Carbon Dioxide Cartridges For Fire Extinguishers

Cartridges for portable fire extinguishers

The first type is found inside cartridge type fire extinguishers. These are usually used in marine environments where reliability is required. So how do we tell it is a cartridge type fire extinguisher? For cartridge type fire extinguishers, there are usually no pressure gauges to be found. These cartridges are usually red

Unlike stored pressured fire extinguishers which are always pressurized, cartridge type fire extinguishers are never pressurized until required. During operation, the lever is depressed and the co2 cartridge is punctured. Carbon dioxide is quickly released and pressurizes the fire extinguisher.

So why are they much more reliable than the usual fire extinguishers with a pressure gauge? The co2 cartridge has a solid seal which keeps all the carbon dioxide propellant in the tiny cartridge. If it is never punctured, leakage is impossible.

Cartridges for mobile fire extinguishers

The second type of carbon dioxide cartridges are the ones in red. These are found on the outside of mobile fire extinguishers that are wheeled. When a fire occurs, the cartridges are hand turned to release the carbon dioxide propellant into the mobile fire extinguisher.

Due to the size of mobile fire extinguishers, these cartridges are larger and usually weigh at least 1 KG.