Featured 1920s Brass hand-pump Fire Extinguisher

This is thing is just cute!



I picked it up for $20 at a local charity shop. At first I had no idea what I was gonna do with it beyond polish it up. Then I realised that it still worked!

I unscrewed the filler-cap at the top of the extinguisher, filled it right up with water, screwed the cap back on - unlocked the handle and started pumping! Wow!

This thing is at least 80-90 years old by my reckoning, and it still works! Blasted water out of the nozzle at a terrific pressure! The first three or four pumps sprayed out all kinds of ugly brown sludge and grime from inside the pump (this thing probably hasn't been used in decades), but after filling and pumping three or four times, I managed to flush out all the grime and it now works great!



Soooooooooo much fun to play with. I'm advertising it for sale as an antique water-pistol Just because I'm nuts.

 

I think it is supposed to filled with carbon tetrachloride and used on electrical or oil fires.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_tetrachloride

 

That is correct and I have a few of them though none with the label missing.
They make pretty cool overflow tanks for rat rods.

 

Hi AF,

You're right, they are. But obviously I couldn't get my hands on any, so I used water instead. Works pretty good. This one doesn't have a label or plaque of any kind on it. Judging by the tarnishing when I found it, it hadn't had one for many years. Possibly it never did have one. I dunno. It's neat though.

 

I have a 1950's one from the house I grew up in......with the original wall bracket.
It's never been used.....which is a good thing...

 

I've seen a few with wall-brackets/mountings, but this is the first I've ever seen without ANYTHING on it. Not even a plaque. There's literally nothing on the barrel, and no signs that there was EVER anything on it. No solder/weld-marks, no glue-stains, nothing.

 

One end or the other is removable correct?
If so...perhaps there was a slipped over sleeve now gone.

 

Nope. Both ends of the extinguisher are well and truly soldered or welded on. There's no slipping, or sliding anything off.

 

A paper label would be quite adequate, cheaper to produce, and quite ephemeral once someone started 'cleaning' it, possibly decades ago.

 

Most of these I have seen, and have, have a nice, large, brass plate riveted on which has black and red painted areas.

 

Hi KoT, you are right, but I think AF is right-er. This probably had some manner of paper label slapped on it at some point, which was either torn or peeled off or whatever.