Water Can Conversion
Air pressurized water (APW) fire extinguishers are commonly converted into makeshift CAFS extinguishers by drilling two 1/8-1/16 inch holes in the pickup tube above the water line. The unit is then filled with 1.5 US gallons (5.7 L) of water and class A foam, AFFF, FFFP or commercial detergent is added to the water in a 1% ratio for class A fires and a 3%-6% ratio for class B fires. Typically, the tip of the smooth-bore application nozzle is then cut off to allow the foam to properly expand. Keeping the nozzle will result in wetter foam but longer range. Cutting the nozzle will result in an expanded, dry foam but will lack the range of the standard water nozzle. CAFS extinguishers can also be fitted with air aspirators, commonly used on AFFF and FFFP foam extinguishers, which will result in a more expanded foam but will lack the heat resistance of non-aspirated foam, which does not break the bubbles.
Read more about this topic: Compressed Air Foam System
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