Testing "Fire Extinguishers" Good or Gimmick? Which one can save your life? 

CO2 is generally for use on electrical equipment and can also work on flammable liquids. CO2 extinguishers have quite a low rating. A 5lb CO2 has a 5B:C rating a 5lb ABC dry chemical has a 2A:10B:C or 3A:40B:C, most manufacturers offer both these are UL/ULC ratings so some countries may have slightly different ratings. You can see the yellow powder they used in the 2.5lb extinguisher, that is ABC powder. The white powder is just sodium bicarbonate and is only BC rated.

It’s just for fun

​@@hectic6981 so yeah, electric fires plus enclosed space equals breaker box or car's engine compartment. Because car fires mostly start with either hot wires or leaking gas on hot exhaust.

@zyamadeadborn1785 don't forget about the interior foam and plastics. And like I said CO2 is for electrical equipment and CAN be used for flammable liquids, but its not really recommended. The standard used for vehicle fires is ABC dry chemical. Not to mention the pressure inside a co2 is above 700 psi at room temperature where a dry chemical is only pressurized to around 200 (195 for most manufacturers) also has way more stopping power in a lighter and smaller package 5lb Amerex ABC weight is 8lb13oz a 5lb CO2 weighs about 13lb. And the co2 is physically a bit larger as well. co2 units are harder to be recharged, require more frequent internal maintenance and hudrostatic testing have no external gauge to easily inspect for fullness and cost at least 3 times more than an ABC If you look at any commercial vehicle that requires an extinguisher you'll find an ABC, if you look at a gas station ABC as well, at the airport where they fuel the planes they have ABC too. I do this for a living, my advice is sound. If you're trying to protect an irreplaceable/priceless automobile then some type of clean agent may be considered, but not co2, in a size that one would fit into most cars its not going to be verry effective. Nascar uses dry chemical or clean agent supressu9n systems in their cars, with nozsels under the hood, in the fuel cell area and in the driver's compartment. The under hood and fuel sell area are automatically activated and the driver compartment has a manual actuator. Call a local fire protection company and ask them what they recommend I am sure they will tell you same. In 25 years in the industry I've never seen any code requirements for co2 in and around flammable liquid storeage or vehicles, its always dry chemicals because they are effective. Propane tow motors, BC or ABC, electric tow motor charging areas, BC or ABC, flammable liquids storeage areas BC or ABC, the requirement is for BC but also considers what is near by, like the building material, or the vehicle interior etc.. hence the ABC being selected.

@@hectic6981 if I understand correctly, these tiny things don't contain compressed co2 but rather some chemicals that produce it when they get flame hot. Also I agree with you that they are not for every time. But I think they might work together with those powder balls. i mean, I'd put both under the hood of my vehicle, just in case.

This crossed our minds. We have a Halon system out of a race car we want to try out too

That kind of test would I think give the gas-style extinguishers a better chance (enclosed space, less smouldering), but I think they still wouldn't be nearly as effective as a proper fire extinguisher.

I agree, these strike extinguishers are designed for vehicle/off-road fires with oil/fuel/electrical fires, not fires with wood. I've seen various videos and it seems that anytime wood is used for the test, they fail, but when using motor oil or something similar, they do fairly well.

They do say class a on the side..

let's try an EV! :D

Haven't even finished the vid and its obvious these guys aren't using them as they're intended... Clueless guys handling a ball while it's still 'live'. How about you read the damn directions before you blow yourself up?

You might be watching the wrong channel for serious tests

@@brucebaxter6923 I've seen these guys in action many times and they're more than capable of some solid testing while having a good time doing it.

To put out a couch fire your best bet is water, even dry chemical extinguishers will struggle with such a large volume of that foam stuff. If there isn't a steady stream of o2 the fire won't burn, it's part of the chemical reaction that is fire, take away the o2 and no fire, it's the principle that most extinguishers operate on, the ABC and BC dry chemical are silica bases that form a barrier between the o2 and the material, cutting off the o2 and "smothering" the fire using some type of fire starter isn't really effecting the ability of a fire extinguisher to extinguish the fire. Unless they're putting large volumes of flammable metals in there the fires in the video are primarily just A class fires, water would be most effective against them but this video definitely shows the effectiveness of ABC dry chemicals, you can see the first dry chemical the white powder that kind of put it out but not really, that is BC powder and isn't rated for the A class fire, ence why it didn't work well, the yellow powder in the 2nd extinguisher is ABC powder and worked as intended. BC powder is sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and works well on small kitchen fires with minimal cooking oils or animal fats, but is not used on its own in commercial kitchen fires involving higher volumes of cooking oils as it's effectiveness is diminished, a dry chemical suppression system is used then followed up by a class K liquid extinguisher to ensure the fire doesn't restart in commercial kitchen applications.

@brucebaxter6923 not to mention testing by experts in controlled environments is not what the average person experiencing an emergency is going to face. This video was a real world application by folks who aren't necessarily trained or experienced in the selection or application of fire extinguishers, exactly what most people would face. A vehicle is likely to be burning on the trail or roadside not in a wind free closed room without any other combustible material around, ie luggage, camping gears, trees and bushes etc.. This video is actually a great display of what may or could be faced in the field and shows just how effective a small ABC rated dry chemical extinguishers is and just how finicky these other non extinguisher type items are in practical application.

Fires in the real world are usually never controlled.

okay, so in the world of science there are these things they do called "controlled experiments" where the testing is "controlled" carry on@@LawF250

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Jesus Christ, I didn't realise they were $90 a stick! You could buy 4 regular fire extinguishers for that.

@@KarlEller Exactly!

​@@KarlEllerholy crap, I thought they would be $10 units too. I figured they could have some utility in the right application but damn. No not at that price.

To be fair this may actual work better on a gas or oil fire as with them once the flame is out you are fine, wood wants to smolder and re-ignite

Halon 1211 is banned in most places these days, it's super toxic when sprayed on fire it should have had a skull and crossbones warning on it, and quite bad for the ozone layer. There are some more modern halogenated agents on the market such as Halotron1 but outdoors they won't be super effective as they work on oxygen displacement not a smothering effect like dry chemical. Indoors you must select the size of the unit based on the size of the space. A 5lb 5B:C rated halotron1 shouldn't be used in spaces under 700 cubic feet ad they will displce the O2 fast enough to render the operator unconscious or asphyxiating them.

@@hectic6981 thanks man, Things certainly have changed. I'm sure glad you said something, id hate to steer someone as wrong as this may have done without being corrected. 🙏🏻

@kevbev1524 safety is definitely a fluid environment. I grew up in the times before sestbelts saved lives and 2nd hand smoke caused cancer. Spent at least a decade or more laying up on luggage in the back window waving at the car behind us on road trips while 2nd hand smoking a pack of smokes lol Halon was great when computer server rooms were super high dollar envestments and insurance companies didn't want to have to replace the entire room because of the damage caused by dry chemical extinguishers, the powder is caustic so it'll destroy sensitive electronics if used in close proximity. But these days in most situations we just install ABC dry chemical units to protect server rooms as well.

​@@hectic6981"inert" gas asphyxiation is a terrifying thing. Just so everyone else is clear, lack of oxygen isn't something you notice. You get stupid then pass out over about 10 seconds and then you die. You don't feel anything. CO2 buildup is what you're feeling when you're out of breath. Like literally my "exit" should I ever need it is going to be inert gas. (No not suicidal, I just don't want to die in horrible pain from cancer or whatever)

@zyeborm halogenated agents are bad for this co2 also has potential for this but things like Halon1211 are much more of a concern for the end user, especially in closed spaces. Like I mentioned a 5lb capacity Halon1211 is not to he used in spaces under 700 cubic feet as the o2 displacement occurs so fully and rapidly that anyone within the space is most likely going to be overcome by it, then you've got unconscious people in a fire situation and that's not something fun to deal with. Not to mention the toxic byproducts produced when the halogenated agents contact heat like hydrogen chloride, hydrogen bromide. I should put a disclaimer here that halon doesn't technically displce the oxygen but it's the "laymen" explanation used to explain the method. It actually contacts the heat, producing the iodine, chloride and bromine byproducts act as a catalyst to interrupt the chemical reaction of fire. Thst being said the gas is dense and heavy and will also displce oxygen in low spaces or from your lungs etc...

Not rated - specifically not rated - for wood fires. It’s for inside a small enclosed space like an engine bay, and where the fuel isn’t as likely to smolder and rekindle, like plastic wire sheaths.

We may have to do a revisit and do some more appropriate testing. Thanks for the comment and the idea!

Yeah the fire blanket is a good choice for oil in a pan type fires for exactly that reason. It'll only work if you get it properly sealed and this is very important, you need to leave it on there until the oil has cooled all the way down. Plenty of people get the fire out. Then immediately try and move the boiling oil to the sink and try and pour it away. It goes 3 ways. The oil ignites again as soon as it gets fresh air now their sink is on fire. They pour the oil into the sink melting the plastic plumbing and dumping hot oil through their kitchen. They spill the boiling oil all over themselves. Let. It. Cool.