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I want to hang my fire extinguisher on the cabinet next to my sink. Below are pictures of the fire extinguisher bracket and the location where I want to put it. Should I use a bolt with a nut - or some sort of screw?

Mounting bracket

Side of cabinet

Fire extinguisher

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You could improve this post by making the pictures in to thumbnails that link to the full-sized image. – Jay Bazuzi Jul 30 '11 at 17:34

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Probably too heavy for wood screws into chipboard cabinets.
If the screws don't work then a couple of bolts with penny washers.

The extinguisher looks a bit battered, you should check the trigger mechanism looks ok. BUT don't try and squirt it a little bit - the cooling gas can make ice form in the valve and stop it turning off

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The trigger mechanism appears to be OK. My wife's cousin is moving, so he gave me a bunch of stuff I had been needing. The outer of the extinguisher looks beat up, but the trigger mechanism is good. The gauge shows full charge. It feels heavy so I believe that. – 0A0D Jul 30 '11 at 13:56
thanks for your tips! – 0A0D Jul 30 '11 at 13:56
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It looks like the holes on the mounting bracket are shaped for a bugle head, which AFAIK limits you to using a screw. (Well, you could use a bolt, but the head would push the extinguisher out so that it's not parallel to the cabinet face which would look untidy, IMO.)

If your cabinets are 3/4" plywood, the screws probably all you need. If they're made from particleboard, you should add some reinforcement in the form of extra wood to hold onto: glue a piece of plywood to the inside of the cabinet and screw into that. Most cabinets that I've seen have a lip around the front edges, so if you use a piece that doesn't protrude past that lip and fills the full depth of the cabinet and the height between the shelves, it'll be less noticeable.

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They are particleboard. Good idea about the plywood. – 0A0D Jul 30 '11 at 14:11
You can get a screw head that is threaded for a nut. – BMitch♦ Jul 30 '11 at 14:41
@bmitch: I couldn't find any in a search at Lowe's or HD's websites. But using one would still leave you with a nut/washer/bolt on the inside of the cabinet which I for one would find ugly. – Niall C. Jul 30 '11 at 16:28
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@Niall: The term to search for is "machine screw". If you cut it to the right size, you can use a "cap nut" instead of a normal nut, which would look a bit better, but I'm pretty sure it would be a pain to install since they limit the depth of the bolt. You might be able to find a plastic cap, similar to what you have on the toilet base, if you look hard enough. – BMitch♦ Jul 30 '11 at 17:21

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