PKP fire extinguishers were common on ships when I was in the Navy. They consist of a cylinder with Purple Potassium (element K) Powder and a CO2 charging cylinder on the side. Slam the lever on top and the CO2 cylinder is discharged into the PKP cylinder, pressurizing it so it can be sprayed on a fire. Until the CO2 is discharged, the PKP is just a pile of powder in a cylinder, so there was a (monthly?) maintenance check that consisted of unscrewing the top of the PKP cylinder and stirring the powder inside. I frequently found cylinders that, even after only a month, had large clumps of powder sticking together. I've even had to replace them when all of the powder had formed a solid mass inside. I'm not a big fan of powder extinquishers, but I never had a malfunction on a CO2 cylinder.
I take home the leftovers from work that pile up when we dispose of vehicles that had extinquishers included, so I don't get to be picky; I take what we have.
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Mike
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