Fire Detection Ideas

[mculik5]

Longtime lurker, new member here.

Moved into a new house last year that has a detached workshop about 150 feet from the main house. I use this workshop for winter car storage and woodworking/limited metalworking.

For a number of obvious reasons, I'd like to install some kind of fire detection system that will alert me if there is a fire in the workshop.

We have Nest smoke detectors in the house, but as I understand it, these are no good in a shop environment because of the dust. Based on what I've read, I need a heat detector. Easy enough...

...BUT...it seems no one makes a wireless heat detector that will alert me either in the main house or via my phone.

Anyone here have any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[PCustoms]

Can The Nest Be Hardwired At all?

Link a nest, in a closet or other area, to the heat detectors that are out in the open.

 

[1redTA]

can you run a speaker wire from the alarm in the shop to a bell inside your house?

 

[rlitman]

Do you already have a wireless alarm in the main house? Perhaps you just need a wireless repeater to extend the range for your main system out to the shop.

 

[6768rogues]

I don't know where you are, but if you are in a cold climate smoke detectors will not work in cold environments. Also, they are subject to false alarms from dust and insects.
You should look for a rate of rise heat detector, not a fixed temperature detector. If the temperature rises a certain number of degrees in a time period, the alarm activates. They work in all temperatures and are not frequented by false alarms.

 

[Jlbc212]

As a retired firefighter (37 years, full-time) IMHO the best thing you can do is to do everything you can to prevent a fire from starting in the garage and obtain an insurance policy to cover the building and its contents. Most fires develop very quickly, more quickly than most people expect. By the time a rate of rise heat detector activates and you provide an adequate response by first calling 911 and then attempting to extinguish the fire on your own before the fire department arrives, the fire will most likely have grown too large for control with an extinguisher. By the time the fire department does arrive on the scene considerable damage will have already occurred. If you plan to winter store vehicles or equipment in the garage, remove the batteries and store them away from other combustible materials. Store flammable, combustible liquids in a flammable liquids storage locker/container. Utilize metal cans with covers for the disposal of oily rags. Don't create metal sparks near combustibles. Wait at least a half hour after creating sparks before leaving the garage. Keep the garage as clean as reasonably possible.

 

[engineer2]

A quick search shows a Kidde HD135F Fyrnetics Hardwire Heat Detector with Battery Backup. Not sure if that's what you are looking for since rate of rise might be better. Also it would be nice to find something to alert your cell phone. Maybe a Honeywell 5809 would be better.

As Jlbc212 said, prevention is the best bet. I've heard of a few collector car fires happen from leaving the battery hooked up + old wiring. Lock away the flammables and can those oily rags.

 

[bad_idea]

How about wiring the smoke/heat/whatever detector to an alarm siren in the rafters. Wouldn't be a bad idea to have an alarm in the garage, wire them both into the alarm siren.

As far as prevention, I suggest a separate shed for storage of flammables. Best to let a shed burn down than the whole shop. I store all of my chemicals, fuel, and cutting torch out there.

 

[astroracer]

As a retired firefighter (37 years, full-time) IMHO the best thing you can do is to do everything you can to prevent a fire from starting in the garage and obtain an insurance policy to cover the building and its contents. Most fires develop very quickly, more quickly than most people expect. By the time a rate of rise heat detector activates and you provide an adequate response by first calling 911 and then attempting to extinguish the fire on your own before the fire department arrives, the fire will most likely have grown too large for control with an extinguisher. By the time the fire department does arrive on the scene considerable damage will have already occurred. If you plan to winter store vehicles or equipment in the garage, remove the batteries and store them away from other combustible materials. Store flammable, combustible liquids in a flammable liquids storage locker/container. Utilize metal cans with covers for the disposal of oily rags. Don't create metal sparks near combustibles. Wait at least a half hour after creating sparks before leaving the garage. Keep the garage as clean as reasonably possible.

^^^This. All a fire detector will do is wake you up so you can watch it burn. Waste of time and money unless it gets you a substantial discount on structure insurance. Talk to your insurance agent.
Mark

 

[6768rogues]

You will probably not wake up in time to put the fire out, but you can watch it burn. Use a heat detector that is intended to be linked to other detectors. Rather than running the wire to other detectors, run it to a siren.

 

[mculik5]

Thanks for all the feedback. To address some of your points:

- Nest smoke detectors only work with other Nest smoke detectors. There's no way to add a different type of detector to their proprietary network, either wired or wireless.
- Can't easily run wire to the house, and that wouldn't solve the remote notification issue.
- The house does have an old alarm system. It's disconnected. I need to learn more about it to see if it would be helpful.
- Agree with Jlbc212's points. Have insurance on the shop, keep it clean, don't store gas inside, etc.

I don't think I was clear enough initially, but my main goal is remote notification. I'm gone 10 hours/day at work, and I live in a fairly rural area where a fire might go unnoticed for a while (even with a loud alarm). The shop is also close to the woods on my property. I hear what the "watch it burn" folks are saying, but I do believe that knowing about a fire and being able to call 911 from work is infinitely better than relying on passersby to notice.

I'll keep looking. If anyone has any other ideas, keep them coming.

Thanks!

 

[rlitman]

...I do believe that knowing about a fire and being able to call 911 from work is infinitely better than relying on passersby to notice...

Fair enough.

On that note, I spent $30 on a pan-tilt web-camera / baby monitor in my garage that l have it set to email me whenever it detects motion. When my wife needs to find some tool, I can log in and follow here around on camera while directing her on the phone.

A while back, I got a bunch of emails unexpectedly in the middle of the day. Logging in and looking around, I realized that an air hose had burst, and I was able to call someone and have the line shut off rather than let my compressor run all day.

 

[AKCJ]

Fair enough.

On that note, I spent $30 on a pan-tilt web-camera / baby monitor in my garage that l have it set to email me whenever it detects motion. When my wife needs to find some tool, I can log in and follow here around on camera while directing her on the phone.

A while back, I got a bunch of emails unexpectedly in the middle of the day. Logging in and looking around, I realized that an air hose had burst, and I was able to call someone and have the line shut off rather than let my compressor run all day.

OK. How about a weight on a chain held up by a string. Fire starts, burns string, weight swings on the chain like a pendulum, starts the motion detector camera and email to you. I just made that up but maybe something like this could work?

I know some people will not like this idea, but some will . . . .

 

[rlitman]

OK. How about a weight on a chain held up by a string. Fire starts, burns string, weight swings on the chain like a pendulum, starts the motion detector camera and email to you. I just made that up but maybe something like this could work?

I know some people will not like this idea, but some will . . . .

In my case, the camera was mounted to the underside of an attic ladder that leads to the loft. When the compressor in the loft runs, it happens to vibrate the surface the camera is mounted to enough to set off the motion detection (this was not intentional, but was rather a happy accident).

I would think that the light from a fire would set off the motion detection too, but who really knows. I certainly wouldn't consider the camera reliable either.