This guide will see the best home fire extinguishers, the types, the prices, and how to choose the right fire extinguisher to buy.
Table of Contents
How to choose a fire extinguisher for home: types and characteristics
Keeping a fire extinguisher at home is not mandatory, as in public places, but it is essential for our safety. The extinguisher’s purpose is to stop the bud’s fire to prevent it from spreading further and is uncontrollable.
It is essential to understand that using water in many types of fire is inadvisable, which does not extinguish but propagates it, causing even more severe damage.
This is the case with oil, including cooking oil, which can burn nearby people and ignite other objects when exposed to water expands. Cannot use water even in fire caused by electrical appliances or live electrical equipment.
In addition to buying the best fire extinguishers for home, we must be ready to use them as effectively as possible. To do this, it is essential to understand how it works, know the different types of flammable materials in the home, and switch them off.
Before proceeding with the purchase, always check that the fire extinguisher is certified and approved and contains the instructions for use. When choosing the right extinguisher to buy, these characteristics distinguish the different fire extinguishers and fires intended for.
Tank and capacity of the fire extinguisher
The tank contains the extinguishing agent that can extinguish the fire. More the fire extinguisher has a larger tank to turn off relevant fires.
The fire extinguisher’s capacity is indicated in kg, and most fire extinguishers per home do not exceed 6 kg. The 1 or 2-kg portable fire extinguishers are the smallest used in the car or on a camping site.
Hose
The hose is only found in the larger fire extinguishers. This is a flexible tube that allows us to orientate the jet of the extinguisher. The hose is essential even when the extinguisher is too heavy for us; thus, it can be placed on the ground while using the hose to direct the extinguishing agent. Small fire extinguishers without hoses can be held with both hands and directed directly over the fire.
Valve
The extinguisher valve is formed by a handle pressed to operate the jet. The handle is always locked by a safety device that must remove before use. A pressure indicator is connected to the valve. The valve also serves to adjust the intensity of the jet.
Fixing brackets
Usually included in the purchase, the brackets allow you to attach the fire extinguisher to the wall. It is essential to place the fire extinguisher in a place that is visible and accessible to everyone. The fire extinguisher should never be stored or hidden from view so that it can also be used by those who do not live in the house or by a neighbor who comes to help us.
Temperature
The fire extinguisher should withstand extreme temperatures. The extinguishing substance must always be effective despite the external temperature, which depends on the extinguisher’s structure and composition. In many cases, the fire extinguishers indicate a temperature range between -30°C and 60°C; thus, they do not fear thermal changes and are always usable.
Kind of Fire
Fire is different depending on combustible materials and needs an appropriate extinguishing agent to be switched off.
- Class A: This fire burns solid materials such as wood, paper, plastic, and rubber.
- Class B: includes flammable liquid materials such as gasoline, kerosene, alcohol, and solvents.
- Class C: concerns all gases, for example, methane, hydrogen, propylene, acetylene, etc.
- Class D: includes metals such as zinc, titanium, aluminum, and magnesium.
- Class E: this class does not refer to the materials but includes all the electrical equipment, including tension.
- Class F: is the last class introduced in 2005 and explicitly dedicated to vegetable or animal cooking oils.
Extinguishing Substances
To find out how to choose a fire extinguisher for a home, let’s see what the extinguishing substances contained are. We will see that some substances are effective towards more fire classes, and keep in mind that extinguishers are continually tested and tested. To verify the accuracy, the details indicated by the manufacturer must be checked and shown on the fire extinguisher itself.
Powder fire extinguisher: This fire extinguisher is among the most used and perfect to extinguish Class A, B, and C with polyvalent powder. It extinguishes solid materials, liquids, and gases. Its action is very rapid, but you must not breathe dust. The powder fire extinguisher should not be used on class F, i.e., cooking oils, and E for electronic equipment.
Co2 fire extinguisher: a CO2 extinguisher for a home can turn off fire classes B and C. Its rapid action is due to a thermal shock that deprives the flames of oxygen. It is very effective in homes, but we should remember that it deprives the oxygen room.
Foam fire extinguisher: this type is perfect for class B fires generated by flammable liquids and most class A fires generated by solid materials. Some types of foam are suitable for Class F fires.
Water extinguishers: suitable only for solid materials in class A fires. It is a water extinguisher.
How to use the fire extinguisher
Once the type of fire extinguisher has been chosen, let’s use it only for the indicated fire classes. The jet is directed at the flame’s base, trying to maintain a few meters distance.
Use an intermittent jet to save the extinguishing and get a better result on the fire. Never open the windows and doors, if not those necessary, at the exit time because the drafts feed the fire.
A fire extinguisher for a home is used only to tame small fires if we cannot turn it off with a few jets or have the fire extinguisher suitable for the fire class. Then, it is appropriate to go out and immediately call the firefighters.
The Best fire extinguisher
Below is the complete selection of the ten safest home fire extinguishers, with prices and features recommended for purchase.
- Use to fight basic fires common to the home involving trash, wood, paper (Class A),...
- Tough, aluminum valve assembly & easy to pull safety pin
- Lightweight aluminum cylinder with durable, all metal construction
- Use to fight basic fires common to your car or truck: flammable liquids and gases (Class...
- Tough, metal valve assembly, painted aluminum cylinder, painted steel handles, & easy to...
- Easy to read pressure gauge tells you when the fire extinguisher is charged & ready for...
- Specifically designed for grease fires, the flared nozzle reduces the splashing of oil
- Lightweight: Durable, corrosion-resistant aluminum cylinder
- Easy to read pressure gauge tells you when the fire extinguisher is charged & ready for...
- 2 PACK
- 2A 10BC Rating
- All-Metal Valve Construction
- First Alert's HOME1 FE1A10GR Fire Extinguisher is UL rated 1-A: 10-B:C; it features...
- Multipurpose fire extinguisher fights wood, paper, trash, plastics, gasoline, oil, and...
- First Alert’s Rechargeable Fire Extinguisher can be recharged by a certified...
- Ideal “KITCHEN USE” fire extinguishers
- Wet Chemical Class A:K Extinguisher
- For use on (Class A) Ordinary Combustibles fires or (Class K) Cooking Appliances that...
- The First Alert HOME2PRO Fire Extinguisher is UL rated 2-A: 10-B:C and meets minimum 2-A:...
- Heavy-duty fire extinguisher fights wood, paper, trash, plastics, gasoline, oil, and...
- Uses mono ammonium phosphate extinguishing agent; Rechargeable by certified professionals...
- Amerex’s 5 lb abc fire extinguisher is UL rated 2A: 10B:C; it features a commercial...
- This multipurpose fire extinguisher fights Class A (ordinary combustibles), B (Flammable...
- The easy to pull metal safety pin with a safety seal to help prevent accidental discharge...
- Use to fight basic fires common to the home: flammable liquids and gases (Class B) &...
- Lightweight: Durable, corrosion-resistant aluminum cylinder
- Tough, metal valve assembly, rust, and impact resistant handle, & easy to pull safety pin
- IMMEDIATE ACTION FROM A SAFE DISTANCE: With an effective range of up to 13 feet, Ougist...
- ENHANCED FIRE SUPPRESSION: Ougist fire extinguisher for business delivers a 600g advanced...
- ULTRA-PORTABLE FIRE SAFETY: Designed for ease of storage and quick accessibility, our...
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