Extinguisher servicing

zefarelly · 4 Apr 2006, 13:33 (Ref:1570139)

My extinguisher needed servicing and I sent it back where I bought it from as was reccomended by the sellers, it was manufactured in Italy so it made sense . . . until I saw the bill, nearly £100 !!!

As we've all discussed before I don't object to paying for my safety, but I recently bought a complete new system for another car and it was less than £200

at that price for a service ( a new sticker and nothing else IMO) I may as well stick it on flea bay and fit a new one every 2 years !

so my question is, who and where to send extinguishers for 2 year servicing ?

I'm based in Sussex, so local would be useful.

**Tim Falce** · 4 Apr 2006, 14:33 (Ref:1570542)

Mine goes back to Lifeline (Zero 2000 thingy) but the problem is postage costs and VAT (I know we all have to suffer it), it all adds up and soon pushes the bill right up from what starts out as a quite reasonable cost for the service.

**Tim Falce** · 4 Apr 2006, 15:04 (Ref:1570570)

There's a new Zero 2000 4 litre extinguisher on ebay for £150.

Tony Crossley · 4 Apr 2006, 15:44 (Ref:1570605)

I just got a local extinguisher servicing company to check mine out. Cost a tenner.

greenamex2 · 4 Apr 2006, 20:21 (Ref:1570827)

My last couple of Lifeline services were around £100 so don't feel left out!

johnw · 4 Apr 2006, 20:38 (Ref:1570850)

Apparently (according to another thread which I can't find - doh!) they do not need servicing. Just have the gauge in the green and weigh the correct amount.

Al Weyman · 4 Apr 2006, 21:20 (Ref:1570896)

Its all a big con IMO, same as the ones in my shop, money for old rope, geezer comes around, weighs it, sticks a sticker on it, total time 3 minutes and I get a bill for £65!

I have now bought 2 Lifeline 2000 plumbed in kits from Rally Design for £85 and the best value going.

Tim Wilkinson · 4 Apr 2006, 22:30 (Ref:1570953)

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnw

Apparently (according to another thread which I can't find - doh!) they do not need servicing. Just have the gauge in the green and weigh the correct amount.

Nothing in the blue book, MSA website only recommends servicing, but tales abound of scrutineers failing cars if the extinguisher is not serviced.

I picked up a new Lifeline plumbed in kit from a rallying company in Wales for around the same price Al paid.

johnw · 4 Apr 2006, 22:37 (Ref:1570958)

Best take a Blue Book with me in future then

MGDavid · 5 Apr 2006, 12:44 (Ref:1571390)

to address the original poster, there's an extinguisher company on the south coast, somewhere near Worthing IIRC. Hopefully Penelope Pitstop will be along in a moment and remind us who it is.
Am I allowed to say that Midgetman is now a Lifeline dealer and can do very competitively priced systems? I can never remember his URL but 'racewear' forms a large part of it IIRC.

Tuscan 6 · 5 Apr 2006, 14:14 (Ref:1571443)

If you have an OMP Ecolife system then in the UK only Demon Tweeks can re-fill/service it. Your only alternative is to send it back to OMP in Italy.

I recently sent a 2.5 year old steel bottle to be refilled. I was a bit peed off to receive a phonecall saying the internal welds were corroded and DT would not refill it unless the bottle was replaced (at my cost).

So far OMP have failed to provide a satisfactory answer as to why their steel bottles do not last longer than 30 months (despite never being discharged)...

carsreunited · 5 Apr 2006, 14:14 (Ref:1571444)

I used a local extinguisher servicing guy (mines a 4ltr electrical lifeline system). He serviced it for £18.

It has to be done yearly now as well and I think he said that Lifeline need to do the one when the system is 5 years old. This one will be hefty as they have to discharge it and allegedly replace the seals. They told him specifically that he wasn't allowed to discharge and recharge it.

I now have a new sticker and a plastic tag attached to it which the scrutineers at Silverstone were quite impressed with.

I found my guy (in Northants) by googling 'fire extinguisher servicing' and my area. Anyone wants his number then PM me. He was asked by a deries organiser to attend their meeting and do a load en-masse. Might be worth a series organiser doing this at maybe 2 meetings a year?

Scott

PenelopePitstop · 5 Apr 2006, 15:19 (Ref:1571478)

Fire Extingusher Valves, in Littlehampton, proved very helpfull with my domestic exstingishers.

scrutineer · 5 Apr 2006, 17:56 (Ref:1571579)

Quote:

Apparently (according to another thread which I can't find - doh!) they do not need servicing. Just have the gauge in the green and weigh the correct amount.

True but it is not recomended, it will always be pointed out to you.

Quote:

Nothing in the blue book, MSA website only recommends servicing, but tales abound of scrutineers failing cars if the extinguisher is not serviced.

Think those are just tales, you hear so many tall stories of how hard we are but lets be honest we always try to get you out on the track it is very unusual to total fail a car.

vaughan jones · 5 Apr 2006, 18:31 (Ref:1571594)

dont do tall stories,we got accused of rubbing out the date on a bottle and told that car would fail next time with out the bottle serviced,the straps on the bottle had rubbed thro the label.

scrutineer · 5 Apr 2006, 19:40 (Ref:1571657)

So you didnt get thrown out.
But the point of getting rubbed off should make you think that you could always ask your service person to put it somewere better. Or before you fit it back in your car cover it with a clear plastic cover (selo-tape) to stop any damage easy as that.

johnw · 5 Apr 2006, 20:58 (Ref:1571735)

Turn it upside down so that they can't see the label

**ghinzani** · 5 Apr 2006, 21:12 (Ref:1571744)

Anyone know of a company in the Bournemouth-Salisbury-Southampton area? Mines just about to go into the red. Thanks

scrutineer · 6 Apr 2006, 06:27 (Ref:1571919)

Quote:

Turn it upside down so that they can't see the label

Nice try John but thats been done before along with turning having the guage at the bottom so we cant see it but it never works. We either use a mirror or you have to take it out as it looks like you have got something to hide

midgetman · 6 Apr 2006, 06:51 (Ref:1571929)

Al said >>>>>>>>>>I have now bought 2 Lifeline 2000 plumbed in kits from Rally Design for £85 and the best value going

Plus or inc VAT Al?

johnw · 6 Apr 2006, 09:05 (Ref:1572016)

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrutineer

.....as it looks like you have got something to hide

Not me

zefarelly · 7 Apr 2006, 10:33 (Ref:1572968)

well 2 things here I've noticed.

Servicing is a bloody rip off, particularly from DT

don't buy an OMP FE because they've got you by the short and cuirlies

I did contact an extinguisher CO and they didn't want to know, I will try again with my old one as all it appears DT did was apply a sticker, and that only has a service date on it.

pmoloney · 7 Apr 2006, 10:47 (Ref:1572977)

I have an SPA extinguisher and luckily live relatively cloe to them. I took it in and they serviced and stickered it up for me while I waited for £20! Good thread by the way as it has reminded me that I need to go and get my spare one filled again after a little..ahem....accident!

midgetman · 7 Apr 2006, 11:39 (Ref:1573014)

Far be it for me to recommend the competition but Merlin Motorsport do 2.25 refills from about £20.

zefarelly · 12 Apr 2006, 15:10 (Ref:1579523)

recommend away I think, all we want is a fair deal, if it was filled with champagne I'd happily pay the £100, but for a sticker is a bit steep.

not sure how bubbly reacts with fire though !!!

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Plumbed in extinguisher.	DaveStyles	Racing Technology	19	13 Sep 2004 08:50
servicing	bella	Road Car Forum	14	11 Nov 2003 13:43
Servicing?	Carrie	Road Car Forum	35	29 Apr 2003 22:25
Fire extinguisher	RMR	Racers Forum	4	29 Apr 2003 15:08
Potential about turn on Central Servicing	SJ Spode	Rallying & Rallycross	4	16 Feb 2003 09:15