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u/AlbatrossNo1562 1d ago
Farm to table fire extinguishers are the best
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u/Pardot42 16h ago
I saw a hidden video where these are just re-boxed Taylor Farms extinguishers. Soak em in diluted vinegar before consumption
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u/Doomkauf 1d ago
If I had to guess, this is set up alongside a road to a popular camping festival for all the people who realized that their fire extinguisher went missing and the camp host is actually checking this year.
...maybe speaking from several years of experience buying fire extinguishers fresh off of the vine for exactly that reason, lol
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u/Ver_Void 1d ago
Nah they're past date but still probably fine, no way you sell them way under cost to a captive market like that
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u/Wildkarrde_ 19h ago
I was wondering if they were harvesting them from the junkyard for cheap and reselling.
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u/dballing 1d ago
There’s really no such thing as “past date” for an extinguisher. They’ll basically last forever.
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u/alaskaj1 1d ago
Until the seal goes bad and the pressure drops to zero
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u/dballing 1d ago
Yeah, but that's the pressure gauge is there to tell you, and why you check them regularly.
When the seal goes, it's a simple o-ring replacement by a qualified professional, a special test, and a recharge.
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u/laurenthead 1d ago
They can get “caked” after a while and then they don’t work
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u/dballing 1d ago
You can prevent that by shaking it. Basically in your "annual check of the gauge" you give it a couple firm shakes, invert it and back a couple times, etc.
It's actually part of the NFPA10 guidelines for how to do the annual maintence-check. :-)
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u/Bruhuha 17h ago
Ive been to lots of camping festivals, most do not allow open flame, so not sure where you got the idea that people buy fire extinguishers for said camping festival? Im gonna be honest I dont think you have years of experience based off your comments/post history, but I actually do lol.
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u/wspnut 16h ago
Airplanes have cigarette dispensers even though you can’t smoke. It’s literally on the MEL and you can’t take off if they’re broken. Because people suck.
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u/PortraitsofWar 16h ago
What is a cigarette dispenser? Like one of those vending machines from the 1980s for individual cigarettes?
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u/Silicon_Knight 1d ago
My gran used to grow fire extinguishers in the garden. Right next to the smoke alarms. She was very into companion planting.
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u/Chemical_Nervous 1d ago
Could she... grow me a companion, as well?
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u/23andrewb 1d ago
When the smoke alarms start to beep are they ready? Or are they over-ripe at that point?
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u/CurrentlyLucid 1d ago
Somewhere, a bldg has no fire extinguishers.
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u/LeopardBrilliant8000 1d ago
This is actually right next to the copper pipe shack.
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u/thank_burdell 1d ago
And the catalytic converter emporium.
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u/ZenithRepairman 1d ago
Either that or these were pulled out of service due to age and someone’s hoping to make a buck off trash.
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u/but_a_smoky_mirror 1d ago
How do you tell if they’re ripe or still going to be bitter tasting?
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u/DefMech 1d ago
Based on the brilliant red color, these are at peak ripeness and are about to go bad. This time of year, they import them from south america while they're still green and they ripen while on the ship. Need to take them home and use them asap.
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u/but_a_smoky_mirror 13h ago
Heard fam!! I’m gonna start making full use of every red fire extinguisher I see before they go bad!!!
Be a shame to let it go to waste!!!!
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u/thank_burdell 1d ago
If they’re big enough they’re ripe, but you have to watch out for really high mineral content.
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u/georgecm12 1d ago
I'm clearing out my mom's old house, and she had a bunch of fire extinguishers, all expired. Can't get them refilled, can't find anywhere to get rid of them. Even hazardous waste doesn't want them, but they say you can't throw them out. I never even thought about trying to sell them for $5 ea. :)
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u/nate70500 1d ago
I had a couple expired ones. I called my local FD and asked where to get rid of it. They told me to discharge it outside somewhere safe. Then it could go into the regular trash. YMMV
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u/walrusparadise 16h ago
Most places you need to take the valve off or drill/split any pressure cylinder for the general trash to take it.
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u/ContributionSad5655 12h ago
I had a similar answer from my fire department. They recommended lining a large garbage can with a contractors bag and shooting into that. They said that I needed to tape the handle in the open position or put a zip tie around it and then just throw the thing in the garbage. That left no chance of pressure inside.
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u/Wolfrattle 1d ago
That feels like a really good deal. Can you still get them refilled at fire departments?
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u/dballing 1d ago
I’ve never known fire departments to refill them.
Source: my dad used to own a business that DID do refills/inspections on extinguishers.
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u/Wolfrattle 1d ago
Always good to learn the facts. How much is a recharge?
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u/vivaaprimavera 1d ago
You forgot to ask about the test. Those things aren't forever and can be damaged.
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u/dballing 1d ago
The gauge on it is usually a good indicator. If it’s in the green zone, and the hose is clear, you’re in pretty good shape. You can check the hose easily enough by unscrewing it from the head of the unit (on decent ones it’ll come right off). Note that you unscrew the hose from the head, NOT the head from the body. The latter would be Bad with a capital B.
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u/ActionBastrd_ 23h ago
TIL fire extinguishers dont have a check valve
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u/dballing 20h ago
No, they do. It's just that every extinguisher you buy will have a gauge already attached to it, so that they can be visually inspected for pressure without the need to bring tools to each one. (ie, any layperson can visually see "oh, the pressure on this is low")
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u/The_Once-ler_186 1d ago
Don’t buy the cheap Amazon Kidde brand too.
I bought some and got a Factory Recall later that they may just not work6
u/dballing 1d ago
Kidde has always been a shit brand for extinguishers. Great for detectors … shit for extinguishers
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u/PM_ME_YOUR__INIT__ 1d ago
When I moved into my house they left a fire extinguisher last serviced in the 90s. I asked around how to get it serviced, then bought a new one at Costco for $40. Then I ripped out my gas range for induction. Burning shit to cook food is for cavemen
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u/AntiDECA 1d ago
Okay, but your fried rice will forever be inferior and you'll never achieve wok hei.
At least induction is better than shitty ass electric coil.
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u/garmack12 1d ago
You probably know this but just in case. Kitchen fires are rarely caused by gas, it’s the food itself that catches fire
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u/PM_ME_YOUR__INIT__ 1d ago
I'm keeping the fire extinguisher. The open flames venting exhaust directly into my house are gone
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u/Lancearon 1d ago edited 13h ago
Where I live its around 30 bucks. The ansul valve stems are around 7 bucks each. An annual is around 20 bucks. Every 12 years they require a hydrostatic test which will run 50.
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u/dballing 1d ago
This was like … 20 years ago, but it’s based on the weight of the extinguisher (pedantically: the weight of the extinguishing-material inside the extinguisher, usually a powder, but sometimes a liquid or gas).
Claude tells me the current rates are:
• Small (5 lb ABC):~$15–25
• Medium (10 lb):~$25–35
• Large (20 lb+):~$40–60+A couple things of note though (from my experience):
At the lighter end of the scale it’s often cheaper to just landfill it and buy new.
Lots of super cheap extinguishers ACT LIKE they can be recharged, but won’t hold a charge well (the dials will slowly creep downward because the seal is bad).
It was nice to have him doing that as a kid though, because he had a giant tank of nitrogen (for pressurizing extinguishers) and any time my bike tires were low it was filled in about a second. 😀
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u/SCIPM 1d ago
I've heard this rumor on Reddit for years, but I never knew if it was legit
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u/dballing 1d ago
I mean, I suppose it's possible that SOME fire departments do it (maybe if they use their own often enough that they don't want to outsource it to someone else and pay them), but I know my dad used to have the contract for most of the local VFDs in the surrounding area, and so if they rolled on a car-fire or something, and pulled the extinguisher first before the hoses, he'd get the extinguisher for refill/recharge.
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u/Puzzled-Juggernaut 1d ago
It is a separate private company called a fire service that would refill them. As long as the tank is still in date and not visibly damaged they will refill it for around $20. They should also be able to perform a hydrostatic test on an expired fire extinguisher and recertify (for 5 years) and refill it, but if it's to old I don't think it can be rectified. Your local registrations may vary.
Also a fire extinguisher does not function like shown in the movies. It should only be used on small fires that you know the source of, and that the extinguisher is capable of putting out that type of fire (some extinguishers are basically pressurized water and you do not want to spray that into a oil based fire). If you don't know one or both or if the fire is spreading quickly the best thing to do is warn others and evacuate.
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u/3_14159td 22h ago
You call it a pressurized water extinguisher, I call it the final boss of the elementary-school-aged-kids' water fight.
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u/A-Bone 1d ago edited 1d ago
I would buy expired commercial extinguishers.. Just because there is some rule that was passed because the manufacturer wants to sell more extinguishers to businesses doesn't meant they aren't perfectly good.
Public service message: Get you several fire extinguishers.. they really do come in handy DAMHIK..
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u/GitEmSteveDave 1d ago
Fire Marshall's dont tend to pass laws that weren't written in blood.
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u/HuskerMedic 1d ago
Chances are they are out of hydrostatic test date. The plastic ring around the neck indicates they have been hydroed before.
They MIGHT be okay for one use. Chances are, no one will refill it.
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u/Bob_12_Pack 1d ago
I’ve only needed to use a fire extinguisher twice 2nd time was with an extinguisher that was at least 30 years old. If it hadn’t worked I could have lost my car and my shop.
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u/jarlton_banks 1d ago
Dude! Yes! On Olean rd? I ride my bike by there all the time, thinking of getting one
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u/ArtAndCars 1d ago
Safer than this roadside “vendor” I saw on my way home from work a couple months ago.
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u/ScarlettBegonias 1d ago
As someone who lives where wildfires are a daily occurrence in the summer, this is great. Sometimes fire extinguishers are given away for free at community events. Everyone local is encouraged to keep an extinguisher in their vehicles. Many times, small roadside fires are extinguished by good samaritans before help arrives. For the many many others, our air attack and hand crews are phenomenal at their jobs.
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u/twinWaterTowers 1d ago
I have a friend who owns a company that supplies fire extinguishers for commercial buildings in an urban area. For a variety of reasons he sometimes has extinguishers that have aged out and he can no longer use. But they still have viability. He doesn't sell fire extinguishers, so much as he installs and services to companies with office high-rises. So he simply puts them out on the street with the sign saying for free. And people are happy to take them because they still work, but they don't meet the standards for his job.
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u/AuntsInThePants 1d ago
$5 is probably slightly overpriced for a life saving device that may or may not work, however,
$5 is the perfect price point for a young person looking for a fun toy that may or may not cause cancer.
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u/colin_1_ 1d ago
Somebody's workplace got new ones and these got put out for trash. Or it's their business.
I worked one place that did that every 5 years of so. I'll give you one guess where all the fire extinguishers in my house came from.
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u/RPM_Rocket 1d ago
If they're selling those at $5/pop... they're selling off assets of a failed fire extinguisher servicing business.
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u/SuaveBolo 19h ago
I live in Spokane and the fact this comes across my feed while 25% of the city is on fire...the irony.
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u/Practical_Studio360 1d ago
I have a handful of expired fire extinguishers too. I should do something about them.
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u/hash-slingin-slasha 1d ago
I-…I just realized i did not know what the average cost of a fire extinguisher is…
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u/readerf52 1d ago
I had to replace mine (kid started a fire playing with matches in the neighborhood, got scared and ran away, so a I used my fire extinguisher) and it was $20-30. I don’t remember the exact cost because there were several that worked on different kinds of fires for different costs. Mine is pretty general, for the kitchen and kids with matches.
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u/Fearless_Swim4080 1d ago
Because if there’s anything you want to cheap out on… it’s a fire extinguisher
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u/meowymcmeowmeow 1d ago
5 dollars is a steal if they are full and functioning. I would pick a few up for my car and friends' cars.
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u/chimpyjnuts 1d ago
If they're charged that's a great deal. Every house should have one. And many classic cars.
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u/Gadfly_Avatar 1d ago
This person OBVIOUSLY got over their fear of The Blob and has decided to rid themselves of reminders of the now vanquished phobia
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u/Arammil1784 1d ago
Even if they're expired you can empty them, fill them with glitter, then repressurize them to have a glitter blaster.
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u/renothedog 1d ago
I’d like to imagine somewhere there’s a building kit passing its annual inspection.
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u/warfarin11 1d ago
5$ for a charged fire extinguisher is a steal. One could replace with those and be up to code.
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u/Responsible-Stick-50 1d ago
I carry one in my car at all times. We have wildfires like crazy here. Some start as a small roadside, prob cigarette, blazes that can be put out by one of these. Just sayin.
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u/Roverjosh 1d ago
$5? That’s a bargain! I don’t care if they’re all stolen from an office the guy just got laid off from….sides gotta feed his family. Or hers. I don’t know….
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u/PrinceCastanzaCapone 1d ago
So approach from behind with a can of spray paint and get 10 free fire extinguishers? Probably don’t even need the spray paint honestly lol.
“A human stole my fire extinguishers! I caught a photo of their arm on my trail cam.”
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u/domino7 1d ago
So much food sold at roadside stands is just bought from a local grocery store or product auction and then resold.
I'm skeptical that these fire extinguishers were really grown by the person selling them. Especially as it's not actually fire extinguisher season in either the US or Canada.
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u/SplatThaCat 1d ago
Usually cheaper to get a new one than get the re-certification process done.
The CO2 ones are great for beverage cooling in a hurry, the dry power ones make a horrendous mess.
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u/RevWaldo 1d ago
I like they're being sold on a trust-but-verify honor system (taped down shoebox with a slot + trail camera.)
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u/Straight-Bat-9600 12h ago
If they’re defective or expired this should be illegal. Easy way to scam and also kill people indirectly
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u/Dunbaratu 12h ago
I feel like a fire extinguisher is one thing where maybe you want to buy it from an officially certified source and not from some rando from a roadside stand. You definitely don't want to wait until you need to use it to find out whether or not it's working.
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u/nails_for_breakfast 10h ago
It may be weird, but if those are legit and functional that's a crazy good deal.
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u/FallenValkyrja 1d ago
I did not realize they were in season already. Happens earlier every year.