Fire suppression system?

[The Hot Rod Grille]

My next door neighbor's house burned to the ground last week and it got me to thinking about puting a fire suppression system in my garage (I really started thinking about it as I was using my garden hose to keep my roof and siding from catching fire!). Luckily, all I got was a few warped shingles and some melted vinyl siding. I've got a heat/smoke detector in the garage that is tied into my monitored security system, but after watching my neighbor's house go up in flames before the fire department got there, I realize I am not really protected! I found an automatic dry-chemical system in Griot's Garage that is heat-activated, but I realize what a mess dry chemical extinguishers make (but so do fires!). Anybody got any ideas or info on other systems? I've got extinguishers located around the garge, but I'm interested in an automatic system to protect everything while I'm not in the garage. BTW, a water sprinkler system is not really practical for my application. Thanks for any help!

Jim

 

[gofastman]

My next door neighbor's house burned to the ground last week and it got me to thinking about puting a fire suppression system in my garage (I really started thinking about it as I was using my garden hose to keep my roof and siding from catching fire!). Luckily, all I got was a few warped shingles and some melted vinyl siding. I've got a heat/smoke detector in the garage that is tied into my monitored security system, but after watching my neighbor's house go up in flames before the fire department got there, I realize I am not really protected! I found an automatic dry-chemical system in Griot's Garage that is heat-activated, but I realize what a mess dry chemical extinguishers make (but so do fires!). Anybody got any ideas or info on other systems? I've got extinguishers located around the garge, but I'm interested in an automatic system to protect everything while I'm not in the garage. BTW, a water sprinkler system is not really practical for my application. Thanks for any help!

Jim

halon would be nice but its not really avalable anymore due to enviromental reasons, CO2 doesnt work at all for anthing other than liquid fires, I know from expereance
like you said, dry chem is messy.
why cant you use water?
these look cool but i have no idea on price:
http://www.ansul.com/en/Products/aquasonic_sys/aquasonic.asp

 

[WH0DAMAN]

We have to have a fire suppresion for our main spray booth. Installed it was roughly $5000.00. It has two large bottles outside the booth that are hooked up to a firing system. When you look at the roof in the booth there is a wire with a capsule suspended in the middle. When it reaches a specific temperature the system fires. It can be fired manually as well. I would call a local fire sprinkler company for a quote and some advice.

 

[hidollartoys]

There are halon replacements that are/will be available for a long time to come. The only issue is the annual inspections required. These inspections are required by both the manufactures and the insurance co's. There are new sprinkler systems that are available for residential applications that work with your home's water supply. These systems are designed to prevent catastropic loss in the event of a fire. They can be plumbed with pex and have temp activated sprinkler heads.

 

[kf4zht]

Why is water suppression out of the question?

 

[JohnK007]

I think this one area where you should get some professional guidance. My limited experience with fire protection systems is that they can get complicated and expensive in a hurry. There is also the risk of invalidating home owners insurance if they are inadequate, not installed professionally, or not certified.

 

[Vicegrip]

There are hang from the ceiling systems that are self contained and do not require inspections in residential use. They use a Halon replacement fed through a normal looking sprinkler head and are not inexpensive. Bottle and heat activated head are one unit. Google auto trailer fire suppression IIRC. Boats have many systems available One clever system consists of a long plastic tube that melts and releases suppressive agent where it ruptures. All of the non powder systems are expensive.

I keep a CO2 hand held on hand for putting out welding nuisance fires. I have found CO2 to work well and no clean up. Unlike dry powder you can shoot a short burst and the rest is still good to go. Dry powder leaks the propellant off with any use.

 

[The Hot Rod Grille]

Guys,

Thanks for the replies! Much information! The reason that a water sprinkler system is not really an option is because of the 13 pinball games, 2 jukeboxes, antique big-ball bowler, etc that are in the garage. Water would do nearly as much damage as fire to those items. Granted, the water system would be fine for the porcelian signs, gas pumps and hot rod cars, but I really like the idea of the hang-from-the-ceiling units. I have three halon (halotron) and three CO2 extinguishers in the garage, but they won't help if I'm not there to use them, so that's why I looking for an automatic system. Thanks again for your help.

Jim

 

[kf4zht]

Keep in mind that water based systems only go off in an area that is directly above the fire. Against popular belief the system cannot go off in areas that the individual head is not affected by heat.

Other options include
Foam - messier than water but more effective
Dry chem - many dry chemicals eat away at metals are are very difficult to clean up.
CO2 and other Oxygen reducers - Effective if room is sealed, basic idea is to remove oxygen in one area or whole room. Can be dangerous if system is activated and people cannot get out of building. CO2 is not very effective on class A wood fires.
Halon - good but expensive. Harder to find qualified installers and inspectors

Any of them will have an alarm to inform emergency services about the activation. All will require maintenance and inspections, however they will lower your insurance costs.

 

[gofastman]

I thought i would post some awsomness

 

[WH0DAMAN]

I thought i would post some awsomness

I like the jet powered one!!!!! I need to hook one of those up to my truck for when the coppers come up behind me.