| With the water extinguisher being around for so | | | | old water ever could. |
| long it was inevitable that at some point a clever | | | | They also combine an improved nozzle onto the |
| chappy was going to come along and make a | | | | fire extinguisher which spreads the water jet in a |
| few improvements to it. Well that's exactly what | | | | more effective arc pattern. This is achieved by |
| happened when they added some chemical | | | | atomizing the water as it leaves the nozzle. In the |
| additives and massively increased its | | | | same way as foam extinguishers the nozzle is |
| effectiveness by 300% and at the same time | | | | also non-conductive which allows it to be used |
| managing to reduce the overall size of the actual | | | | close to an electrical fire but obviously not directly |
| extinguisher. It can be a bit of a mouthful say8ing | | | | onto one. This means they have passed the |
| 'water additive fire extinguisher' so they are often | | | | dielectric test to BSEN3-7:2004 with the BSi |
| referred to as hydrospray which is the brand | | | | 35,000V. |
| name for Chubb models. | | | | It goes without saying that water is highly |
| The fire fighting capabilities are far superior to a | | | | conductive and so should never be used near or |
| standard water unit with a single 3 litre water | | | | directly on any fire involving electrical products. |
| additive extinguisher having the same 13A fire | | | | You have been warned. If you ever look at an |
| rating as a 9 litre water equivalent. That's a big | | | | office space and notice the extinguishers, |
| difference and saves a lot of space and weight. | | | | hydrospray or foam models are often paired with |
| The 6 litre versions have a 21A fire rating making | | | | CO2 extinguishers. This is so as to provide |
| them very popular. | | | | effective fire fighting capabilities for electrical |
| For easy identification purposes they remain a | | | | hazards too. |
| solid red colour in the same manner as their | | | | In the same way as a standard water |
| water based cousins. This makes them very easy | | | | extinguisher, the hydrospray models can only be |
| to recognise in the event of a fire. | | | | used on Class A fires involving combustibles such |
| With the smaller sizes on offer they are easier to | | | | as paper, wood or fabrics. To use one on any |
| handle in the event of an emergency. They are | | | | other class of fire would be a serious risk to |
| produced in high grade steel cylinders and work | | | | health and life. If you were to tackle a fire |
| under a higher pressure rating than an ordinary | | | | involving flammable liquids like petrol or diesel |
| water extinguisher. As an added bonus the inside | | | | (Class B) then the water additive would simply |
| of the cylinders are coated with a protective film | | | | spread the fire around and spread it quickly. The |
| made from polyethylene which prevents the | | | | same would happen with a Class D fire involving |
| metal inside from corroding. | | | | metal powders such as lithium. For these types of |
| Now I bet you are dying to know how exactly | | | | fires special units are available such as powder or |
| one of the water additive models actually works. | | | | L2. The same goes for deep fat fryers. Spray a |
| Well thanks to the added chemicals it's quite a | | | | blaze in one of those with a water additive unit |
| clever process. The tension of the water surface | | | | and the oil will explode causing serious damage |
| is removed by the chemicals and so increases its | | | | and most likely loss of life. |
| density making the liquid thicker and stickier. It | | | | So that's all you need to know about the water |
| also makes the water wetter, if that makes | | | | additive fire extinguisher. All in all, a very clever |
| sense and as such it will stick and soak into any | | | | piece of safety equipment. |
| burning materials far more effectively than plain | | | | |