Best Fire Extinguishers for Your Safety in the UK

This model is not huge, yet it has a capacity of 6 litres, which is more than enough to fight small fires, even if you miss the direction of the discharge at first. There are captions and pictures printed on the surface that instruct you on how to use the tool in a case of emergency. As any proper fire extinguisher, this one has a wall bracket for mounting. The pressure gauge on the top of the cylinder shows whether it is capable of fighting the fire or not. If the indicator on the gauge enters the red sector, don’t use the fire extinguisher. Generally, performing an annual check of the extinguisher and maintaining it prevents any concerns.

Since the firefighting agent is foam, the propellant used to discharge it is the compressed dry air. Unlike the carbon dioxide, it is safer to use for people. It doesn’t leave solid residue like a dry powder extinguisher would but it needs to be soaked up after usage. Nevertheless, we believe it is always beneficial to have at least two types of extinguishers with different agents for multipurpose usage, covering four or more classes of fire to prevent any dangerous situation.

Manufactured by the UK specialists, this extinguisher comes in a durable aluminium body to make it light, and, therefore, easy to handle. Designed for prompt and efficient action, it is portable and has a throw range of 4 metres and a discharge duration of only 8 seconds. Notably, this is a relatively short amount of time so you should direct the flow of the firefighting agents just right. It means that the most effective way to use this extinguisher is to focus on small areas where the heat source is concentrated. The total weight is 4.9 kg when the balloon is filled at the maximum pressure of 56 bars.

This device is well-thought-out and has a frost free horn that protects you from frost burns. It is a reasonable solution since this handy firefighter operates in a wide temperature range — from -20 to 60 degrees. You shouldn’t worry about accidental discharge since the manufacturers have it securely packaged with a pin plug for safer transit. It is based on carbon dioxide to accomplish its main task — get rid of a fire without damaging the electric appliances. However, it means you shouldn’t use it in small enclosed compartments.

You simply can’t go wrong with this particular model if you choose it for domestic use. It weighs only 1.4 kg because the firefighting agent is a dry powder (mono-ammonium phosphate in this case). In a combination with nitrogen as the propellant that is compressed under 9 bars of pressure, the operating temperature range varies between -30 and 60 degrees, which is an impressive capability. Furthermore, the pressure level is enough to provide a discharge range of 4 metres and discharge time of only 7.8 seconds, letting you manage any occasion in a blink of an eye.

Any efficient solution developed by a human being can be as harmful as it is useful. Talking about dry powder, it creates a dense cloud around the burning area, meaning you shouldn’t get close to it since the firefighting agent can be harmful to your lungs. Also, it can be dangerous for the equipment it gets inside of. A short time of discharge means the powder jet goes really intense and is under high pressure. Thus, you should keep your distance from the heat source. Otherwise, you will spread the fire with the force of a jet. The same applies to putting out fires caused by fat and oil since the powder is not capable of managing this type of fire.

This model by Draper comes with all the necessary elements like the mounting bracket and pressure gauge. Unlike many of the other devices, it is refillable. However, please never try to refill the tank yourself. During the annual service, a specialist will discharge and fill it over again to make sure everything operates the way it should.

Water has unique properties with both advantages and disadvantages when it comes to working the fire. This particular extinguisher has the 13A fire rating, making it irreplaceable to put out a fire on wood or paper. However, it is practically useless to fight fires on oil or electrical equipment. Therefore, it is not a versatile device but a perfect complement to your fire security system. In fact, there is no chemical substance that covers all the fire classes and purchasing a set of different extinguishers is the right way to care about safety.

The firefighting agent in this particular model is BC powder, which is not a pain relief drug in this case. Being also referred to as the standard powder, it is based on sodium bicarbonate and used to be the standard before the ABC powder became common. The letters stand for the fire classes this chemical substance operates with. Both BC and ABC powders have an exceptional knock-out firefighting capability and are also cheap to produce, which defines the low price of the model under review.

Being designed for car use, it is geared toward fighting the aftermaths of a short circuit or preventing a small domestic fire from spreading. Therefore, this powder fire extinguisher is nearly useless for electrical appliances with voltage numbers that exceed 1,000 V. And as for combustible liquids like petrol, these are most likely to explode when stored in small enclosed spaces like a fuel tank. Hence, you should stay away from your car if you see both fire and leakage but you can’t detect or access its source.