So, you’re a lighthouse keeper, a wind farm operator, a hospital manager. You’re busy, your work is intensive and doesn’t leave much time for maintenance. Or you’re in the middle of nowhere, and you can’t get an extinguisher service technician to you every year. Heck, your last fire extinguisher barely arrived in one piece. Something needs to change, and that change needs to last. P50 Service-free Fire Extinguishers are a game-changer in the fire safety realm and are designed to tackle this exact conundrum.
Beyond that, they offer leading fire ratings and extinguisher durability. These things last for ages, and can be relied upon to keep you safe when the time comes. And the cherry on top? They don’t require annual servicing from a technician. You can do it yourself.
What is a P50 Fire Extinguisher?
As I said, these things are a game-changer. The P50 is a patented design from the good folks over at Britannia Fire. It is designed to last longer than any other extinguisher on the market and remove complications involved in servicing. We’ll talk a bit more about lifetime and servicing later; for now, I want to break down what makes these things tick. From top to bottom, the P50 Service-free Fire Extinguishers are optimised for unparalleled durability and usability.
We can start right at the top, in fact, with the headcap. Brass, nickel-plated, and manufactured from stainless steel, no less, it features two magnetic pressure gauges. These can be verified with the magnet kept on the underside of the extinguisher base. Also found at this point is the locking neck ring, which is one of the patented elements of the design.
After the headcap, you quickly come to the extinguisher’s body, which is comprised of several distinct and innovative components. This starts with the outer jacket, the lovely red exterior that you can’t help but remark upon. It is made of High-Density Polyethylene coated with UV-cured ink to aid the durability of the cylinder itself and its colour.
Just under the outer jacket is the internal bottle itself. This is one of the patented, and most impressive elements of the P50’s design. Similar to the jacket, the bottle is primarily made from High-Density polyethylene. The difference is the Aramid fibre material that is woven onto it. This material is incredibly lightweight and strong, boasting a burst test pressure of over 70 bar, which far exceeds the standard 55 minimum.
We’ve already talked a bit about the base. Nothing out of the ordinary there, save for the magnet that lets you verify the pressure gauges.
What can a P50 Fire Extinguisher be Used For?
The straightforward answer is not for everything. But that’s only because the P50s are a range of extinguishers covering multiple types of extinguishing agent. And some of these agents are rated for most types of fire. Let’s talk about their more comprehensive offerings.
We can start with the P50WM, the Water Mist Extinguisher. This is a simple but commendable evolution of the standard water fire extinguisher. It uses de-ionised water and a specialised nozzle to disperse the contents in the form of a fine mist. This gives it good area coverage and results in little to no residue being left after use, reducing any further damage to whatever was burning.
The P50 Water Mist extinguisher is primarily rated for Class A fires, meaning it is effective on carbonaceous fire risks such as wood, fabric, and plastic, much like any water extinguisher. The way the water is dispersed, as well as the P50s specialised construction, gives it an edge over these generic varieties, however. It is rated for use on electrical equipment up to 1000V, meaning it can feasibly put out most electrical fires.
It is a standard recommendation from fire risk assessments to outfit a property with an equal number of water and CO2 extinguishers. These are dedicated to Class A and electrical fires, respectively, but the P50WM covers both types. This means you can cover most internal fire risks with one extinguisher type. This becomes exponentially more economical when you factor in the P50’s unparalleled lifespan.
These properties are shared across most of the P50 range’s offerings. Their P50FC-ECO wet chemical extinguisher, for example, delivers on the functionality expected of a Class F extinguisher (which is to combat cooking oil fires) but is also rated for electrical equipment.
How Long Will My P50 Fire Extinguisher Last?
We’ve now established that investing in a P50 is a surefire way to have a multipurpose fire extinguisher that will last decades. Let’s talk a little bit more about how those ‘decades’ come into play.
This longevity is, of course, one of the biggest selling points that Britannia Fire put forward for the P50s. It is entirely a result of their impressive construction, which we have already been through in detail. But it is specifically the anti-corrosive nature of the materials that allows for the 20-year lifespan. Metal corrodes, and can be dented if handled carelessly. Aramid fibre suffers no such ailments, and takes at least ten years to encounter any detrimental degradation.
We’ve also talked about the UV-cured polyethylene, among other materials. These all contribute to the durability, especially when a P50 is kept outside. But, the guarantees that Britannia Fire provide form an essential part of this lifespan pedigree that the P50s boast. They still have a 5-year warranty, like most other extinguishers. But Britannia offers a 10-year guarantee (as long as you perform the annual maintenance inspection), as well as a factory refurbishment when this time has elapsed, adding another 10 years onto their lifespan.
This 20-year lifetime is unmatched by any other extinguisher on the market, and we are unsurprisingly proud to offer such an innovative bit of firefighting technology at the best price possible. But the P50 goes the extra mile. They are also known as service-free fire extinguishers. This isn’t a technical truth; what it means is that you can perform the inspection yourself. The extinguisher provides both the instructions and space to record inspection dates on the cylinder itself. This servicing process is covered in greater detail in our previous article, so please read through it if you want more information.
Closing Words
So, I think it’s fair to say that any praise sent the P50 Service-free Extinguisher’s way is more than well-deserved. Flexible firefighting power, genuinely unmatched lifespan, and a convenient manual inspection process. They offer everything and more. The only reason you wouldn’t go for a P50 is the initial price tag. But this is arguably quite shortsighted reasoning, as their lifespan and lack of need for annual servicing will more than alleviate the costs you would face otherwise.
If you want to know even more about the P50 range, then please take a look at Britannia Fire’s website or check out the helpful video linked below. But, if you’re ready to make a purchasing decision, then we would urge you to browse our offers here. Thanks for reading!
