Question:
Do people still refill home/auto fire extinguishers? I noticed that on one of mine the needle on the gauge had left the green zone and dropped into the red zone. Last time that happened, per the tag on the fire extinguisher, was about 15 years ago and the receipt shows it cost $8 to have it refilled or recharged? Went back to that business location, and the company is long gone. Tried other places, and the answer seems to be that it is cheaper to buy a new fire extinguisher (about $15 at Pep Boys) than to refill the old one. Anyone in the Los Angeles area have a different take on this?

Answer: Depends on the extinguisher. Some can be refilled, some can't. If the bottle and/or valve assembly is plastic (like most home units these days), it is probably a throwaway. And even on an older refillable one, it may not be cost-effective. If the ancient CO2 bottles I keep around ever get discharged or leak down, they will probably tell me I have to get a hydrostatic test on them first, since they have no history available. Whenever I move, I abandon the 5-lb chemical extinguisher I installed in kitchen when I moved in, and buy a new one for the new place. Never have needed to use any of them, but as soon as I stop keeping one..