Danger !!!! fire extinguishers and other pressure tanks.

Just heard a news story about a worker who accidently cut into a live extinguisher. It ended up 1/4 mile away inside a home after going through a roof.

it is very easy to get a live extinguisher mixed in with a load of dead ones. remember when dealing with your source, it is usually a minimum wage guy who sorts them who is not familiar with many of the dangers a scrapper is.

many years ago at my uncles trucking co a man was nearly cut in half by a truck tire ring not properly seated. the ring then proceded to take the valve off an oxygen bottle which went througha concrete wall and ended up in a vacant lot about 200 yards away.

thats why some people should just work at McDonalds.

isn't it common sense to pull the valve out before cutting into a pressurized tank.

some peoples kids i tell ya...

Wonder why the fire extinguisher reacted so violently? The normal "run of the mill" extinguisher is filled with nitrogen to 100 psi. And there is nothing else in them that will burn to add to the violence.

Oh, Crap: Of course!! It must have been a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher (CO2). Them are filled with liquid CO2, which is at about 900 psi at room temperature. The pressure must have been going up fast as he was heating it to cut it.

I've heard all sorts of stories about guys stealing the big oxygen cylinders for laughs at the campfire. They'd rig up a launching trough out of a few 2x4's, lay the cylinder in there, valve down, and knock the valve off with an axe. Apparently they go quite a ways with 2200 psi!

You're 110% right about the safety warning aspect. Lots of people are totally unaware of the dangers of pressurized tanks--and probably don't even know how to identify a pressurized tank--it can be as innocent as a household propane cylinder or a hairspray can.

Jon.

I depressurize them with my commi assault rifle. :)