Fireproofing your grow area

Alienate420 said:

This is a subject I'm very anxious about. I tried to find the aerosol technology with pricing and in the United States and this is what came up.

http://www.server-room-furniture.com/fire-suppression-thermal.html

The company selling it is Peripheral and it seems to have just started selling them over the internet around the U.S. I need to figure out how to order when I'm not so high...

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The Aero-K aerosol devices look like a good investment. Installation is easy, and the devices are very compact. They will auto activate if surrounding temperatures reach high levels (preset options are 158F, 203F, and 254F) with no electrical power needed. They can also be wired into existing fire detection systems. Shelf life is 15 years. Some aerosol specs from the site are below.

Fire Extinguishing Concentration of Aerosol*
Includes 20% safety factor
Class A Surface Fires: 90g/m3
Class B Flammable Liquids: 50g/m3
Class C Electrical: 70g/m3

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Bump Me and a friend almost died in a fire a few months ago (not grow related) and unless you've experienced first hand the unbelievable ferocity of such, you have no idea, shit can get REAL bad REAL fast.

Not sure if anyone has posted this but one thing you can do to ensure that there just isn't a fire in your grow room (don't forget one could always start somewhere else in the house) is you could get a webcam that connects to a secure online feed and then check it through a wireless connection on a laptop, smartphone, whatever.. not sure how exactly one would do this but it seems plausible.

wish potter would show back up....

http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemMatrix.asp?GroupCode=MSFTFD00&MatrixType=1

how did i never see this?? great info Potter, seriously. imagine how many people start out growing next to a closet full of clothes too!! thats a ridiculous no no, & should be mentioned. i vote this be stickied as well. the fan blowing a spark is new to me & must be factored. iono how to solve the issue of not having a fan 24/7 yet, but i'll think about it more now as opposed to never. all this info would be amazing for the new growers, so they can start out safe. +rep if u ever come back to check it....

Great thread!...I agree, it should be a stickie...

As a cab grower I would recommend a hand held 'C' class extinguisher @the very least. Circuit breakers for the chance of a water spill. And an easily accessible BRB cutoff switch for the grow.
{BRB=BigRedButton}

An observation...Cleanup AFTER an incident....perhaps we should have a disaster cleanup and recovery thread.

I would use giant shamwow's or something similar to remove water, but how would you go about removing the potassium powder from some of these extinguishers?...would it not get into the ballasts?...is it dangerous to breathe in?...does it stick like glue when wet?

How do you remove soot and crap from walls and equipment?
Equipment damage assessment.

Just spitballin'

muA

Duh!...stupid me!...I just discovered the 'rate this thread' feature!

bump

Bump- Please sticky for safety. I have lived through an apt fire that burned a large part of my apt complex. Fire is some scary shit. That fire shook me up more than being robbed and pistol-whipped a few years earlier. Thankfully no one was injured, except for my precious lungs. The fire was started by a fu**ing cigarette smoker. I was able to go back and destroy my "project" before I got in any trouble. I am pretty sure the firefighters saw my setup but nothing ever came of it.

Bump

bump, bump-bump it up!

I'm sorry, but I can't get passed the part where you state that you build between 200 and 300 homes a year. I'm a framer, and I don't see that happening. That's over a house every 2 days.

Shady Smoka said:

I'm sorry, but I can't get passed the part where you state that you build between 200 and 300 homes a year. I'm a framer, and I don't see that happening. That's over a house every 2 days.

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Have you ever worked on a team of 50? Framing a house doesn't take so long. Finishing it takes somewhat longer.

Most framing crews consist of three to four guys. The building trade isn't like the TV show with Ty Pennington; it takes a few weeks to frame an average home, and anywhere from three months to a year to complete.

Stone you need to pick up the pace I have personally framed a house from start to finish in 3 days with my sister as a helper, 1350 sq ft bungalow, zoom boom on site and a crane for my roof.

Flame Defender systems as linked by Amstel Light below are surprisingly economical http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemMatrix.asp?GroupCode=MSFTFD00&MatrixType=1

I have a small one over all this electric mess and one above the grow space, each space is 3'x4' footprint. It looks like a fire waiting to happen, I know, actuall, except for not having covers on my automation sockets, everyting is to "code". There isn't really a code that covers such a setup but appropriate wiring, junction boxes, and properly sized breakers. Arc Faults on each of the 3 - 20 amp services as well as GF circuits.

This grow isnt in an occupied building, so my only concern about fire is that it could lead to being discovered, not a small issue as you guys know.

st0ne said:

Most framing crews consist of three to four guys. The building trade isn't like the TV show with Ty Pennington; it takes a few weeks to frame an average home, and anywhere from three months to a year to complete.

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Speed framing baby. Takes PPP and skills, but there's plenty of pros still makin' money 'cuz they learn't how. Fine Homebuilding/Tauton Press published a book on it some years back. When I was still in the rat race we adopted some of it. Works great if you can adapt.

opened my eyes

opened my eyes

Great thread, it's opened my eyes to a plethora of worthwhile options and concerns of which I hadn't thought of before. +rep!!!

http://www.flamestop.com/

i have dealt with this company years ago and they make additives for paint also but they have many different products to protect materials like fabric, open/closed cell foam and wood.

EDIT: i posted this info in a different thread regarding Paint Additives

I had posted this in another thread but I will post here to keep it all in one area.It is more than likely repetitive information though.

If my license application is accepted-I plan to use most of these items to ensure fire safety and peace of mind/Many will say it is total overkill(perhaps)-I am not saying anyone HAS to do this-I just feel this is best for myself and it reflects what I have seen in many years of construction work.


Room fire safety.


Something like this would be invaluable IMHO especially when coupled with the auto fan and device shut downs

http://flameauthority.com/Home-Autom...isher-12kg.htm many grow stores ell them-a simple and good solution



of course there are many other types depending on what you have around you and room requirements

http://www.rvcruzer.com/firesystem.php

http://www.firetrace.co.uk/products.html

http://www.pyrogen.com/

http://www.fike.com/products/fsfireraser.asp

http://www.server-room-furniture.com...ppression.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_fire_suppression HALON is banned in a lot of areas-avoid this medium if you buy a used system. While it is very good at fire suppression-it equally suppresses human life

http://ezinearticles.com/?Fire-Suppr...-NOC&id=768738


If you want to stick to water

It is easy enough to download NFPA 13 residential fire sprinkler code (buy a copy or find an "alternative" source) this will show you how to add some simple CPVC (blazemaster) based sprinkler heads for outside the room protection and rest of house barrier-of course keep water based sprinklers outside the actual room (electrical concerns) -265°F pendant sprinkler heads are sold at plumbing suppliers.You could also make a simple copper pipe system.

http://www.suite101.com/content/fire...ystems-a170724


cover your room walls with one or the other (easy to paint flat white-flat white primer may be good enough)

http://www.usg.com/durock-cement-board.html or similar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cement_board

use this product if you need support for hanging things on the wall

http://www.wolmanizedwood.com/Produc...on/default.htm (fire rated plywood)


insulate the wall space with http://www.roxul.com/stone+wool/fire-resistance or similar

you could also build the walls with steel studs (thicker studs are available for mounting to wall purposes )(although wonderboard or Dricon make the wall pretty strong to mount stuff with regular studs )(not vital if you have used fire rated wall coverings but certainly more fire resistant than wood) (some local codes for inspected rooms may require the use for code compliance) *NOTE* moisture may be an issue at the bottom plate and stud bottoms-plastic sheet barrier may be needed

http://www.suite101.com/content/the-...raming-a183398



taking things to a higher level


sealing room penetrations with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firestop


adding smoke/fire dampers/dampened intake louvers on duct work that penetrates the room/motorized dampers for commercial settings

http://www.mtlfab.com/dampers.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_damper


if the room is being inspected then local codes will have the required material/assemblies laid out

if you simply want to increase safety and piece of mind-then any of these would be an improvement-your wallet is the only limiter

I personally would rather deal with sprinkler water /powder damage all over as opposed to a house fire

If you have no knowledge on how to install any of these items-then of course seek direction or competent installers


this post is not professional fire protection/life safety advice


FWIW I was a Mechanical/Fire protection and General Contractor specializing in renovating occupied high rise buildings + Industrial Commercial Institutional sectors.Unfortunately medication and time has reduced my bank of knowledge.

I haven't read all the input here, but think its necessary to keep several ABC fire exting. handy, making sure they are within their date code. My favorite is Halon. If you have a problem and have to use it, there is no residue!