I picked this up a few weeks ago. The tag is basically destroyed except it says "to operate, turn knob ->", or something like that.

is it a torch? It doesn't come apart in anyway I can find to refill it ?

That is a fire extinguisher. I have some from the 30's, still in the boxes.

Mine are Presto brand. Here is photo of one. Probably from the 50's, not 30's.

One site says-

QuoteThe Presto "CB" Fire Extinguisher contained chlorobromomethane and could only be used in well ventilated areas. While a very good fire supressor, chlorobromomethane could cause cardiac arrest if inhaled. The use of chlorobromomethane was banned by the EPA because it depleted the ozone layer.

Wow....Totally opposite direction of what I thought.... Torch vs. fire extinguisher ? Figures.

It is so small! Could these really work? I'm guessing there isn't really anything I can do with it once it is empty?

You could clean it out thoroughly and repurpose it, or polish it and hang it on the wall as a whats it.   Or turn it into a tiny grease gun.  Just polished up, somebody would probably buy it cause its brass. 

Didn't these types of extinguishers use Carbon Tetrachloride? the "dry cleaning" fluid now concidered too nasty to use for any purpose!
Graeme

Carbon aATet or "Pyrene" the so called safer fluid that was supposed to take a fey years longer to kill you with liver cancer or other forms of liver failure.

If you insist on playing with it, do so outside on a windy day and wear rubber gloves. 

Ahh, but then we invented Halon, so you could get high as a kite while watching your computer room burn to the ground ;P

I've noticed that the CCL4 extinguishers seem to slowly degrade their contents over time, forming a nice deposit of chunky green copper chloride, I have always wondered what the carbon tet turned into in the process....probably something even nastier...

Anyone remember the glass balls mounted to telephone poles in substations?

Not sure if the breakddown of carbon tet causes as many problems as the carbon tet itself.  CT seems to be a stable chemical over a broad temperature range. 

When I was getting started it was still damn popular in industrial uses such as degreasing, so was TriCholor both sprayed and vaporized.  I built a couple vapor units from dumpsters by welding a 6" pipe across the bottom to act as the exchanger with a gun type burner stuck in 1 end.

CT tended to be rather quickly disabling to humans, with reactions ranging from woosie to knocked on your ass, so it was being abandoned in favor of other methods.  Tri Chlor seemed to effect fewer people other than those who got nosebleeds from working around it.

I guess both were the then version of the wonderful MTBE compound we had in the 90s.

   
CARBON TETRACHLORIDE

Also known as: Carbon tet, Perchloromethane, CCl4, Carbon chloride, Tetrachloromethane, Perc
Chemical reference number (CAS): 56-23-5

For a printable version (pdf) of this fact sheet, click here

WHAT IS CARBON TETRACHLORIDE?

Carbon tetrachloride (Carbon tet) is a non-flammable colorless liquid with a heavy, sweet odor. Before 1970, carbon tet was widely used as a cleaning fluid in home and industry. Until 1986, the chemical was used as a grain fumigant. Carbon tet is still used to manufacture propellants and other industrial chemicals. In homes, carbon tet may be found in containers of spot remover or in fire extinguishers made before 1970.

Carbon tet evaporates quickly and is heavier than water. If carbon tet is spilled in lakes or streams, most of it sinks. If spilled on soil, most of the chemical will evaporate and the vapors will gather near the ground surface.

HOW ARE PEOPLE EXPOSED TO CARBON TETRACHLORIDE?

Drinking/Eating: People are most often exposed to carbon tet in the environment by drinking contaminated groundwater. Carbon tet may contaminate groundwater near locations where the chemical was improperly disposed. Since the compound is heavy, some of the spilled liquid will sink through soil and enter groundwater. Carbon tet does not move easily with groundwater. Plants do not take up or store carbon tet when they grow in contaminated soil.

Touching: Carbon tet can be absorbed through the skin if a person handles the chemical or contaminated soil, or bathes in contaminated water.

Breathing: Carbon tet evaporates easily from water. Therefore, a person may be exposed to its vapors when they bathe, cook, or wash with contaminated water.

WHAT STANDARDS REGULATE CARBON TETRACHLORIDE?

Water: The state and federal drinking water standards for carbon tet are set at 5 parts per billion (ppb). We suggest you stop drinking water that contains more than 5 ppb of carbon tetrachloride (tet).

If levels of carbon tet are very high in your water, you may also need to avoid washing, bathing or using the water for other purposes. Contact your local public health agency for more information specific to your situation.

Air: No standard has been set for the amount of carbon tet that is allowed in the air of homes. We use a formula to convert workplace limits to suggested home limits. Based on the formula, we recommend the level of carbon tet in air be no higher than 0.11 part per million (ppm). Most people can't smell carbon tet until the level reaches 10 ppm. If you can smell the chemical, the level is too high to be safe.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources regulates the amount of carbon tet that can be released by industries.

WILL EXPOSURE TO CARBON TETRACHLORIDE RESULT IN HARMFUL HEALTH EFFECTS?

People can experience the following symptoms immediately or shortly after breathing air containing 100 ppm of carbon tet for 30 minutes or drinking as little as 1 milliliter of carbon tet (about an eye dropper full):

Liver or kidney problems that may last many days after the exposure
Blurred vision, dizziness, confusion and nerve damage
Nausea and vomiting
Irregular heartbeat and changes in blood pressure
The following health effects can occur after several years of exposure to carbon tet:

Cancer: Higher levels of liver cancer have been seen in people who were exposed to carbon tet in the workplace. Carbon tet caused liver cancer in laboratory animals.

Reproductive Effects: None have yet been noted in animals or humans.

Organ Systems: People exposed to high levels of carbon tet may experience nerve damage, digestive disorders, weight loss, tiredness, confusion, depression, loss of color vision and liver damage.

In general, chemicals affect the same organ systems in all people who are exposed. A person's reaction depends on several thing, including individual health, heredity, previous exposure to chemicals including medicines, and personal habits such as smoking or drinking. Previous exposure to barbiturates may increase the effects of exposure.

It's also important to consider the length of exposure to the chemical; the amount of chemical exposure; and whether the chemical was inhaled, touched, or eaten.

Halon was purely an accident, like Teflon.  Both were developed to be refrigerant gasses, and both found other work. 

You want to be scared, look at what the current crop of "wet powder" extinguishers are filled with.  ABC powder is superior to Pepper Spray in both knock down and keep down power.  5# of Co2 into a car or pickup cab will kill the occupants before they can get out.