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Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 11:11 pm
by djahncke
Kidde has issued a recall on 134 models of fire extinguishers manufactured between 1973 and 2017. These models may not function properly when needed to fight a fire. There has been one death from this so far. Read the information from the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission in the link below. If any of the fire extinguishers you have are on the recall list Kidde will replace them.

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/kidde-recalls-fire-extinguishers-with-plastic-handles-due-to-failure-to-discharge-and

-Don Jahncke

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2017 9:19 pm
by jimp
Haven't checked on the boat yet, but I have a recalled 40BC in the kitchen and a 10BC in the garage.

JimP

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2017 3:29 am
by Don SSDD
For those who haven't checked, they produced under brands other than Kidde, check the recall site to be sure your extinguisher is not on the list.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2017 6:30 am
by frontier
Kidde has excellent customer service. They made it quick and easy for our three units in Whaler, garage, and kitchen.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 12:11 pm
by Hoosier
A thought, which I brought up this weekend's USPS conference: with the massive Kidde fire extinguisher recall we all had better check our boats in case we get “inspected” next season and the USCG finds a recalled extinguisher as our only extinguisher; I’ll bet that’d be a violation, just like expired flares.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2017 10:33 pm
by jimp
My new 40BC arrived 45 minutes ago via UPS. Still awaiting the 10BC and disposal instructions. I sent my info to Kidde on Nov 11th, 16 days later the new one arrives.

JimP

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 7:36 pm
by Mambo Minnow
I have received two recalled fire extinguishers from Kidde, both before Christmas. These were the red ones in the house. The white one on my Conquest was not in the recall list, likely because I replaced the original already.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2018 1:40 pm
by porthole
We have a lot of fire extinguishers around the house and about 10 of them fit the Kidde profile, but of all of them I ended up with only one covered by the recall.

Did the online stuff 3 weeks ago and still haven't heard anything.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2018 2:05 pm
by jimh
Is there a time limit to applying for a free replacement under this recall?

All my fire extinguishers are stored on the boat, now locked up in storage for another four or five months before I can get to it.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2018 10:15 pm
by dtmackey
Jim - on a recall of this scale and importance, any time limit that could be imposed would surely satisfy your winter storage concerns.

On another note, all that do have dry chem fire extinguishers should note that they are not install and forget items. Many manuals instruct on shaking the extinguisher once per month so the powder does not compact in the bottom. Fire Depts recommend (the ones I know) banging the bottom flat of the extinguisher on a piece of wood (2X4 works great) to dislodge any compacted material and then shake if sitting for an extended period of time.

Use good judgement on how hard you strike on the wood as they are not telling one to slam it, just hit it.

D-

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 6:39 pm
by porthole
Since the recall covers 44 years of extinguishers, I don't think you need to worry about a time frame.

CPSC along with NHTSA recalls tend to not have an expiration date.

The "shake your fire extinguishers once a month" thing is long gone.

The dry chemical used (monoammonium phosphate) has additives and is 'siliconized' to prevent the chemical from "caking".
Air is not used as the propellant, typically nitrogen is used, so no moisture is introduced.

In almost 40 years of firefighting I have never had a dry chemical extinguisher fail due to "caking" or packing.
And I can tell you, we never rotate or shake our 20-30 or 40 pound extinguishers.
Same goes with industrial wheeled dry chemical extinguishers. 150 - 250 pound units just don't get rotated.

Dry powder extinguishers (sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda) may have had some problems in the past. But you just don't see as many as those anymore.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 7:13 pm
by Mambo Minnow
We had lots of CO2 and PKP fire extinguishers on Navy ships. We had preventative maintenance schedule/tasks, but we never had to shake or rotate the bottles.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 8:23 pm
by Wweez
Thanks Porthole.
Yours is the best description of current extinguishers I have seen.
Thanks.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 8:33 am
by Wirenut
As of this time I have received all eight of my submitted extinguishers.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 11:19 am
by porthole
I had 1 unit fall under the recall of 11 I checked.

Yesterday I got 3 notices of different tracking numbers of impending deliveries from Kidde.
Go figure.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 12:13 pm
by porthole
So, I checked 10 or 11 extinguishers on Kidde's web site and only one was valid for the recall.
Completed the online form and yesterday I got 3 extinguishers delivered, go figure.

fedex ground is all private sub contractors - and they act like it sometimes.
The snow drift in front of my porch was 2' high. I cleared the sidewalks by 11pm the night of the storm and stopped short of clearing the porch.

The fedex driver had to throw these to make it 3 feet from the snow cut

But, at least my porch is cleared now.


IMG_4701 copy.JPG
IMG_4701 copy.JPG (163.61 KiB) Viewed 18638 times

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 10:41 pm
by Wirenut
Porthole,I just received one more today and I didn't order it.Now I have nothing to return for this one they sent me.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2018 1:11 am
by porthole
Wirenut wrote:Porthole,I just received one more today and I didn't order it.Now I have nothing to return for this one they sent me.



Could just box them up and return it with the included label.
In New Jersey, any unsolicited product sent to your house is considered a gift.

Maybe Kidde has more units stockpiled then anticipated recall returns.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2018 9:58 pm
by dtmackey
porthole wrote:Since the recall covers 44 years of extinguishers, I don't think you need to worry about a time frame.

CPSC along with NHTSA recalls tend to not have an expiration date.

The "shake your fire extinguishers once a month" thing is long gone.

The dry chemical used (monoammonium phosphate) has additives and is 'siliconized' to prevent the chemical from "caking".
Air is not used as the propellant, typically nitrogen is used, so no moisture is introduced.

In almost 40 years of firefighting I have never had a dry chemical extinguisher fail due to "caking" or packing.
And I can tell you, we never rotate or shake our 20-30 or 40 pound extinguishers.
Same goes with industrial wheeled dry chemical extinguishers. 150 - 250 pound units just don't get rotated.

Dry powder extinguishers (sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda) may have had some problems in the past. But you just don't see as many as those anymore.


Great information Porthole, thank you. I will challenge the information I received next time I have the chance.

If shaking was required, I'd expect the FD unions to complain on any extinguisher over 10#. ;-)

D-

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 7:04 pm
by Hoosier
I got 8 replacement extinguishers that I sent in on the on line form. Then I got one "extra' that was not in any of the data I submitted to Kidde. I called them and they said I could: 1. Keep it, 2. Send it back using the included shipping label, or 3. donate it. I donated it.....to me....

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 9:15 am
by Todd
Hey folks, I have one piece of information to add to the chat. Of my extinguishers I found one (from 1990) that was on the recall list. It was in my home, the extinguisher on my 2003 160 Dauntless wasn't on the recall list. When the new one arrived there were instructions on how to return the old one via FED EX. They give you a number to call for pick up. I visit the FED EX store nearby regularly so I thought I'd just drop it off for shipment. They wouldn't take it citing that it was considered a 'hazardous material'. I called the number and FED EX sent a special delivery person to pick it up. Guess I should have followed the instructions in the first place. Just fyi. Think spring!

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 9:35 am
by Dutchman
Hoosier wrote: or 3. donate it. I donated it.....to me....


Good move. Make sure you write it off on April 15th.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 2:52 pm
by jimh
When Don started this thread almost a year ago, I was interested because I have two fire extinguishers on my boat. One is dated 1990 and the other 1995. I called the Kidde recall telephone line, and worked with their agent to see if either was part of the recall. As it turns out, there was no need to rush because neither of my extinguishers were among the models recalled. The 1990 fire extinguisher was easy to disqualify for recall: it wasn't made by Kidde but by American LaFrance, and it had a metal handle. The 1995 fire extinguisher was a Kidde, but it was a side-pull release and not in the recall, either. I was a little disappointed because these two extinguishers were 28- and 23-years-old, so I was planning on getting two new ones from the recall. Darn--forty-million recalled units, and I don't have one.

At my last U.S. Power Squadron courtesy Vessel Safety Examination, I learned that the age of a fire extinguisher is generally not a factor in their meeting the criterion for being useful. As long as the charge indicator is in the green, the fire extinguisher is deemed to be working.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 3:01 pm
by jimp
When I heard about this last Fall, I sent in a claim for two recalled extinguishers. One arrived at my home in Alaska in 3-weeks - impressive!

I'm still awaiting the 2nd one. I contacted Kidde, "Oh, we can't ship to Alaska, we'll reimburse you". That was in July.

Co-workers have received theirs and often received an extra.

JimP

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2018 10:07 am
by Oldslowandugly
I procrastinated because I wanted to get through this season with my extinguishers in place. I did not realize they sent new ones then took the old ones back. Anyway I have 9 altogether and all 9 were recalled. Thank God I had no need for an extinguisher all these years!!! YIKES!

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2018 10:21 am
by jimp
It was nice of Kidde to offer the recall and follow through.

Actually carrying out the program had its problems as I've mentioned above. I did receive one (40BC) of two that were recalled, and received $23 reimbursement for the one (10BC) they said they couldn't send to Alaska, though they sent the larger size to Alaska last November. They also sent instructions and a plastic bag to discharge and dispose of the extinguisher. One bag per extinguisher. But I had two and they sent one. I discharged the big extinguisher (40BC) in the bag and threw the whole works in the garbage. I haven't filled out the simple paper work yet.

Additionally, my friend had three recalled extinguishers (10BC) and received FOUR replacements plus $46.

Anyway, I'm square with them. It was a nice effort.

JimP

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2018 9:46 am
by Oldslowandugly
Of the eight I had that were on the recall list all eight replacements were sent via FedUp. Almost every box was smooshed. One was discharged in the box because FedUp handled them like they do everything- like gorillas. The flimsy yellow tie wrap they used to hold the grenade type pin in breaks if you even look at it. The pin fell out and it discharged completely. They are sending a replacement for that as well. After checking the rest the tie wraps all popped with the slightest touch. I decided to use some real 1/16" tie wraps to hold the pins in place. Much better. Now oddly I had another 5BC extinguisher that was from the same batch as another recalled one because they came as a double set. It's serial number was exactly two digits away from the other one. It was NOT deemed part of the recall!?! Really? I don't trust it and will probably just junk it.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2018 10:24 am
by Jefecinco
Given the limited number of extinguishers needed for our boats we simply bought new and installed them. We saved time and traded a few dollars for a lot of convenience.

I believe some vendors are aware of the breakage rate caused by the carriers they choose but find it more economical to replace inexpensive products vs using more expensive and robust packaging.

Re: Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall

Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2018 11:54 am
by Dutchman
Sorry about the shipping(FedEx) problems some of you had. My 8 that were recalled arrived intact and I'm glad I did as it isn't cheap to replace them (as some mentioned they did above)
My only gripe was that out of the 8 I had to replace 7 were slightly different mount. Even though the mounts were included I needed to drill/screw new holes which I don't like to do in a finished surface.
All in all Kidde handled it well for me and my boats passed the Vessel Exams