liquid water, an evaporating fluorocarbon or the propelling agent itself. The most effective and common fluorocarbon used until recently for this application had been bromochlorodifluoromethane (CF2ClBr), referred to as halon 1211. By international agreement, however, production of all types of halons ceased in 1994 because the bromine and chlorine atoms in the chemical were found to migrate over time to the stratosphere, where they react to deplete ozone in a very efficient catalytic cycle." IMHO I would not reuse the chemicals or the extinguisher for anything other than putting out a fire. If you have ever had to use one, you will know the smell alone is bad. The thought of the off flavors... I shudder...

 

[atjsparty]

No, none of you are answering the OP's question.

"What chemicals do they use in fire extinguishers? Could these be re-utilized for brewing?"

Please don't use any of the chemicals used in fire extinguishers in brewering. You'll get sick from the beer, or at the very least, you'll post a question about off flavors which we can't answer.

Just say no (to chemicals, that is).

( note for the humor impaired - the above was tongue in cheek)

Pretty sure the OP is asking if the fire extinguishers can be reused, not the potential chemicals stored within.

Either way, your post is still accurate. If its something that even had a 1% chance of storing a chemical, I'd stay away. But, a CO2 specific or water pressure extinguisher seems feasible.

Really only one way to find out. Be a pioneer and post the build here so we can all steal the idea and call it the Bradford (insert use here).

 

[Wagon_6]

Kindyr is right. Look for the stainless steel type, they are only used with water and sometimes we mix in regular dish soap. Most of the ones today are 2.5 gallons and people are converting them to kegs. Pretty cool way to bring homebrew to a party.

 

[Stevo2569]

I made one of the 2.5 g water stainless into a keg and one into a heat exchanger.

 

[benbradford]

Hey Steve,

Any pics?

 

[Stevo2569]

Hey Steve,

Any pics?

They aren't perfect, kinda rigged. Meaning they could have been done better. The heat exchangers in my sig and here's the keg. I silver soldered the connects.

 

[benbradford]

It is still cool... Do you remember what you looked for in an extinguisher as far as code or labels to make sure that it was safe?

 

[snccoulter]

The SS ones like that are always water. the others will have a "A" "B" or "C" and a list of chemicals on them. If they don't find the manufacturer and model number then Google the MSDS.

 

[Stevo2569]

It is still cool... Do you remember what you looked for in an extinguisher as far as code or labels to make sure that it was safe?

The stainless types are almost always pressurized water. They are usually 2.5G and are pressureized to 100psi. If you could get one with the nozzle, you could use it as a picnic type tap. I saw one done that way once on the web. A little googling should locate one. The other extinguishers have chemicals that I would not mess with. Check with a fire extinguisher service Co. I was told that they are less rare because no chemicals and they last longer but they do get switched out occasionally. So they may have some going to get scrapped. Or the scrap yard might have some.

 

[SteveMillerTime]

Kindyr is right. Look for the stainless steel type, they are only used with water and sometimes we mix in regular dish soap. Most of the ones today are 2.5 gallons and people are converting them to kegs. Pretty cool way to bring homebrew to a party.

and even better if transporting moon shine...and as an added bonus it comes with a pressurized straw!

in all honesty, the only extinguishers i'd repurpose would be a class A, SS 2.5gal pressurized water extinguishers, and the steel class B & C CO2 extinguisher - stay away from ABC extinguishers as they contain a harsh powder that will leave a very bizarre and tangy taste in you mouth and nose...trust me.

 

[snccoulter]

we had an ABC get logged under the seat in an old patrol vehicle and discharge what a mess it was cleaning all that powder out..

 

[SteveMillerTime]

we had an ABC get logged under the seat in an old patrol vehicle and discharge what a mess it was cleaning all that powder out..

yessss....and it tastes like chalk...but a little worse lol

 

[IPAddict]

On a website I visit frequently (hackaday.com), saw a guy make one into a keg. It's not that detailed, but he goes over what he did. He has a blog so you might be able to ask him a few things about it.

Fire Extinguisher Keg
Hack A Day blog entry

 

[Stevo2569]

On a website I visit frequently (hackaday.com), saw a guy make one into a keg. It's not that detailed, but he goes over what he did. He has a blog so you might be able to ask him a few things about it.

Fire Extinguisher Keg
Hack A Day blog entry

Thats the one I was referring to.

 

[SteveMillerTime]

On a website I visit frequently (hackaday.com), saw a guy make one into a keg. It's not that detailed, but he goes over what he did. He has a blog so you might be able to ask him a few things about it.

Fire Extinguisher Keg
Hack A Day blog entry

haha thats awesome!...it looks pretty straight forward - CO2 to the air fill valve, to drink just press lever. just gotta keep an eye on the pressure gage thats on the extinguisher itself, make sure you have the right amount of beer in there or else that bitch could go BOOM, or just not work at all lol

 

[snccoulter]

Now that is col I wonder if I can find an extinguisher herein Hanford.

 

[SteveMillerTime]

Now that is col I wonder if I can find an extinguisher herein Hanford.

your best bet might be talking to the local fire inspector...ask him if he knows where you could get a used class A (pressurized water) extinguisher. Usually extinguisher service shops sell them.

 

[snccoulter]

That is what my wife said??? I plan on going to the local firehouse this afternoon.

 

[SteveMillerTime]

That is what my wife said??? I plan on going to the local firehouse this afternoon.

just a heads up, not all fire inspectors run out of fire houses. It depends if your town is small or not. Not sure how stuff works in cali, but over here we have a county fire inspector as well as our local inspectors. If you live in a larger town/city, that has a career fire department, its more likely that the fire inspectors have their own office, but either way, if anyone is up there I'm sure they'll point you in the right direction.

 

[Homercidal]

I've bought 3 of the SS extinguishers. One was made into a 2.5 keg for soda, but has never been used.

One is currently a secondary for a barleywine (had no valve on it and fashioning a usable valve would have been more work than worth.)

The third also has no valve and is still sitting in the garage, uncleaned. I've thought about making a "conical" out of it, but I have enough things to play with. I'll probably just end up using is as another fermenter. Easy to clean and blocks light and has ZERO O2 permeability. A nice fermenter for half-batches!

 

[Mrott]

just one other little point to add for people that find themselves searching for extinguishers to repurpose, there are also D and K type extinguishers. They are slightly more rare but are definitely around.

D cans are used to put out flammable metal fires and K type (Purple - K) are used for kitchen fires (fats, greases, etc).

Either way, both of these should be avoided as well.

NOTE: The whole letter system is different depending on where you live. The above all relates to the US system, but it slightly varies through Europe/Asia/Australia.

 

[Snafu]

good grief, we just got rid of like 10 pallets of those water extinguishers. One of the local school systems ungraded from water to abc extinguishers. They were sitting here for about a year. I'd hate to think I could have used them in the brewing machine somewhere.

 

[snccoulter]

good grief, we just got rid of like 10 pallets of those water extinguishers. One of the local school systems ungraded from water to abc extinguishers. They were sitting here for about a year. I'd hate to think I could have used them in the brewing machine somewhere.

That sucks

 

[SteveMillerTime]

good grief, we just got rid of like 10 pallets of those water extinguishers. One of the local school systems ungraded from water to abc extinguishers. They were sitting here for about a year. I'd hate to think I could have used them in the brewing machine somewhere.

damn man...time to track em down!