On 06/25/2011 05:25 PM, aemeijers wrote:
On 6/25/2011 4:38 PM, Evan wrote:
On Jun 25, 2:46 pm, wrote:
I live in an apartment with several fire sprinkler in the ceiling.

If the sprinkler goes off due to fire or malfunction, can I turn it off
after the fire is out? Is it the same valve near the water heater or is
there a different one?

I’m more worry about water damage (to electronics and computers) than
fire
damage. Perhaps because I’ve never had a fire before and this is the
first
time I moved to a place with fire sprinklers.

Alternately, is there a switch to cut off power to computers or other
devices when it senses water? This would reduce short-circuits caused by
water when the device is powered.

@Bob:

The fire sprinkler system in your apartment is being inspected on an
annual basis by the local AHJ... So a "malfunction" is not very
likely
to occur... You do realize that each individual sprinkler head must
"activate" by having a bi-metal piece or glycerin syringe melt/pop in
order for water to flow from it... It is not a "deluge" type system
unless
it is very very very old or deployed in special situation like a
theatre
stage...

As to turning off the sprinkler system after a fire, the fire
department
will take care of that before they turn the building back over to the
owner during the overhaul...

Well, your new home is much safer than your previous domiciles as
you will not be burnt to death in a fire and have a much longer escape
window during a fire event in a sprinklered building than in one
without...

As to your question about water damage to electronics, that is what
happens when things get soaking wet -- this is many more times
likely to happen from a water leak from a tenant on a floor above you
than from sprinkler leaks or an actual fire... As someone else
stated,
get renter's insurance... There is already a device which will shut
off
power when water logged devices short circuit, it is called a circuit
breaker... However I wouldn't worry that much about it, as during a
serious fire event in a building the fire department generally shuts
off
the power to the building to make the fire fighting operations safer
and
remove electrical short circuiting as a source of ignition...

~~ Evan

And, believe it or not. most consumer electronics/PCs (with the possible
exception of of LCD displays), handle getting wet pretty well, as long
as it is not immersed and the water is clean. I've salvaged plenty of
stuff that was left outside, or under an accidental sprinkler discharge.
Unplug, hold upside down to drain, field-strip it, blow it out gently
with an air source, and leave in a sunny window for a day or three. May
have to use a little electronic spray cleaner on any pots or circuit
boards that show water trails, and replace a popped fuse here and there,
but it usually still works.

The odds go down with a sewage leak, or plumbing supply line leak that
came down through drywall and insulation, of course. But my old-school
Sherwood stereo receiver in the other room came out of a dumpster, where
previous owner thought it was ruined because a cat ****ed in it.
Cleaning and new fuses, and it lit right up and sounds fine.


Water is clean? you ever smelled water that has been sitting in
sprinkler pipes for a long time? That water is anything *but* clean.
Certainly not "potable" even.

But like I said in my previous post, it's not something that the OP
should be losing sleep over; odds are far higher of having a domestic
water leak than an unneeded sprinkler activation incident.

nate

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