the old ones used "Halon 1211", which is a cfc and depletes ozone. it can't be manufactured any more, but there is plenty of recycled material available (it's still legal to use, but not legal to make any more, apparently the chinese violated the ban several years ago and exported a bunch of new halon as "recycled", this was very, very profitable for them as the price had gotten pretty high and it's now indistinguishable from "true" recycled, sadly), last time i checked the wholesale price was about $8 lb, figure twice that for end users. there are substitutes, but the chemical industry has taken advantage of the situation and priced it very high, i think a new 10lb clean agent extinguisher runs around $300+ dollars. it's really a shame, halons/freons are nearly perfect chemicals except for the ozone problem.
i have no problem using the old 1211 as it's not a hazard until the extinguisher is used and there are no plans to require the existing stock to be destroyed so it will eventually all be released (but only when there is a fire which may not damage the ozone layer, but obviously does produce green house gasses). the irony is that one of the best properties of freon/halon (same chemical family, some are used in both applications), it's inertness, is what makes it a threat to the ozone layer. halons are heavier than air and take 7-10 years to reach the ozone layer and do damage, but they are stable in sunlight even longer than that. the substitutes have similar chemistry but break down in less than 6 months of sunlight so they contribute to ground pollution but never reach the ozone layer (and all but one is much less effective, the halons are very, very powerful at putting out fires). i was actually planning on getting another halon extinguisher for the garage workshop, i'll check on the prices, i might be able to set you up with a refurbished/refilled halon unit. i've got a 10# halon unit now, for me to refill it if i ever used it would cost about $100 because my old boss will sell to me at cost (for my own use and me providing the labor), it would be about $200 for the average user! on the other hand, 10# of halon is enough for a pretty big blaze, i'm only planning on getting a 2.5 lb unit for the garage which will still cost me over $30 for the empty extinguisher and halon to recharge it (and be more than enough to put out a small fire). i'd be happy to see what my old boss would want to sell one to someone else. this assumes the price of halon hasn't shot up again, which it might have. needless to say, many commercial users are getting rid of the halon units where they aren't needed due to the cost of refilling them and maintenance although the epa finally decided they didn't need to be emptied for inspection/testing every 6/12 years which always resulted in the loss of some halon, and as long as it's dry it doesn't do damage to the unit anyway, if it's wet you get acids again. it's a liquid that evaporates fairly quickly at room temperature and very quickly at fire temperatures, cooling the fire in addition to chemically blocking it, because it immediately evaporates there isn't an acid problem when it's used on a fire. anyway, i'm getting off topic, if you want more nitty gritty about halons and the substitutes contact me off list. Nancy Haitz wrote: ------- > > Phillip, > > Tell me more about this clean agent extinguisher. The cost of the fire > extinguisher may not seem that high in relationship to the amount of > computer equipment sitting around. --------- -- Philip Stortz-- John Ashcroft is a far greater threat to the American people and the nation than any terrorist group, he may not have liked Hitler, but he loves SS tactics. If we don't stand up today we won't be able to stand up tomorrow. < http://publicintegrity.org/dtaweb/report.asp?ReportID=502&L1=10&L2=10&L3=0&L4=0&L5=0 >< http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=11817&c=206&MX=717&H=0> -- Unsupported OS X is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Unsupported OS X list info <http://lowendmac.com/lists/unsupported.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive <http://www.mail-archive.com/unsupportedosx%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
