# I am working on a puzzle about a fire extinguisher



## Porong (Oct 14, 2020)

since this seems to be a diy Forum I thought I would try asking a weird question here

my friend had asked me about an unusual fire extinguisher application in the picture below is a special type of fire extinguisher the way it works is you unscrew the top and fill it with water and or additives and operate the pump please pardon if you dont like the name of this item please dont complain to me please complain to the manf as I did not name the thing but any way since my project involves filling this with with water and ultra dawn I would be hesistant to mix soap and anti- freeze ( for fear of chemical reaction ) remember I said I was working on a Puzzl,e the question is since this contains soapy water how to prevent it from freezing it seems the best conclusion would be to take well when I tried to Iook for what to use on a firefighter forum the advice was to use rv anti-freeze so the question now becomes do you think this could be successfuly freeze protected by dilluting the anti-freeze in a 2 liter soda bottle with water and droping it in the tank the unit is 5 gallons perhaps it will have to be a little bit less to put the soda bottle in soda . So my question is if I drop in a bottle of water mixed with anti freeze will this succesfully freeze-protect this product ( Note I am convince the anti freeze will not burn in this applcation( I am have researched how flammable the anti freeze is or similar and as I said I dont think it will burn this application also rv anti freeze was recommended on a firefighter fourm ( what they did not say was is there a way to protect a soapy water type chemcial ) I am certain water and dish soap is superior to plain water for firefighting what I dont know is the science behind how an anti freeze system works so I wonder If I put in the below container in the picutre a 2 liter bottle filled with water and anti freeze and or how much would I put in the container assuming I Put good amount of dillution ratio any idea how much? Would you think putting in a 2 liter bottle with diluted anti freeze or if there is a premixed type could be put in to ( drop a bottle in) this unit to







create freeze protection for the unit is my question (thoughts and ) Ideas are appreciated please thank you. I do not sell products I am trying to find a remedy to an ususual problem if you can help it would be greatly appreciated thank you.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Why would you leave it outside to freeze? Follow manufacturer's suggestions as to mix ratio.


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## Porong (Oct 14, 2020)

your asking the wrong question some times water base extinguisher are kept out side the question is how do you protect it from freezing do you think droping a bottle in to the unit with a glycol anti-freeze in the proper amount (when properly diluted ) would prevent it from freezing I am trying to ask for a remedy to a problem not for people toask me what I have already said
please do not repsond if all you can do is contradict anything I say I am trying to find a remedy not be questioned about what is or is not being done you were not helpful please only respond if you have something that will provide a remedy as to how to prevent this unit from freezing by use of anti freeze thank you. the manf is unable to answer my question as they do not know the answer to my question as I said its non- a common issue. I will say again if you have nothing helpful to contribute please do not respond.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

I'll respond as I please. There are two types of glycol antifreeze. Ethylene glycol which is regular car antifreeze. It is poisionous to animals and has a sweet taste to it. Propolyene glycol which is RV antifreeze is friendlier and has none of the negative aspects that Ethylene has.

Use the proper antifreeze and it may help. But, never, ever, cop an attitude with me or any of the others on the forum. We are here to help, and if you don't like the answers, don't ask the questions.


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## Porong (Oct 14, 2020)

Sorry I had not realized this could be deemed offensive I am triying to work on a puzzle maybe you didn't know people on a firefigther forum seemed to think rv antifreeze would be the better choice do to its lower toxicity as for a special water based fire extinguisher if properly maintained maybe you did not know is likely to more reliable than a chemical extinguisher would be one reason to use it another is that most chemcials contain powder which could cause extreme property damage my thinking is if you just discharge soapy water it probably alot easier to clean up I am not sure if you know this but multi purpose dry chemical stick to hot surface to which its applied in case you did not know I think the chemical is a fertilizer base again sorry I am forgetting we are all here to learn please accept my apology if I get mad I guess I can stop asking questions if I dont like the answer ( I guess it true not everyone likes everything all the time I guess I forget this thank you)


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## Porong (Oct 14, 2020)

I guess I forgot having differences of opinions increases learning oppertunites I forgot that thank you for reminding me as I have not experienced that recently I guess maybe I guess I am forget ing the main theme is to help people learn. I mean it ridculous to get mad if it will help someone learn. I was at one time going to major in fire protection but I could not get the required classes or I had some other difficulty I am actually employed by a grocery store as a bagger though I still like researching fire fighting methods ( I am a consultant informal as I dont sell products I just do research ) I will say I will not claim to know if all I am not aware of how much you know about fire fighting but even 5 lbs of a powder extinguisher possibly may not have the same firefighting effectivenss as approximately 5 gallon of soapy water one problem also in case you did not know is that I think I read in some cases if a power was use on some like textiles it may not extinguish a fire below a surface soapy water allow water to sink in where normal water would bead so adding soap to water in case you did not know make water more effective this will be true for ordinary combustibles it may be harder to get maximum effetiveness if you use it on a liquid fire which I think has greater potentail for failure in case I was unclear in the quatitites of fire suppressant that could be applied to a small fire a lots of soapy water could be more effective than a medium sized fire extinguisher plus if the freeze issue can be eliminated it would be excellent protection. as the thing is not likely to fail


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## Porong (Oct 14, 2020)

sorry started to ramble a few times below


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## Porong (Oct 14, 2020)

as I said sorry started to ramble


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## Porong (Oct 14, 2020)

Its like you said we are here to learn instead of refusing to answer your question I should be trying to explain the reasoning for this to increase your brain sorry. ( I guess I am forgetting negativity does not help anyone)


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## beenthere (Oct 11, 2008)

For 5 gallons, you would need the glycol to be 30 to 40 percent of the mixture. So no, mixing 50/50 water and glycol in a 2 liter bottle and then pouring it in, won't protect it from freezing. At least not from 20°F/-7°C.


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## fireguy (May 3, 2007)

Amerex has a liqued product that is put into 2.5 gallon Stainless portables. This is the time of the year when we dump the water and install the chemical in place of water. Is the extinguisher you showed us listed by UL?


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