Thread: What is this?

I saw this ice cream cone looking thing in a closet with a gas furnace yesterday. I think it is some sort of automatic fire suppression system but am not sure. The bottom is made of aluminum and top is glass. It is full of a brown oily liquid. There are holes around the bottom of the aluminum part. There is no writing on it. Has any body seen one of these? The house is a 1960.

Looks like one of those old chemical fire "grenade" extinguishers, meant to be thrown at the fire. The liquid inside may be pretty nasty. I'd advise them to get rid of it. Maybe check with the fire marshal and/or local hazardous waste folks.
Or, sell it on Ebay!

Scroll down to similar photo on right:

Fire extinguisher - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thanks for the link. It sounds like you may be better off with the fire!

Looks like a jello mold

So, you have to open the door and grab it through the flames, or does the heat explode it?

It looks like an early halon gas fire extinguisher. Usually there is a fuseable link that melts when hot and releases a trip or hammer that breaks the glass bulb releasing the gas that absorbs oxygen to extinguish the fire. Probably out dated and needs removed/replaced.

Damm, just when you think you seen about everything something strange like this comes up (weird)!!!

Previous thread about it, with outstanding photo, if I do say so.

fire grenades - Home Inspection & Home Inspector Services For Inspections and Inspectors

Thats a new one. Anyone have some information on that?




www.andyseagleeyehomeinspections LLC

Originally Posted by James Duffin

I saw this ice cream cone looking thing in a closet with a gas furnace yesterday. I think it is some sort of automatic fire suppression system but am not sure. The bottom is made of aluminum and top is glass. It is full of a brown oily liquid. There are holes around the bottom of the aluminum part. There is no writing on it. Has any body seen one of these? The house is a 1960.

I think it is a type of flame retardant covered with a glass bubble used as a top that when heated it releases the retardant slowly enough to buy some time for the people living there to move to a safe place. Used when there might be some sort of threat to the occuppants or when they may not know what is going on when a fire is started. Used on or near where it might be a fire. I remember reading about something like this. It might be under a topic like; Hazadous Material And How It Used. I would leave it just in case.

you have to call the fire department to have it removed, they are very dangerous. When actavated it will elimanate all oxegen in the area puting out the fire and anyone in the room

Sorry Richard I don't agree with your statement. I've been in a computer room where a halon system was discharged by mistake. I'm still alive with no after affects. Halon lowers the oxygen content just enough so a fire can not actively burn. There's still enough oxygen content for a person to breath.
I don't recommend being in the environment buy it isn't that lethal.

Im just going by what the fire marshal said when he came out to the job
the type that was in the basement was all glass with a red liquid inside

maybe thats the difference