Fire Extinguishers

[zig]

Ok this topic has come up before on this forum, but nobody had auctually done it so we weren't totally sure if it could be done.................anyway to make a long story short...........it can, and i have.......

During the week i got lucky and came across these 2 CO2 cylinders, the larger one is a 5kg (about 11 lb) and the smaller one is 2 kg (about 4.5 lb) both are full, how do i know they are full? because i stood beside the guy as he filled them for me

He sold me both cylinders including the CO2 fills for 25 euro about £17 quid sterling

Basically the connection is the same as a regular CO2 cylinder once you remove the nozzle type thing that comes on fire extinguishers, just use a spanner its really easy to do.

Just attach the regulator as normal and tighten it, make sure the pressure and needle valve are closed, then all you have to do is use a clamp of some description (or a zip tie, duck tape, anything really) to keep the handle in the open position, keeping the handle in the open position releases the CO2, you can then use the regulator as you normally would, open the central valve and set correct pressure, and then use the needle valve to control the bubble rate.......and then your in business, easy as that.

In the picture above im using a fairly heavy clamp so there is no chance of it slipping off and closing the flow of CO2, below is just a side view of it set up under the tank.

And we may as well be enviromentally friendly at the same time, how they figure this i have no idea

anyway just to show it can be done very easily, no modifications whatsoever.

FYI fire extinguishers can usually be found inside buildings attached to walls

 

[harryman]

kwl nice idea

 

[Bloo]

FYI fire extinguishers can usually be found inside buildings attached to walls

Are you suggesting we raid the buildings we work in ?! (kidding!) but come to think of it, there are some lovely large cylinders hanging all over our building

Great to know it can easily be done though

 

[simonbrown403]

FYI fire extinguishers can usually be found inside buildings attached to walls

Are you suggesting we raid the buildings we work in ?! (kidding!) but come to think of it, there are some lovely large cylinders hanging all over our building

Great to know it can easily be done though

That's it now zig you've started something, there will be sudden rise in fire extinguisher theft across the world, the industry will panic as stocks plummet, shares and prices will rocked astronomical due to shortage and demand, but the world of planted tanks will look sweeter for your tip

Nice job

 

[Phillip.M]

this should be pinned

 

[scott67892002]

you should redrill the handle with it down and replace the pin instead of using the clamp!

 

[zig]

Hey thanks for taking an interest guys........

hehe.......yes i can definatly see some fire extinguishers going walkabout after i have posted this, but people wouldn't nick them from work.....would they

Come to think of it im amazed nobody has posted much info about this before, because its probably the most readily available source of CO2 in most places, nearly every building has at least a couple just hanging on the wall just crying out for a regulator to be attached!

Theres hardly any info available on this if you search the web, it is amazing, because its really obvious if you think about it, anyway it does work thats for sure.

The 5kg cylinder is a great size if you have somewhere out of view to store it, its about 26 inches high inc the handle, it fits under my tank just about, but it contains a lot of C02 enough to keep an average size tank going for a long time, the other cylinder, the 2kg, is slightly smaller in height at about 23 inches, its very slimline and looks pretty neat, im going to use it on my 15 gallon as soon as i get a regulator for it, so bye bye DIY CO2 forever, ive had pressurised CO2 on the larger tank for ages but still use DIY on the 15 gallon, i know you can get more compact 2kg ones, but this was the one offered to me so im not complaining, the 5kg is a standard size i dont think their is any variation in cylinder types.

@scott.........good idea might do that.

But one thing i will say about this idea, is that i wish i knew about it 9 or 10 months ago, when i wanted to go pressurised and couldnt find a solution at the time, it would have made life a hell of a lot easier, anyway hopefully some of you can benifit from the knowledge that it does work, and is a really good thing to know when you are looking for a CO2 solution, its a good alternative.

Quick Edit for some really usless information, apperantly it takes 23 seconds to empty the 5kg cylinder if you push the handle and use it in a normal fire situation, not a lot of people know that B)

 

[pseud]

Coooool... I have a fire extinguisher... Hmmmm.......

Think this will work in the US? I dunno if the connecters would be different or not... ?

 

[zig]

Coooool... I have a fire extinguisher... Hmmmm.......

Think this will work in the US? I dunno if the connecters would be different or not... ?

pseud i bet it will work, the CO2 thread connections are different in the US than Europe, that we know already, but i bet the thread connections for fire extinguishers are exactly the same as regular CO2 cylinders in the US, the same as over here, if you could borrow a regulator you would know within 30 seconds if it will work or not.

Just as a footnote to this if anybody is going to try it, some of the fire extinguisher nozzle attachments have a small locknut which you have to undo first of all before you can remove the nozzle attachment itself, the locknut is built into the main nut which covers the CO2 connection as shown in the second pic, its just not always obvious, so you should look for that first of all, you just need a small screwdriver to remove it and then use a spanner to remove the main nut that holds the nozzle, im sorry i dont have pics of this the guy removed mine for me and disgarded the nozzles, so i dont have them, but again its simple to do but not always obvious, you could be trying to remove the main nut and get nowhere if there was a seperate locknut holding it in position. Some extinguishers dont have this locknut, my big cylinder did, but the smaller one didn't.

 

[RYO]

Nice 1 Zig, wasn't sure on the thread sizes. dam shame my bosses have put me in charge of all our fire appliances
What gauges are you using?

 

[zig]

Nice 1 Zig, wasn't sure on the thread sizes. dam shame my bosses have put me in charge of all our fire appliances
What gauges are you using?

Excellent another potiential fire extinguisher user

RYO the regulator i am using is a Tunze, i got it from THIS company, Paraquatics, if you scroll down that page you will find it, the needle valve is built in, so its ready to go once you hook it up, its really easy to operate.

If you go down to the end of THIS page there is another one that would be suitable as well

The one on that page is a Deltec, it looks similar to the Tunze but the needle valve might be different.

Im on the lookout for another one myself for the 2kg cylinder so i will probably buy a different one just for the hell of it, i will let you know what i decide to get, im looking on ebay at some German aquatic dealers, they are a lot cheaper than anything you will get in the UK, im also looking for solenoids (the solenoids are really cheap about £15 sterling from the same guys) and other bits and pieces, the sites are in German but they say they will post to anywhere in Europe, so i have to email them and find out the details. If you are just looking for the regulator the links above are a good bet, and i dont think you will find them any cheaper in the UK, if you do let me know, im going to place an order this week.

 

[cybortech]

What a great Idea I've been looking to inject Co2 for a little while but not to sure how to approach it. I can't belive this idea, I've worked in the fire industry for a while and have at least 30 co2s in my garage. Well 28 now, to are coming into the house.

Just one thing to everybody who is going to do this be very careful when you remove the horn If the pin is still in the co2 handle then thats okay but whatever you do. DO NOT PRESS THE HANDLE WITH THE HORN REMOVED the pressure inside will knock your arm back so hard and thats if you can hold onto it as well as throwing the co2 cylinder 25yards backwards. They are very dangerous so be careful. Still a fantastic Idea.

 

[mantis147]

Hi Zig, Great idea by the way!!! I happen to have a argon/co2 valve do you think this will fit a co2 extingisher and work ok? Sorry for the poor quality its off my mobile!!

 

[Themuleous]

What a great Idea I've been looking to inject Co2 for a little while but not to sure how to approach it. I can't belive this idea, I've worked in the fire industry for a while and have at least 30 co2s in my garage. Well 28 now, to are coming into the house.

Just one thing to everybody who is going to do this be very careful when you remove the horn If the pin is still in the co2 handle then thats okay but whatever you do. DO NOT PRESS THE HANDLE WITH THE HORN REMOVED the pressure inside will knock your arm back so hard and thats if you can hold onto it as well as throwing the co2 cylinder 25yards backwards. They are very dangerous so be careful. Still a fantastic Idea.

Thanks for the word of warning

Sam

 

[craynerd]

Certainly fired up my disire for a CO2 unit

Seriously tho, i`m in the process of converting to pressurised CO2..maybe the way forward!

Chris