Got a fire extinguisher? Better check it.

Kidde has been forced by the Feds to recall A BUNCH of their fire extinguishers.  Appears to be the ones with plastic handles.  I have one.  Here's the link on the Kidde site.

They'll send you a new one. 

As a note for any future extinguisher purchases, stay away from any with plastic bits up top.  They're not refillable and usually not as well made.  Spending the bit of extra for ones with all metal parts up there is well worth it. 

So I'm safe with my American LaFrance one that claims it's still charged, right?

They seem to have sold alot private label.  Mariner, Sears, Monkey Wards, Home, Fireaway, Quell, Gillette, Sanford, Volunteer, Traveler, and more.  Maybe I should have titled the post "If you have a fire extinguisher, better check..."

Thanks for the heads up Doc, checking mine today, although I don't think any have the plastic handle. I updated the thread title.

Thanks for the heads up. One of mine is a plastic handle but not on the list. It's time to upgrade anyway. 

Just submitted for my 3 replacements. Pretty painless experience. Good timing on the recall as one of them is not in the green any longer.

Thanks for the tip Doc.  When I checked the one behind the seat of my truck I realized the pin was out!  Could go off by throwing stuff on top of it.

Must be older, got a metal handle and trigger.

Dan

I just bought a new one, to replace a very old one. Then this recall came out. Thankfully mine is not on the list, serial number is much later than the ones affected.

Patrick said:

So I'm safe with my American LaFrance one that claims it's still charged, right?

I have an old brass one that you need to turn upside-down to use. It's still full, fortunately I've never had reason to find out if it actually works.

I have a bunch of extinguishers and when I checked, I was kind of surprised that I only had one Kidde. It has a plastic handle, but it's not affected by the recall. It is an AB Foam extinguisher.

The one I had that was affected was a dry chemical.  The one that didn't put out the Esprit was probably also under the recall, but too late for that one.

Well, this was a timely post as I do in fact have two affected fire extinguishers, and another two that are no longer in the green. I did the online form and new replacements are being shipped out. The other two will get exchanged at the local Pye Barker place this week. Thanks for posting Doc. 

Without hijacking, can you recommend a lightweight extinguisher to put in a plane?  The Kiddie I have weighs as much as a gallon of fuel.

Thanks.

I think I was smart enough to not buy any plastic ones.   Totally by accident though.   

Both of my house ones were on that list. Thanks for the heads up.

I'm not super opposed to plastics in most things as long as it's spec'd correctly. Obviously this wasn't.

914Driver: We used primarily H3R Aviation extinguishers on the flight lines. They make a line of small cockpit extinguishers which weigh 2.3 lbs with an aluminum body.

Dr. Hess said:

They seem to have sold alot private label.  Mariner, Sears, Monkey Wards, Home, Fireaway, Quell, Gillette, Sanford, Volunteer, Traveler, and more.  Maybe I should have titled the post "If you have a fire extinguisher, better check..."

 

Huh didn't know that. I have one with a plastic head that's pretty much retired, but I'll check it anyway, a free one can't hurt.

Pete Gossett said:

Patrick said:

So I'm safe with my American LaFrance one that claims it's still charged, right?

I have an old brass one that you need to turn upside-down to use. It's still full, fortunately I've never had reason to find out if it actually works.

Those are cool - I think they're literally baking soda and vinegar, and by tipping it upside down you're mixing the two which releases carbon dioxide, thus (theoretically) depriving the fire of oxygen.

Wow, odd timing. I just had the plastic nozzle break on my fire extinguisher during a pit stop at a Lemons race 2 weeks ago.  Pretty sure its a Kidde.  

I heard about this when a friend of mine was looking for a fire extinguisher to put in his Jeep because an event he was going to required it. Apparently almost all the stores he checked carried Kidde because all the shelves were empty.

Just an update on this. I have not yet received my replacement extinguishers so I called their recall hotline 855-271-0773 and was told they are running way behind on shipping these out. I'll follow up with them again after the new year if I haven't seen them. They did offer to escalate my request but I chose not to.

In reply to EastCoastMojo :

Wow, I wondered about that. I guess I was fortunate to request replacements the day it was published, mine were here in less than a week.

Similar to ECM, I have four of these things and filled out the appropriate forms a while ago- haven't received anything yet, although they claim I should have 4 some time soonish.

Being the recycling nerd that I am......where does one take extinguishers that show 'empty' but have never been used? 

Our local "transfer station" (genteel name for a dump with a sorting function) has a special shed for "household hazardous materials."  That's where I'd start.  If they tell you it isn't hazardous enough for them, they'll also tell you what you OUGHT to be doing with it.