Fire ratings for 1 litre water mist extinguisher

[Guest Firequest]

The Jewel-Saffire / Ultrafire 1 litre water mist extinguisher appears to be a good choice for use in the home and it looks impressive in videos I have seen of the extinguisher in action. However, I am bit concerned that the extinguisher does not have a class 'A' or 'B' fire rating. I know that fire ratings should not be the only factor when choosing an extinguisher but having no rating at all seems strange, particularly when comparing the 1 litre water mist with, say a 2 litre foam (5A/55B) or wet chemical (8A/34B). Should I be concerned?      

[Safelincs]

Hi,

while Ultrafire water mist extinguishers are very much suitable for A, B, C, F and electrical fires, they have indeed only a small number of ratings displayed on the front of the extinguisher. This is due to restrictions in existing standards that limit the display of ratings for water based extinguishers for gas (Class C) and liquid fires (Class B). That said, the B class of water mist is actually rated but has to be shown in the text on the right hand side of the extinguisher! For example, the 3 ltr water mist has a 13B rating (stated in the text on the right hand side of the extinguisher).

The 1ltr version falls below the sizes/rating of water extinguishers currently permitted for testing in class A. On the other hand the 3ltr version, which does not have this size restriction, is rated 8A, 13B, 25F plus electrical. It will be a while before the test standard will be updated to allow the testing of water mist for gas fires (Class C). Water mist is actually one of the best extinguishers for gas flames. So, while a 1 litre water mist is clearly not as powerful as a 2 litre foam extinguishers, it has a broader capability than most foams which cannot be used on C, F or electrical fires.

Harry

[AnthonyB]

Normally the lack of a fire rating and fire class symbol on an extinguisher means it is ineffective or dangerous on that Class, but with water mist it's just that it can't meet the minimum ratings for a given mass of agent in the manufacturing standard BSEN3 - as stated the 3 litre actually can put out a 13B fire and the 6 litre is 21B .

The 1l hasn't been submitted for A and B rating tests but is safe on these fires, just on very small ones. In the domestic setting if it's too big for the 1 litre it's beyond what a householder should be tackling anyway.

Personally the water mist would be ideal in the house with foam in the garage