Fire Extinguisher 6 year maintenance

Question

I have presented fire extinguishers to be tagged to a Florida Fire company. They indicated that the devices are old and need a 6 year maintenance inspection. What exactly is tested?

Answer 1

This seems to be a well documented maintenance procedure. I don't know much about fire extinguishers, but a quick internet search presented the following information:

Six-Year Maintenance

Every six years, stored pressure fire extinguishers that require a 12-year hydrostatic test (e.g. dry chemical extinguishers) must be emptied and proper maintenance procedures performed [see NFPA 10(98), Sec. 4-4.3]. The exception to this rule is nonrechargeable extinguishers, which are required to be removed from service 12 years from the date of manufacture. Again, this maintenance must be performed by an approved extinguisher servicing company.

So it seems if the extinguishers are of the type that require a 12 year hydrostatic test, this appears to be a legitimate maintenance requirement. I guess it would also depend on if your locale requires you to follow the above referenced NFPA standard document or not.