What is this apparatus?

[Marcel Gratton]

Anyone (old enough to) knows what that liquid filled glass apparatus purpose in life is?

Is was located in the basement of a centenial home.

Thanks,

[mnahrgang]

It is a fire grenade, and the liquid inside it is extremely unhealthy...

Major Concern...

[George A. H. Luck]

The one I saw was in 'Haliburton Lodge" on Drag Lake in Haliburton Ontario. The base was made to melt and drop the globe on the floor. I guess if it didn't put out the fire you had a good chance of expiring from cancer from exposure to the contents!

[Marcel Gratton]

Thanks!

It looked like water inside when moved; luckily, that spring loaded mechanism at bottom wasn't activated...

[Allan G. Berdahl, CMI]

Carbon Tetrachoride. This is the grandfather to the newer Halogen fire extinguihers. Was developed during the war years.
The idea was that the fusable ink would go off when heated and break the globe but as Mark says, they became like a fire grenade and were tossed at the fire to put the fire out.

[Gerry Pallotta]

Wow!
I have never seen one. Thanks for the photo and info guys.

[mnahrgang]

Originally Posted by gpallotta

Wow!
I have never seen one. Thanks for the photo and info guys.

I've never seen one in a home either...Only museums...

I actually learned about them, right here on this message board.

[Gerry Pallotta]

Just out of curiosities sake. How would one dispose of these things if they are such a hazard? Other then tossing them at agents.

[Dale Duffy]

Joe Hagerty used to find a lot of them.

http://www.nachi.org/forum/f18/fire-grenades-12568/

[Allan G. Berdahl, CMI]

Best and least expensivee way to rid a home of these is to contact the local fire department and they will remove and dispose of. They know the dangers of this stuff and handle accordingly. Have removed many in my time and this stuff can be lethal.

[George A. H. Luck]

Although that agent thing . . . . . . I'm just sayin'

[Vern Mitchinson]

I could be wrong but if memory serves me right back in the sixties the drafting office I worked in used Carbon Tetrachoride to clean our equipment. I found out later that this stuff went right through your skin into your body.

[Wayne B. Wilson]

Yep i haven't seen one of those for a long time, Check with the owner it might be a collector , it should not be in service or have the liquid inside though. Yes the phone company used Carbon Tetrachoride to clean the switch gear also had gallons of the stuff around. I think halon extinguishers are also been discontiuned in Canada. does anyone know how to tell them?