Fire Extinguisher Ul Ratings Explained
How to understand fire extinguisher ratings step 1.
Fire extinguisher ul ratings explained. These numerical ratings allow you to compare the relative extinguishing effectiveness of various fire extinguishers. You might find an extinguisher labeled 2a10bc. The ul rating is commonly broken down into class a and class b c ratings. B rated fire extinguishers are numbered in 10s.
The a rating is a water equivalency rating. Fire ratings explained most fire extinguishers have a fire rating printed on the canister. This code for example 13a 55b defines the class or type of fire and the size of fire this type of fire extinguisher is capable of extinguishing. The ul rating is broken down into class a and class b c ratings.
Many home fire extinguishers are rated to put out more than one kind of fire. For example an extinguisher that is rated 4a 20b c indicates the following. These numerical ratings allow you to compare the relative extinguishing effectiveness of various fire extinguishers. All fire extinguishers have ratings stamped on the faceplate of the appliance.
A class a fire and the amount of chemicals agent in the extinguisher equivalent to the amount of water the extinguisher holds equal to 1 25 gallons of water. Realize that fire extinguisher ratings are determined based on tests. The ul rating is broken down into class a and class b c ratings. Also located on the fire extinguisher label is the ul rating.
In most cases the rating is a combination of numbers and letters. The a rating is a water equivalency rating. Fire extinguishers that comply with brazil s portaria 486 and abnt nbr 15808 are eligible to use the brazilian recognized conformity mark the inmetro mark in conjunction with the ul mark for brazil. Know that the rating that a class a extinguisher displays refers to the amount.
For example an extinguisher that is rated 4a 20b c indicates the following. An extinguisher with a 10b rating can cover roughly 10 square feet an extinguisher with a 20b rating can cover 20 square feet and so on. The numbers in the ul rating are a relative measurement of how effective a given extinguisher is at fighting certain classes of fires based on proper fire extinguisher training. The number in front of the a measures water equivalency.
It provides the following information. An a rated fire extinguisher needs at least a 2a rating to be effective and a b type extinguisher needs at least a 10 b rating chase says. For example if an extinguisher s label has the following rating 6a 30b c. For an a rating the number is an indication of water equivalency with each a being the same as 1 1 4 gallons of water.