Posted 10 years ago
jonima
(113 items)
I got this Pyrene fire extinguisher at the local flea market. The label says it's 1 quart. It's still full of whatever liquid is inside of it. Not sure if I'll leave it as is or if I'll try to get it all cleaned up and shiny again. I've seen some like this with brackets that were for vehicle use. Unfortunately, this one didn't come with the bracket. It caught my eye as I was walking around the flea market, and I thought it was a nice, old piece so I bought it. It's not dated though. Might anyone know when these are from?
** Source - wikipedia -- In the 20th century, carbon tetrachloride was widely used as a dry cleaning solvent, as a refrigerant, and in lava lamps. In 1910, The Pyrene Manufacturing Company of Delaware filed a patent to use carbon tetrachloride to extinguish fires. The liquid vaporized and extinguished the flames by inhibiting the chemical chain reaction of the combustion process (it was an early 20th-century presupposition that the fire suppression ability of carbon tetrachloride relied on oxygen removal.) In 1911, they patented a small, portable extinguisher that used the chemical. This consisted of a brass bottle with an integrated handpump that was used to expel a jet of liquid toward the fire. As the container was unpressurized, it could be easily refilled after use. Carbon tetrachloride was suitable for liquid and electrical fires and the extinguishers were often carried on aircraft or motor vehicles. One specialty use of carbon tetrachloride was in stamp collecting, to reveal watermarks on postage stamps without damaging them. A small amount of the liquid was placed on the back of a stamp, sitting in a black glass or obsidian tray. The letters or design of the watermark could then be clearly seen. However, once it became apparent that carbon tetrachloride exposure had severe adverse health effects, such as causing fulminant necrosis, safer alternatives such as tetrachloroethylene were found for these applications, and its use in these roles declined from about 1940 onward. The fact that high temperatures cause it to react to produce phosgene made it especially hazardous when used against fires. This reaction also caused a rapid depletion of oxygen. Carbon tetrachloride persisted as a pesticide to kill insects in stored grain, but in 1970 it was banned in consumer products in the United States.
Thanks for all the info, agh! And thanks for the love, folks. junkmanjoe, I see you're in Goose Creek. I'm just down the road from you! Near the Northwoods Mall. Small world.