Hi all
I'm afraid the black versus red is an EU thing.............again
As far back as 1985 the EU made a ruling that all new fire extinguishers (in the EU), were going to have to be red, but UK got the hump with that, so they made a concession that we could have a small part coloured with the old BS colours (eg black for CO2, cream for foam etc.). So now you will find a small square of the old BS colour on extinguishers sold in the UK.
However, they did add that all the old black ones did not have to be replaced, but if they were used, they had to be replaced by the red ones. When they finally reached their 10 yearly pressure test, no company would commit to testing a black one, and sold you a red one instead.
I work in an environment with lots of pressurised vessels and some of these are 30 years old, but obviously subject to regular pressure testing (usually at double their working pressure).
So the UK has rolled over yet again and stumped up for something it didn't need to.
As previously stated, the condition of the cylinder is important.
I have used plenty of black one's, the only down side is you have to chuck them away when you're done because you definitely will not get them refilled in the UK
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