I'm sure someone here has knowledge to share.

Have been thinking it might be wise to keep a small fire extinguisher at the workbench. That's easy enough, but I would like something that wouldn't destroy some piece of radio gear it was used on, and that could be cleaned up easily afterwords. I looked into Halon briefly, but it's EXPENSIVE! Any other good options?

I powered up a 50-year old rig recently, and saw a wisp of "magic smoke" escape. I had it powered down instantly, and don't think there was any real fire risk, but it has me thinking that some fire control might be wise.

Thanks for any info!   Jim...

CO2?

tundra?

CO2 or Halotron-1 is what you seek.

Thanks! That got me where I needed to go.

Most of the CO2 and Halotron extinguishers were $100 or better, but finally found one on Amazon for less than $20 and free shipping. I suspect it will suffice for my (hopefully never) needs. Just in case anyone else has an interest:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Buckeye+70256

Thanks again! Jim...

Thanks, Jim!  That's an insanely low price so I just ordered two.  Says 4 left in stock after that.

I have a lot of extinguishers around here but they're all dry chemical and all over 15 years old.

I started to order a couple until I noticed the weight listed as 2.2 lbs and the capacity as 2.5 lbs..  I suspect that these are empty and have not been charged.

Hope I am wrong for your sake.

Wow! That IS an insane price.
If I didn't have a couple 1211's just sitting around I'd be all over this.

Hmm... I guess we'll see.

I don't buy the idea of it not being charged. if it doesn't look right, at least Amazon has a good return policy.   Jim...

The company has good reviews and seems to be known for selling stuff at a really low price.  They're sold as New and ship from OK, so QRB and I will see in a few days.  Looks like someone else bought one too, down to 1 left in stock.  Now says 6 left in stock again...

ETA:  Maybe they mis-typed the price and it's supposed to be $118.70?

I see that same strange weight on some other models by other sellers, so it's not just this one item.

On this item farther down in the details it says:

Product Details
Item Weight: 2.2 pounds
Shipping Weight: 5 pounds

Yes the volunteer firefighter across the hall says it is great for the bench so I have one on the way.

Snagged 2, also.  

Surprised there was none there to begin with.  I have multiple extinguishers all over the house.

It says near the bottom.  Shipping Weight: 5 pounds

These will be ok for the bench but you will need to be very accurate with the stream.  2.5 pounds goes really fast.

I bought a fire extinguisher about 25 years ago.  Still pressurized, and still sitting in the kitchen pantry.  I shook it up a little while back.  Doesn't seem to be settled out. Can't remember what's in it.  

Just an FYI: If you ever have to use one of these Halons or Halotron's, in an enclosed space (like indoors) dont breath it in.
Pull the pin, take a couple breaths or so and hold it before squeezing the trigger. Then GTFO after you get it out. That stuff is not good for your lungs or your health.

Halon and its cousins (Halotron, etc) are WAY better for you than CO2 as far as continued breathing are concerned.  I used to work for a company that made fire extinguishers for aircraft and the airlines are still allowed to use old school Halon for one reason only.  Enough CO2 to put out a fire will be enough to suffocate and kill anyone in the room, enough Halon to put out a fire will not kill you, but I have heard that it is not comfortable (similar to MACE I have been told but not experienced).  Its hard to step outside for a breath of fresh air at 30,000 ft!





The downside of Halon is you dang sure better have the fire OUT OUT as you don't want the Halon to be overheated / burnt as it will give off some nasty toxic byproducts if the fire gets going again.  





My $0.02!

 

Link?

Up above:


http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Buckeye+70256

Looks like they are all gone, because now they are $127.

Hmm... Received a message today that my order had been cancelled, the seller stating, "my supplier is out." Perhaps it was priced incorrectly, and if so, I'm glad. I don't want to cause anyone loss by a simple mistake.

So, will have to search for something else. I know halon has some downsides, but I just can't imaging using a dry chemical extinguisher on the chassis of a nice old radio. Perhaps I can find a CO2 unit that is affordable.   Jim...

I got the cancellation too.  It was just too good to be true.  

Price is now $127, so looks like they just had it priced wrong and cancelled the orders.

I haven't used Halotron or FE-36/Cleanguard personally but Halotron is FAA approved for in-cabin use, I can't believe it would be "like mace". Halon certainly is not like mace, it's a non-toxic gas with minimal odor.

The only issue with Halon is that it's a chloro-flourocarbon... when applied to fire or other very high temperatures it breaks down chemically, and one of the by-products is hydrogen flouride aka hydroflouric acid which is bad news. So you do want to GTFO if you use it on a fire in a confined area. It's apparently not a massive hazard as Halon was the standard for on-board extinguishers for commercial and military aircraft as well as on the space shuttle. Halotron I believe is similar in having HF as a decomposition product. Halotron has more biological effects at lower concentrations than Halon which is the reason for the warning posted above. I'm more a fan of FE-36 as a Halon replacement. I'm more a fan of not replacing Halon personally.

Halon 1301 used in flooding systems, where they would fill an entire room with Halon like a computer center or something like that, would reach dangerous concentrations so people did have to evacuate where those systems were used. Novek is the new solution for those applications.

Even worse with halon/derivitives is that if you do get hit with too much and have a heart attack one of the treatments is epinephrine.  BUT....  There is a really bad reaction between the Halon and Epinephrine.   Basically, the treatment will kill you.  

I hated working with the stuff.  I got a few face fulls refilling cylinders and it would make my heart race.  

If you have a choice, CO2 would be a good alternative.

I used CO2 to put out a car fire in my garage.  I must not have survived.  

Well thanks a lot! Now I'm so nervous, I'm going to go sit in a dark corner and steer clear of all heat and flame producing devices...

Worked in a computer building that used a halon system. We had the O2 masks and stuff in the building just like in the terminator movie. If the system was about to trip there was a special 30 second alarm to give you some time to get out before it popped the values. There was also a cancellation mushroom button the wall. I can't remember if it canceled the released or just delayed it for as long as it was held.

I hate it when they do that. They are effectively lying about it. I've had this happen before. They lie to Amazon to, plead "out of stock". But it's relisted within seconds, so of course they have stock

I'd happily accept a message that was honest, you know "Oops, sorry to tease you like that, but we screwed up and it's really this much money, sorry."

Box of Arm & Hammer, easily puts out small fires and you control the mess.  Cheap too.  Make it easy to disconnect power also,

+3...  Well, shit.  At least we tried.