Amerex repeats the same line, in capitals, across its service manuals: "RECHARGE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS IMMEDIATELY AFTER ANY USE." What no nameplate tells you is that a recharge can go wrong before any nitrogen flows, in two ways — the wrong agent going into the cylinder, or the wrong fill adapter coming off the truck.
Amerex settles both on two pages of its Parts Book. Page 30 lists every recharge charge and the models the model-specific charges serve; page 29 pairs every valve with a designated fill adapter. This guide is that cross-reference in one place, plus what Amerex's dry chemical service manual, 05602, says a proper recharge consumes — down to the part number. The Parts Book itself states that "Amerex Corporation does not service, maintain or recharge fire extinguishers," and neither do we. The manual assigns the work to "trained persons having proper equipment" — in practice, a fire equipment service company. What follows is what they do, and what the truck needs to carry.
The recharge agent, by model family
Page 30 of the Parts Book is a plain list. Here it is, Amerex's model designations quoted verbatim.
| Agent | Charge (container) | Amerex's designated models |
|---|---|---|
| Purple K dry chemical | 553 (25 lb pail) · 515 (50 lb pail) · 517 (400 lb drum) | Purple K models — type per nameplate |
| ABC dry chemical | 552 (25 lb pail) · 550 (50 lb pail) · 509 (400 lb drum) | ABC models — type per nameplate |
| ABC dry chemical | 555 (50 lb pail) | "Model B402" |
| Regular dry chemical | 512 (50 lb pail) · 511 (400 lb drum) | Regular models — type per nameplate |
| Water (loaded stream / anti-freeze) | 506B-2 ("two 2½ gal. bottles") · 506B (55 gal. drum) | "Model 240" |
| Wet chemical | 530-2 ("two 6 liter bottles") | "Model B260, C260, C260CG" |
| Wet chemical | 660-2 ("two 2½ gal. bottles") | "Model B262, C262, C262CG" |
| Water mist | 670-2 ("two 1¾ gal. bottles") | "Model B270, C270" |
| Water mist | 671-2 ("two 2½ gal. bottles") | "Model B272, C272" |
| Halotron I | 891 (80 lb cylinder) · 892 (200 lb cylinder) | See Amerex manual 14795, Recharge Recovery Halotron I |
| Class D — sodium chloride (Super D) | 557 (30 lb pail) · 545 (50 lb pail) | "Model B570, 680" |
| Class D — copper (Navy 125S) | 548 (50 lb pail) | "Model B571, C571, 681" |
| Class D — graphite (G-Plus) | 543 (35 lb pail) · 532 (300 lb drum) | No model designated — Amerex notes that "Class D Powders can be applied using scoop or shovel" |
Two entries deserve a second look. ABC is not a single charge: Amerex lists Charge 555 separately — "Charge 555, 50 lb. pail – Model B402" — so a B402 on the bench calls for its designated pail, not the general-purpose 552 or 550. And the wet chemical charges are model-specific in both directions: the 6-liter 530-2 serves the B260 and C260 while the 2½-gallon 660-2 serves the B262 and C262. Same agent family, different bottles, no overlap.
One warning overrides the whole table. From the recharge section of manual 05602: "Do not mix types of dry chemicals in extinguishers, recharge or recovery systems. Mixing ABC (acidic base) with Regular, Purple-K, Super-K or Monnex (alkaline base) dry chemicals may result in a chemical reaction capable of developing a dangerous pressure buildup." A Purple K unit gets Purple K — the 553 25 lb or 515 50 lb pail — through equipment that has never handled ABC.
The fill adapter, by valve
Page 29 sorts by valve rather than agent, because the adapter threads into the valve. Most are Hansen quick-connect assemblies, and fitment comes down to thread size and valve material.
| Adapter | Connection | Fits (per Parts Book page 29) |
|---|---|---|
| 01720 | Hansen quick connect, 3/8"-24 UNF | Dry chemical, aluminum valve |
| 02141 | Hansen quick connect, 5/8"-18 UNF | Dry chemical brass valve (heading includes high performance and Class D, female thread); the "20 lb. Aluminum Valve"; water, foam, wet chemical and water mist models "240, 250, 252, 254, 260, 262, C260, C262, C270, C272" |
| 09492 | Hansen quick connect, 1/2"-14 NPSL | "B270, B272, B260, B262"; High Performance "Old style male thread" |
| 01316 | Hansen quick connect, 1/4"-18 NPT | "All CO2 Hand Portable Extinguishers" (on the 2½ and 5 lb discharge tube; on the 10–20 lb CO2 elbow or valve outlet "after 07/2020") |
| 04485 | Hansen quick connect, 3/8"-24 UNF | Halon 1211, aluminum valve |
| 04482 | Hansen quick connect, 5/8"-18 UNF | Halon 1211, brass valve |
| 06160 | Hansen quick connect, 3/4"-11½ NH | Wheeled stored pressure, "50 lb. Dry Chemical" |
| 09857 | 1"-8 NH | "125, 150 & 250 lb. Dry Chemical" wheeled units, plus the 150 lb Halon 1211, Halotron I, and Novec units |
The trap in this table is the 20 lb exception. The A411 and A413 sit in Amerex's aluminum-valve parts list, yet page 29 assigns the 5/8"-18 02141 — the brass-valve adapter — to the "20 lb. Aluminum Valve," not the 3/8"-24 01720 that fits the rest of the aluminum line. Choose the adapter by valve material alone and you'll be wrong on the two largest hand portables in the family.
The second trap is the letter prefix. On wet chemical and water mist units, the B-prefix models (B260, B262, B270, B272) take the gasket-sealed 09492 at 1/2"-14 NPSL, while the C-prefix models (C260, C262, C270, C272) take the 02141 at 5/8"-18 UNF. Two extinguishers one letter apart, with the same agent and capacity, need different adapters. Our guide to decoding Amerex model numbers explains the letters.
The adapters are themselves serviceable. The Parts Book lists replacement seals: the 01532-P O-ring for the 01720 and 04485, the 06978-P O-ring for the 02141 and 04482, and the 09494-P gasket for the 09492.
What a recharge actually consumes
Manual 05602 gives the stored pressure dry chemical recharge at specification grade — in effect, the itemized list of what a service company's invoice covers.
The agent is recovered, not dumped. Discharge goes into a "closed" dry chemical recovery system, and Amerex explains why: "A 'closed recovery system' is designed to prevent loss of the chemical 'fines'. Loss of the 'fines' could result in reduced extinguisher efficiency."
The valve comes apart, and two parts never go back. The teardown instruction is unambiguous: "Install a new valve stem and collar O-ring," each lightly lubricated with Visilox V-711 — with the caution not to lubricate the valve stem seal. The spring and downtube are inspected and replaced "if worn or damaged." On sourcing, the manual is equally blunt: "ONLY FACTORY REPLACEMENT PARTS ARE APPROVED FOR USE ON AMEREX FIRE EXTINGUISHERS."
The fill happens on a scale. The cylinder interior is inspected to CGA C-6, then filled "with the correct amount and type of dry chemical specified on the label (nameplate)." Amerex's caution: "Filling by eye alone could cause potentially dangerous overfilling – always use a scale."
The pressurant is specified too. Not shop air: "a regulated pressurizing source of dry nitrogen only with a minimum dew point of minus 70ºF (minus 57C)," regulator set "no more than 25 psi above the operating pressure," with the regulator gauge — never the extinguisher's own gauge — used to judge when charging pressure is reached.
Then it is proven tight and sealed. A leak check with detection fluid at the collar O-ring seat, welds, and gauge; nozzle or hose reinstalled; ring pin in; "Install tamper seal. Record recharge date and attach new recharge tag." The final step is weighing the assembled extinguisher against the tolerance printed in the maintenance section of its nameplate.
Citing NFPA 10, the manual requires that every six years, stored pressure extinguishers on a 12-year hydrostatic test cycle "shall be emptied and subjected to the applicable maintenance procedures" — the six-year teardown consumes the same parts list even if the extinguisher was never discharged. Whether that spend is justified is a question our recharge-or-replace guide runs the numbers on.
The truck-stock list, by part number
Everything above reduces to a short bill of materials. For dry chemical hand portables the split is aluminum valve versus brass, one consumable set each.
| Consumable | Aluminum valve models | Brass valve models |
|---|---|---|
| Valve stem assembly — new every recharge | 06092-P | 06093-P |
| Collar O-ring — new every recharge | 05241-P | 05240-P |
| Valve spring — replace "if worn or damaged" | 01074-P | 00383-P |
| Tamper seal (lock wire seal, yellow) — new every recharge | 01387-P | |
| Valve lubricant | Visilox V-711 (collar O-ring and stem O-ring only — never the stem seal) | |
| Agent | By type and weight on the nameplate, filled by scale | |
Which column an extinguisher falls in comes from its parts list, not its size: the 376, B417, B402, B479, B456, A411, and A413 families are aluminum valve; the B424, B441, B460, 423, 415, 692, and 693 — plus every High Performance and high flow model — are brass. Amerex packages the consumables for service volume rather than one-offs: valve stems in packs of 6 and 96 (bulk packs of 2,400 aluminum and 600 brass), collar O-rings in 24s and 100s, tamper seals in 6s, 100s, and 500s.
What we stock
Recharge agents — the 553 Purple K 25 lb and 515 Purple K 50 lb pails, the 552 ABC 25 lb pail, the B402's designated 555, and the 530-2 wet chemical charge, with the 550, 660-2, water mist, and Class D charges alongside them in the recharges collection.
Fill adapter assemblies — the 01720 aluminum-valve and 02141 brass-valve dry chemical adapters and the 09492, plus the 01316 CO2, the 04482 and 04485 Halon 1211, and the 06160 and 09857 wheeled-unit adapters — all in miscellaneous service parts.
Recharge consumables — 06092-P006 aluminum valve stems, 06093-P006 brass valve stems, 05241-P024 collar O-rings, and 00383-P006 valve springs, with the rest in O-rings, seals and pull pins and valves, gauges and downtubes.
Outfitting a service truck, or standardizing a recharge bench on factory parts? Send us the model families you service and we'll come back with a consolidated parts list, availability, and lead times — request a quote.
Sources
Recharge agent and fill adapter fitment, adapter thread specifications, replacement seal part numbers, and the aluminum/brass consumable split are taken from the Amerex Corporation Parts Book (pages 29–30 and the model parts lists); consumable pack quantities are from the item numbers in Amerex's current parts price list. The recharge procedure, warnings, and quoted cautions are from Amerex manual 05602, Hand Portable Dry Chemical — ABC & Purple K (rev. 1/2024), which Amerex publishes "as a guide to assist qualified service personnel." A parts list is not a substitute for the unit in front of you: confirm agent type and charge weight against the extinguisher's own nameplate and current Amerex documentation, and leave maintenance and recharge to a qualified fire equipment service company working under NFPA 10 and your authority having jurisdiction.
ShopAmerex.com is owned and operated by Centurion Holdings Group LLC, an independent authorized distributor of Amerex Corporation products. We sell equipment and factory OEM service parts — we do not perform inspection, service, hydrostatic testing or recharging.