Look up a cylinder
Type and cylinder date set the whole NFPA 10 long-interval schedule. Add the last recorded service dates if you have them; otherwise the calculator anchors on the manufacture date, the way a tech reads a collar.
One cylinder is easy. Four thousand are not. Essential keeps every extinguisher as its own asset with its own 6-year and hydro clock, so due dates surface on schedule instead of when a fire marshal reads the collar.
Book a 15-minute demoThe NFPA 10 long-interval schedule
| Interval | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Monthly | Visual inspection of every unit at an interval not exceeding 31 days: in place, accessible, charged, sealed, undamaged. |
| Annual | Maintenance by a certified technician with a new verification-of-service tag. Cartridge-operated units are opened and examined internally at this visit. |
| Every 6 years | Internal examination for stored-pressure extinguishers on the 12-year hydro cycle. Its own clock, anchored to the date on the last verification-of-service collar; a hydrostatic test resets it. |
| Every 5 years | Hydrostatic test: pressurized water, foam, wet chemical, CO2, and dry chemical with stainless steel shells. |
| Every 12 years | Hydrostatic test: dry chemical with mild steel, brazed brass, or aluminum shells; clean agent; and Class D units. A cylinder that fails is condemned, not repaired. |
| 12 years max | Non-rechargeable extinguishers are never hydro tested; they're removed from service no more than 12 years from the manufacture date. |
Common questions
What is a hydrostatic test?
The cylinder is emptied and pressure-tested to confirm the shell can still hold what the gauge says it holds. Passing units are stamped or collared with the test date; failing units are condemned.
Why is the 6-year exam so easy to miss?
It doesn't line up with anything else. It isn't the annual and it isn't the hydro; it's a separate per-cylinder clock based on the date stamped on the last service collar. A unit can be current on twelve monthly checks and its annual and still be out of compliance on the 6-year.
Where do I find the dates this calculator needs?
Manufacture year is stamped on the shell or printed on the label. Hydro and 6-year dates live on the verification-of-service collar around the neck and on the service tag. No collar and no record usually means the work is due now.
Does this replace the NFPA 10 tables?
No. It applies the commonly enforced intervals from NFPA 10 Chapters 7 and 8 to the dates you enter. Editions and local amendments vary, so confirm against the edition your AHJ enforces.