DND Tetrachlorine Pump type vehicle extinguishers

[rob love]

I had the camera out to the shop tonight, and thought I would share some photos of some of the varieties of DND marked fire extinguishers in my collection. These are the Tetra-chloride type which were fitted to the WW2 vehicles, as well as the earlier M series. I have been fortunate to find them laying around at my favorite milsurp scrapyard over the years. Some were dented, all took on some patina from the elements, but there are interesting variations that I have found.
From left to right they are:
1: unknown manufacture...."Property- DND Army" stamped on top edge
2: General fire "Quick Aid" model, "Property of DND Army" stamped on small data plate attached above manufacturers label.
3. General fire "Quick Aid" model "DND Army" embossed on body above manufacturers label
4. Pyrene manufacture "D.N.D. Army" embossed on cap in large letters
5. Tetra manufacture "Property of DND army" embossed as part of manufacturer's tag

I'll show some closeups of each in the following posts.

[rob love]

Photo 1: The two on the left of the previous picture
Photo 2: The two Generals showing variation
Photo 3: The Tetra

[rob love]

I was saving the best for last. The Pyrene extinguishers are my favorite, because they have the nice large DND ARMY on top for all to see, especially if you have them mounted in a carrier. I think I have 3 more nice ones squirreled away for the day I do finish my carrier.

Photo 1: The top of the extinguisher showing the embossed DND ARMY
Photo 2: Four of the extinguishers. Note the third one is in fairly rough shape. The tops can be de-soldered from these and smaller dents can be tapped out. If the bodies are especially bad, the tops can be straightened and soldered onto a civilian version of the same extinguisher in order to restore it.
Photo 3. Three decent shaped ones. The one on the end with the paper tag and the bracket is a civilian one which I transferred the top cap from a damaged military one.

[rob love]

If anyone has any photos of other variations to the DND marked extinguishers, I would like to see photos.

A word of caution if de-soldering one of these extinguishers: The original contents are very harmful to the health, especially in the presence of flame. Make sure the unit is emptied before putting near open flame.

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Hi all - interesting topic. Below is some information from Wikipedia on these extinguishers.

In 1910, The Pyrene Manufacturing Company of Delaware filed a patent for an extinguisher using carbon tetrachloride (CTC) to extinguish fires. The CTC vaporized and extinguished the flames by creating a dense, oxygen-excluding blanket of fumes, and to a lesser extent, inhibiting the chemical reaction. In 1911, they patented a small, portable extinguisher that used the chemical. This consisted of a brass or chrome container with an integrated handpump, which was used to expel a jet of liquid towards the fire. It was usually of 1 imperial quart (1.1 L) or 1 imperial pint (0.6 L) capacity but was also available in up to 2 imperial gallon (9 L) size. As the container was unpressurized, it could be refilled after use through a filling plug with a fresh supply of CTC.

Another type of carbon-tetrachloride extinguisher was the Fire grenade. This consisted of a glass sphere filled with CTC, that was intended to be hurled at the base of a fire (early ones used salt-water, but CTC was more effective). Carbon tetrachloride was suitable for liquid and electrical fires and the extinguishers were fitted to motor vehicles. Carbon-tetrachloride extinguishers were withdrawn in the 1950s because of the chemical's toxicity–exposure to high concentrations damages the nervous system and internal organs. Additionally, when used on a fire, the heat can convert CTC to Phosgene gas, formerly used as a chemical weapon.

Bob

[derk derin]

Rob,
I have one that was made in England for the Department of National Defence.Another project I have to do is take out the dent!
Derk.