A gas cylinder or tank is a pressure vessel used to store gases at high pressure. Gases stored this way are called bottled gases. Fire fighting cylinders are used to extinguish fire break-outs and bring them under control thereby avoiding further damage. Fire fighting cylinders are a necessity in banks, huge industries and inventories, multi national companies and offices (public sector and private sector) that abide by the fire and protection act of 1957 . Safety and security of employees and consumers becomes their responsibility. Massive demand for fire fighting cylinders has to be met in india by the manufacturers, suppliers and vendors.A fire fighting cylinder is also called a fire extinguisher. There are two main types of fire extinguishers: stored pressure and generated pressure. In stored pressure units, the expellant is stored in the same chamber as the firefighting agent itself. Depending on the agent used, different propellants are used. With dry chemical extinguishers, nitrogen is typically used; water and foam are pressurized with air. Stored pressure is the most common type of fire extinguisher. Cartridge-operated extinguishers contain the expellant gas in a separate cartridge that is punctured prior to discharge, exposing the propellant to the agent. These types are not as common, used primarily in areas such as industrial facilities, where they receive higher-than-average use. They have the advantage of simple and prompt recharge, allowing an operator to discharge the extinguisher, recharge it, and return to the fire in a reasonable amount of time. Unlike stored pressure types, these extinguishers utilize compressed carbon dioxide instead of nitrogen, although nitrogen cartridges are used on low temperature (-60 rated) models. Cartridge operated types are available in dry chemical and dry powder in the us and water, wetting agent, foam, and dry powder (abc, bc, or d) in the rest of the world. Fire extinguishers are further divided into handheld and cart-mounted, also called wheeled extinguishers. Handheld extinguishers weigh from 1 to 30 pounds (0.5 to 14 kilograms), and are hence easily portable by hand. Cart-mounted units typically weigh 50+ pounds (23+ kilograms). These wheeled models are most commonly found at construction sites, airport runways, heliports, as well as docks and marinas. Conventional cylinder type pressurized fire extinguishers discharge is approximately: 1.1kg - 8 to 11 seconds; 2.5kg - 13 to 18 seconds; 4.5kg - 17 to 21 seconds; 9kg - 20 to 26 seconds.
Fire extinguisher is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations. However, a fire extinguisher is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which has reached the ceiling, endangers the user (i.E. No escape route, smoke, explosion hazard, etc.), or otherwise requires the expertise of a fire department. Typically, a fire extinguisher consists of a hand-held cylindrical pressure vessel containing an agent which can be discharged to extinguish a fire.
