How About A Maintenance Free Fire Extinguisher ?

We have been hearing a lot about the Maintenance Free Batteries for Cars.  Are they really maintenance free? What is the definition of maintenance?  Is checking the terminals considered maintenance?

A friend of mine have designed a fire extinguisher which he claimed to be maintenance free.
The product carries a 10 year manufacturer warranty and claimed to be service free for 10 year.
The inventor also claimed it is 100% recyclable and 100% UV protected.
The best thing is, there is no corrosion risk.

I know the inventor personally, so i manage to get some reliable information on the manufacturing process of this fire extinguisher.
I cannot dispose much more information here, as i believe the design of the product is protected by law.
If you would like to know more about this product, you can logon to http://www.britannia-fire.co.uk/extinguisher-range.aspx?id=6

From the look, it is just another fire extinguisher, but after reading the literature, i start to think if this might be the turning point of fire extinguisher era.  Remember the old mini used to have a strong chromed bumper, then comes the Jap who use a moulded piece of polymer, then never before i see those shinning chromes anymore, except only on collection item cars.  I believe, this will be the envy of every fire extinguisher manufacturer in the world, to start getting panic worrying their current designs will be phased out very soon, if not immediately.

However, it is not without reservation in me.  Having some experience in polymer materials, i will predict the internal polymer (if such material is used), will somehow react in a certain way to the liquid in contact with.

I always believe nothing escapes the mother nature law of degradation, including the UV from the sun.  So, i do not buy the idea of 100% UV protected.  Well, UV stabilized sounds better to me.

Coming to the 10 year service free claim, i will agree that the foam liquid will stay intact, but how about the polymer seal used in the control valve.  As i am aware, the valve seat is compressed under tension by a spring to keep the valve closed all the time, until it is depressed to open the valve for discharge.  A rubberized material depressed for a long period of time may need some attention though.

Finally, i am very confident that this new design of Maintenance Free Fire Extinguisher, the Britania WorldFire, will change the fire industry and give a new perception to everyone towards how a fire extinguisher should be.  It will also change the behavior and practice of the servicing and maintenance personnel.  Maybe the Fire Extinguishers Standards of every country will have to be re-written, to make way for this innovation, for those who neglect will find themselves left behind.