Vintage Fire extinguisher Collectors

[deputychief301]

Any collectors out there, I have a pure brass one and still full of contents.


made by the Fyr-Fyter Company out of Dayton Ohio.


This model requires to pump the plunger to operate.


I can include pictures if any one is interested, looking


for trades and checking to see if there is any collectors


Jim Rogers


deputychief301

 

[topflight]

I have at least 4 of them, They were my grandfathers he got when he was a FF. I don't know much about them but would sell or trade them as well.

 

[NPS Ranger]

I have a Pyrene carbon tet unit from 1920, still full. My favorite is my 1912 Chief Croker 2 1/2 gallon soda-acid extinguisher made out of riveted copper & brass and restored to like-new condition.

 

[Hoser]

I have a few setn around. 1 Fyrfighter "The Captain" Copper and Brass w/rivets. 1 Fyrfightrer Super model.1 Presto "C B model and 1 that is the size of a Beer Can with a crazy pull tab. All are empty except the last one. Just found these in old buildings or they were given to me by friends. Oh ya got a few others in the shed gotta clean up they are copper and brass also.

 

[ark_firefighter]

I picked up one that was about the size of the palm of my hand at the local flee market for $1.00 ...


I'll post a pic later.

 

[towmedic]

I have ten or twelve of them including a "Captain", a couple of fire grenades, a copper soda acid, an ALF pressurized powder extinguisher, a small automotive CO2 extinguisher/tire inflator, and a man drawn extinguisher cart with steel wheels. I enjoy collecting them as well other fire/ems memorabilia.

 

[fyrboy]

I have the label for the red one in the center, made by W.D. Allen, just as the one on the right. The Ansul is charged & sealed. The Pyrene has no hose or connection. They're all for sale.

 

[deputychief301]

This one also has the captain on the steel label, nice shape


The captain picture is in red color


Jim Rogers

 

[HFD eng1ine]

yes i have a mini Fyr Fyter one, its silver in color and has the wall mount. I also have one of those brass ones, empty, and a few wall hanging "bulb" type surpression systems they used a long time ago in homes. The spring loaded ones that when activated broke th bulb holding the liguid and it spilt everywere. Oh and i have 3 or 4 sprinkler heads on my desk

 

[EngCo4]

Be VERY CAREFUL with the carbon tetrachloride extinguishers!


Especially the glass bulbs! The released gas is POISONOUS to


humans! This is why they were no longer used.


As for the glass bulbs "that are spring loaded". The wire is


actually a soft lead compund that acts as a frangible link that


melts at a predeterminied temp and lets the globe fall and break


and disperse the liquid that turns into a gas that displaces the oxygen


to the fire and also interferes with the chemical/thermal reaction


of fires.


The poisonous gas produced is Phosgene which is corrosive as


well as poisonous to humans.


These extinguishers were no longer produced after about 1955


and were mandated for removal from service by NFPA and insurance


companies by no later than 1970 for the above reasons.


If your extinguishers are full, you should take them to a fire station


and have them properly discharge and empty them outside. Once


empty, they will make wonderful collectibles. The glass globes can


be pierced and emptied by a good glass guy and you can remount


the empty globe (or fill it with inert water and plug it) in the wire


for display as well.


Carbon tet is considered a HazMAt and should be treated accordingly.


Also carbon tet was once used as a cleaning solution and sold in


hardware stores!

 

[HFD eng1ine]

Be VERY CAREFUL with the carbon tetrachloride extinguishers!
Especially the glass bulbs! The released gas is POISONOUS to


humans! This is why they were no longer used.


As for the glass bulbs "that are spring loaded". The wire is


actually a soft lead compund that acts as a frangible link that


melts at a predeterminied temp and lets the globe fall and break


and disperse the liquid that turns into a gas that displaces the oxygen


to the fire and also interferes with the chemical/thermal reaction


of fires.


The poisonous gas produced is Phosgene which is corrosive as


well as poisonous to humans.


These extinguishers were no longer produced after about 1955


and were mandated for removal from service by NFPA and insurance


companies by no later than 1970 for the above reasons.


If your extinguishers are full, you should take them to a fire station


and have them properly discharge and empty them outside. Once


empty, they will make wonderful collectibles. The glass globes can


be pierced and emptied by a good glass guy and you can remount


the empty globe (or fill it with inert water and plug it) in the wire


for display as well.


Carbon tet is considered a HazMAt and should be treated accordingly.


Also carbon tet was once used as a cleaning solution and sold in


hardware stores!

Damn Paul you are reading my mind! Thats the chemical i was trying to remember the name of! Anyways, the fyr fyter is full of Carbon Tet and it does leak if you turn it upsidedown or some way, i wasnt sure, when it started leaking I put it the hell back on the rack and went to clean off. XD


Thanks for the informative reply as always sir


KP

 

[Tristar]

I have three old copper & brass extinguishers...is there any chance they're carbon tetrachloride types? How do I determine if they are or aren't?

 

[Hoser]

Usually says on them what they contain.

 

[EngCo4]

If any doubt about the contents, take them to a FD or


a fire extinguisher service company and they can ID


the contents and recommend or perform a safe and


proper discharge of the contents.

 

[NPS Ranger]

I have three old copper & brass extinguishers...is there any chance they're carbon tetrachloride types? How do I determine if they are or aren't?

At one time all extinguishers were made from copper/brass. The ones containing carbon tet were usually no more than 1 quart in size, with a T handle on top for pumping. They were made by Pyrene, FyrFyter and General. There were other units containing CBM (chlorobromomethane) that had a screw valve on top, and other units containing soda/acid which were 1 1/4 or 2 1/2 gallons in size and had a hose on the side.


Although carbon tet is listed as hazardous, bear in mind it was used by millions of people for decades as a dry cleaning fluid and solvent, besides being used in millions of military and civilian fire extinguishers. Just like mercury is hazardous, but most everyone has played with it in their hands as a kid when a thermometer broke at home. The main reason carbon tet was outlawed was because the combustion products contained phosgene which was an old chemical warfare agant, as mentioned above, and there were many newer, more effective fire extinguishing agents developed. However, combustion products today contain more lethal stuff than that due to the burning of plastics, glues and foams which typically occurs in structure fires, and people don't usually stand around breathing that stuff in today, either. As more and more lawyers metastasized in the US during the 1960's and 1970's looking for people to sue, product liability became a big issue and anything remotely hazardous disappeared. Your McDonalds's cup carries a written warning telling you it's hazardous because the contents are hot, so McDonald's can no longer be sued by consumers for serving hot coffee.


If you attempt to dispose of it legally through an EPA-certified hazmat contractor, expect to pay big $$$. However, if you generate no more than 100 kg of hazardous waste in a month, you are a "conditionally-exempt small quantity generator" (CESQG) under the Federal hazardous waste law (the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or RCRA) and are not required to use an EPA-licensed hazmat disposal contractor. If it was me, I'd just make sure it wasn't sitting on any priceless wooden furniture in your basement, and ignore it.


Here is the MSDS:


http://fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/90116.htm


While we're at it here's the MSDS for water, so you can assess your toxic exposure and consider suing the water company:


http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927321

 

[ark_firefighter]

If any doubt about the contents, take them to a FD or
a fire extinguisher service company and they can ID


the contents and recommend or perform a safe and


proper discharge of the contents.

If you take the powder to your local FD they are gonna look at you like you have a penis growing on your forehead !!!


Not to mention they might think you'r bring them a WMD ... I'm just saying from a Vollie standpoint.


Not everyone is not a Haz-Mat Tech


Take it to a Fire Extinguisher Service.

 

[HFD eng1ine]

If you take the powder to your local FD they are gonna look at you like you have a penis growing on your forehead !!!

Not to mention they might think you'r bring them a WMD ... I'm just saying from a Vollie standpoint.


Not everyone is not a Haz-Mat Tech


Take it to a Fire Extinguisher Service.

The KEY WORD Paul said in his post was RECOMMEND. The FD will RECOMMEND were to take it to be discharged. He did not say they would discharge them. Obviously not everyone is a hazmat tech but hazmats are in better hands at the fd than they are in the typical homeowner's hands. I dont think any fd will look at you weird for bringing them hazmats. Plus, with a hellofalot of years in hazmat and a little less than a million years in the fire service Paul knows what he is talking about.


KP

 

[EngCo4]

Volunteer FD (various positions including Chief Officer) since 1966-Still a Life Member


Paid Firefighter/Driver-Operator/HazMat Tech/EMT-B/Retired as Station Captain after 30 years in 2001


Fire Service Instructor in several disciplines since 1975


STILL "Doin' it!"


STILL learning new things!


STILL loving it!


NPS;


I always got a kick out of doing up MSDS sheets for WATER when I was working! You ARE correct


about all of the "lawyers 'metastasizing..." And FFs now are SUPPOSED to have AT LEAST the


Hazardous Materials Awareness course in their training at the basic level. So they SHOULD be able


to make a RECOMMENDATION to the owner of the HazMat as to how/where to safely dispose of it.


Carbon tet BTW is a LIQUID, not a powder. Yes, it was a dry-cleaning solvent and as I said it used to


be readily available OTC at hardware stores! (But so was Chloridane!) But now it is no longer common


in homes and people may not realize it's potential for harm. In the quantities present even in small


extinguishers, it could prove harmful if handled wrong. Especially those glass globes. They seem to


turn up a lot in flea markets and even firematic shows! Everything is just fine as long as the stuff stays


in the container. But if it is let loose, THEN the problems could begin. Best just to dispose of it properly.

 

[Hoser]

Hope this works there are 4 extinguishers in photo.....first pic upload on the site.

 

[HFD eng1ine]

Hope this works there are 4 extinguishers in photo.....first pic upload on the site.

Very nice

 

[Hoser]

Very nice

Thank You, more to come as I get time.

 

[Hoser]

My Latest find and restoration.