If you go online to buy just about ANY type of fire extinguisher, you are faced with a comparison generally about price vs weight. For example, in writing this article I conducted a quick search on Google for a 4.5Kg Dry Chemical Powder Fire Extinguisher, which revealed the following results;
As recognised and established industry experts, we have the knowledge and experience to inspect each advertised fire extinguisher and review its features and technical attributes.
There are a number of factors a purchaser needs to consider in respect to the selection of a portable fire extinguisher, these factors include;
Because advertisers do not display the rating of a fire extinguisher, buyers typically only use the capacity and price as a guide. Selecting a fire extinguisher should not be this hard.
| Advertiser | Mount Options |
Hose / Nozzle |
Agent Capacity |
Classification | Rating | |||||
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |||||
| Firewize | Wall Bracket, Light Duty Vehicle, Heavy Duty Vehicle | Hose | 4.5Kg | 6 | 80 | Y | - | Y | - | ★★★★★ |
| Advertiser 1 | Wall Bracket, Light Duty Vehicle | Hose | 4.5Kg | No Rating Advertised | ☆ | |||||
| Advertiser 2 | Wall Bracket, Light Duty Vehicle | Hose | 4.5Kg | 4 | 60 | - | - | Y | - | ★★★ |
| Advertiser 3 | Wall | Hose | 4.5Kg | No Rating Advertised | ☆ | |||||
| Advertiser 4 | Wall Bracket, Light Duty Vehicle | Hose | 4.5Kg | 3 | 60 | - | - | Y | - | ★★☆ |
| Advertiser 5 | Wall Bracket | Hose | 4.5Kg | No Rating Advertised | ☆ | |||||
| Advertiser 6 | Wall Bracket, Light Duty Vehicle | Hose | 4.5Kg | No Rating Advertised | ☆ | |||||
| Advertiser 7 | Unknown | Hose | 4.5Kg | No Rating Advertised | ☆ | |||||
| Advertiser 8 | Wall Bracket, Light Duty Vehicle, Heavy Duty Vehicle | Hose | 4.5Kg | 4 | 60 | - | - | Y | - | ★★★★☆ |
Our rating system is based on an formula that using empirical data with weighting based on the rating of each fire extinguisher, and its advertised price as a ratio of the rating.
Based on the data, we gave each extinguisher a score of 1 to 5 where 1 is the lowest rating and 5 is the best rating possible.
Price is definitely NOT the ultimate differentiator in selecting a fire extinguisher. In fact, a golden ratio exist between quality / fire rating and price of an extinguisher that must be taken into consideration when buying a portable fire extinguisher.
In fire safety, there are very few barriers from anyone to buy and sell a portable fire extinguisher. Unfortunately like almost every industry, there is a myriad of sellers with little (or no) experience, marketing product that may or may not even be approved for sale in Australia.
The sale price is also established by a seller for a portable fire extinguisher is typically established by a number of factors such as market rates, business profit objectives, data and perhaps even a little bit of gut feel.
A portable fire extinguisher is a life safety device (like a smoke alarm) and value and quality (not price) must be be the deciding factor in selection.
Because the public does not necessarily have the information, knowledge and experience necessary to select the best portable fire extinguisher for their application we have built an interactive tool to help select the best fire extinguisher for your application.The tool take into consideration all of the factors necessary to select the best fire extinguisher for your application. Curious? Check out our online interactive fire extinguisher selection guide!
If all of this is way too much, then feel free to book a few 15 minute call with us! During the call we will help answer any questions you may have and guide you through the extinguisher selection process.
