Source for CO2 fire extinguishers?

Halatron is what I thought was best but others more knowledgeable may have a different opinion. 2.5 lbs is good for about 9 secs. That should be fine in the unlikely chance you need it inside the Glowforge. Not really rated for large paper or wood fires, neither is CO2. A runaway flame-up inside the unit should be handled well. Again, my uneducated opinion.

Lol I hear ya…the smell of burning flesh is not fun either…lol

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That’s the same brand I went with, but I went up to 5 lbs. because the price wasn’t that much higher. They shipped much faster than “3 to 5 days” as well, but that could have been a fluke.

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@davidgal2 Nice find on the halotron extinguisher. @Hirudin I was also going to go for the larger one, but then noticed it has the same discharge time as the smaller one, 9 sec. It must have twice the flow rate, I’m guessing.

Found this on the Epilog website: “Epilog recommends a Halotron fire extinguisher or a multi-purpose dry-chemical fire extinguisher. The Halotron extinguisher emits a clean, easily removable substance that is not harmful to the mechanics or wiring of the laser system. Other dry chemical extinguisher can sometimes emit a sticky, corrosive powder that is very difficult to clean up.”

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A wait of a week or two won’t be a problem for those of us buying one for our Glowforges :smiling_imp:

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there is thread on eye protection already from last year:

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Can’t believe how much you guys have to pay for an extinguisher.
CO2 extinguishers over here are about £20-30
Halon appears to only be available to FD,PD and armed forces or in automated systems and can’t find any Halotron at all.

Are you sure you are not looking at standard dry chemical extinguishers? Extinguishers in the stores here are all dry chemical which leave a sticky residue. I was only able to find CO2 or Halatron online or at a extinguisher supply shop.

They are selling a Halotron 2.5 lb buckeye one here for $75.99 plus a little more than $15 shipping to residential. a little more than $25 to a business. If it is just in your home then you may not need it to be tagged.

That would depend on you.

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That is a great find. Do you have any idea who can tag a fire extinguisher? I had not heard of this before. Thanks for posting. :slight_smile:

I wouldn’t worry about a tag personally but if you need it then your local supplier or maybe your local fire department?

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The tag on a fire extinguisher is really for commercial purpose, so that when the fire department comes through for inspection they can determine when the fire extinguisher was last inspected and is still okay to use.

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Nope. CO2.
http://www.firesafetystore.co.uk/fire-extinguishers/co2-fire-extinguishers/2kg-co2-fire-extinguisher.html?gclid=CKPHsOvIscwCFfAy0wodylABjQ
Our local safety suppliers sells them for about the same sort of money.

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Wonder why the huge price difference? Don’t think CO2 is really regulated at that level here.

Good question.
CO2 and argon are the shielding gases for my welder, and a refill on a small bottle is >$50 - just the fill, whereas the pony bottle of CO2 to push a keg is only about $8 to refill, and has at least the amount of charge as a mid sized extinguisher.

Buildings have automated fire suppression systems, on the scale of our lasers I was thinking about those palm-sized CO2 cartridges for bb guns.
They work by a spring loaded hammer bouncing on a valve to release a puff of pressureized gas.

Wonder if that would be enough to squelch a flair up?
Or I could just connect/ position that keg pusher to the intake and just crack the valve for a second…

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Insurance.
The fire extinguisher folks have to carry a lot of it, and they pass the cost on to you.
The tanks need to be tested and certified, the companies need to be tested and certified, etc.

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I wonder how bad the downside is to having it “untagged”. That price is a fraction of cost compared to other sites (Amazon about 2X, Universal restaurant supply - same one is $249 - claiming retail is $400+ for the same model/specs). Can’t beat the $75 price unless it doesn’t save your $4000 GF or house because it didn’t work…

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Yes, but given those things all hold true here as well, it does seem that you are paying an awful lot.
We generally perceive goods over on your side of the pond to be cheap, Cars, fuel, food, electronics are all much cheaper.
What is it about extinguishers?

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I suspect the larger cost are environmental concerns, not so much insurance. Once you have a procedure and regulations in place for one gas (ie CO2) canister, other gases can easily be accommodated. Canadians gets taxed through the nuts if we try to import/export Halon extinguishers here, and lots of that is due to our Ozone-depleting Substances Regulations.

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The corollary to insurance is law suits.
This is the cost of doing business in a highly litigious environment.

(Note, the opinions expressed here are my own and are not founded on any real knowledge of the fire extinguisher business beyond casual conversation with the guy who used to refill the extinguishers for the shop I worked at)

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