On 6/29/2011 9:43 PM, Ned Flanders wrote:
The Daring Dufas wrote:
On 6/26/2011 9:57 PM, Ned Flanders wrote:
The Daring Dufas wrote:
On 6/26/2011 9:08 AM, Ned Flanders wrote:
Nate Nagel wrote:
On 06/25/2011 06:58 PM, The Daring Dufas wrote:
On 6/25/2011 1:46 PM, bob 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?

Im more worry about water damage (to electronics and computers)
than
fire damage. Perhaps because Ive 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.

It's not like in the movies and TV where you see all the sprinkler
heads
start spraying water at the same time. It doesn't work like that if
that
worries you. Only the sprinkler head tripped by flames releases
water.
Many systems are dry, meaning there is no water, only compressed
air in
the pipes which keeps the main water valve shut until a sprinkler
head
is activated by fire. The wet pipe systems have to be drained to
flush
them out on a regular basis to keep crud out of them, the dry
systems
don't have that problem and the maintenance folks have to keep an
eye on
the air pressure in the system which is usually remotely monitored
through the alarm system. If you are in a multi-floor apartment
building
, each floor may have a maintenance closet where there is a valve
for
your floor.

TDD

Dry systems are typically only used where ther eis a risk of
freezing.
The vast majority of residential sprinklers are wet pipe.

nate


Dry systems are a bitch to maintain and they tend to rust faster
than a
wet system due to the oxygen and moisture contained in the pipes. I
used
to keep an eye on a system that had two risers and compressors. I
can't
tell you how many times I had to scramble to trouble shot a compressor
before it tripped and charged the system. Rust, pin holes, bad
connections... dry systems tend to develop small leaks and the
compressors have to work harder and harder to keep up as the system
gets
older. If the diaphragm trips unintentionally due to a drop in
pressure
there is always a chance some of the heads may fail due to the hammer
effect.


The dry systems I'm familiar with had compressed air dryers for the
compressors to keep moisture at a minimum. I've repaired many a
compressor and air dryer system. The dry air was to prevent the exact
problems you mentioned. An engineer I was working with on the first
indoor cooling tower type setup in The Southeast, bumped a sprinkler
head with his hardhat and lucky for us it simply leaked so I tend to
believe the things are quite tough as far as resisting water hammer.

TDD


Around here, all new dry fire suppression systems must be tested for a
minimum delay from when the sprinkler head is tripped to when the water
starts spraying at the furthest head. This testing guarantees the system
will be wet inside. Blow the lines all you want but you will never get
all of the moisture out.


I suppose I should have written that the air dryers minimize the
introduction of more moisture from the compressed air source. I'm
curious as to how often the time to spray water has to be tested?

Just once when the system is installed. After that it just has to be
serviced by a licensed fire protection co.

Is it a one time certification or is it an annual test? I know the
guys from the fire protection company don't want water pooling in
the unheated warehouse sprinkler systems so I don't what their
procedures are but I've taken automotive antifreeze and blown it
through pneumatic systems that were freezing up in cold weather.
If it was extremely critical, I'm sure they could blow denatured
alcohol through the system to get rid of residual water like I've
done on some pneumatic systems. I'll have to ask one of the guys
about it. I guess a fire would melt an ice plug? :-)

In the 17 years I lived there both systems tripped many times due to
malfunctions, accidental contact, vandalism, and car fires. Keeping the
pipes dry would have been a hell of a challenge.

After a watching the fire prevention company a few times. I could pretty
much have the system drained and compressor back up and running.

All they had left to do was blow out the low points one final time, shut
the main valve from the city water, drain the diaphragm check valve and
pressurize it from the sprinkler side, open the valve to the city water,
and sign off on it.

One time the malfunction was caused by a flaw in a seam of a pipe. The
pin hole got progressively bigger until the compressor could not keep
up. The system tripped (naturally on the weekend). By the time the fire
prevention guys got there on the Monday the small hole was about a
centimetre in diameter and the water was gushing out.


Darn, defective pipe. I saw a lot of that 20 years ago when I was
working for a big construction corp. when the black pipe came from third
world countries because they had the best price. There were all sorts of
pinholes and casting flaws in the pipe and fittings. I have to wonder
how long that stuff lasted.

TDD

On Jun 25, 6:58*pm, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
On 6/25/2011 1:46 PM, bob 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.

It's not like in the movies and TV where you see all the sprinkler heads
start spraying water at the same time. It doesn't work like that if that
worries you. Only the sprinkler head tripped by flames releases water.
Many systems are dry, meaning there is no water, only compressed air in
the pipes which keeps the main water valve shut until a sprinkler head
is activated by fire. The wet pipe systems have to be drained to flush
them out on a regular basis to keep crud out of them, the dry systems
don't have that problem and the maintenance folks have to keep an eye on
the air pressure in the system which is usually remotely monitored
through the alarm system. If you are in a multi-floor apartment building
, each floor may have a maintenance closet where there is a valve for
your floor.

TDD

Get you facts straight! Dry pipe sprinklers are only used were there
is a danger of freezing. They are more expensive to maintain because
the condensate traps have to be drained monthly. The compressor for
the piping air adds cost and the differential dry pipe valve is much
more expensive than the Alarm Check Valves used on wet pipe systems.
Preaction only systems are only found were the damage from water might
well exceed the damage from a fire. Examples include museums,
historic library collections, fur storage, paper supply storage, and
similar occupancies. If you are thinking of a combination preaction
dry pipe system those are extremely rare and are found only in areas
exposed to freezing that are so large that an ordinary dry pipe system
would take too long to deliver water to the fire.
--
Tom Horne

On Jun 25, 2:46*pm, "bob" wrote:
snip
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.

Yes the switch you are asking about is called a shunt trip. It's name
comes from the shunting of some of a breakers current to a solenoid
inside the breaker that trips the breaker to the tripped position even
though the current flow has not exceeded the breaker's rating. The
shunt switch can take many forms including a manually operated push
button. Automatic shunt trips are now required in elevator machine
rooms and shafts in order to avoid any erratic operation that might be
caused by sprinkler discharge effecting the elevator controls. That
is needed because indoor elevator controls are not built to be
waterproof. These use a heat detector to shunt the current to the
solenoid and trip the breaker. The heat detector used has a lower
actuation temperature than the sprinkler heads used in those spaces.

That said I believe you would find the cost of parts and installation
a large price to pay for a scenario that is not likely. Keep in mind
that smoke can do as much damage to delicate electronics as water so
suppressing the fire quickly; which is an automatic sprinkler systems
reason for existence; will do much to raise the chance of successful
salvage of the electronics you are trying to protect.
--
Tom Horne

On Jun 26, 8:00*am, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
Most systems "should" have an inspector's test port. Perhaps
your fire sprinkler repair company can flush out the system.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
*www.lds.org

The inspectors test on a sprinkler system only flows the same water as
a single sprinkler. It is used to test the Alarm Check Valve, water
motor gong, and the water flow switches that activate the buildings
alarm system. It is not an effective way to flush the system. Many
residential sprinkler systems do not use black iron piping and do not
contaminate the water used in them. Copper tubing and plastic piping
are both used in residential sprinkler systems because the piping
installed in such occupancies is not as subject to physical damage as
the piping that is installed in warehouses, factories, and other
industrial buildings.
--
Tom Horne

On 6/30/2011 10:02 AM, Tom Horne wrote:
On Jun 25, 6:58 pm, The Daring
wrote:
On 6/25/2011 1:46 PM, bob 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.

It's not like in the movies and TV where you see all the sprinkler heads
start spraying water at the same time. It doesn't work like that if that
worries you. Only the sprinkler head tripped by flames releases water.
Many systems are dry, meaning there is no water, only compressed air in
the pipes which keeps the main water valve shut until a sprinkler head
is activated by fire. The wet pipe systems have to be drained to flush
them out on a regular basis to keep crud out of them, the dry systems
don't have that problem and the maintenance folks have to keep an eye on
the air pressure in the system which is usually remotely monitored
through the alarm system. If you are in a multi-floor apartment building
, each floor may have a maintenance closet where there is a valve for
your floor.

TDD

Get you facts straight! Dry pipe sprinklers are only used were there
is a danger of freezing. They are more expensive to maintain because
the condensate traps have to be drained monthly. The compressor for
the piping air adds cost and the differential dry pipe valve is much
more expensive than the Alarm Check Valves used on wet pipe systems.
Preaction only systems are only found were the damage from water might
well exceed the damage from a fire. Examples include museums,
historic library collections, fur storage, paper supply storage, and
similar occupancies. If you are thinking of a combination preaction
dry pipe system those are extremely rare and are found only in areas
exposed to freezing that are so large that an ordinary dry pipe system
would take too long to deliver water to the fire.
--
Tom Horne

I think we clarified that in later posts. I've only seen dry pipe
systems in commercial/industrial settings.

TDD

On 6/30/2011 10:26 AM, Tom Horne wrote:
On Jun 25, 2:46 pm, wrote:
snip
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.

Yes the switch you are asking about is called a shunt trip. It's name
comes from the shunting of some of a breakers current to a solenoid
inside the breaker that trips the breaker to the tripped position even
though the current flow has not exceeded the breaker's rating. The
shunt switch can take many forms including a manually operated push
button. Automatic shunt trips are now required in elevator machine
rooms and shafts in order to avoid any erratic operation that might be
caused by sprinkler discharge effecting the elevator controls. That
is needed because indoor elevator controls are not built to be
waterproof. These use a heat detector to shunt the current to the
solenoid and trip the breaker. The heat detector used has a lower
actuation temperature than the sprinkler heads used in those spaces.

That said I believe you would find the cost of parts and installation
a large price to pay for a scenario that is not likely. Keep in mind
that smoke can do as much damage to delicate electronics as water so
suppressing the fire quickly; which is an automatic sprinkler systems
reason for existence; will do much to raise the chance of successful
salvage of the electronics you are trying to protect.
--
Tom Horne

I've installed a lot of shunt trip breakers and contactors that power
commercial kitchen equipment located under exhaust hoods equipped with
dry chemical fire suppression systems. Most folks don't know to leave
the hood fan running because the whole building will get covered with
white powder. :-)

TDD

The OP should ask the building to change to a dry pipe
system. That way, when the fire happens, the sprinkler will
spray dry all over the room. Doing much less damage.

(yeah, I know.... I know.....)

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Tom Horne" wrote in message
...

Get you facts straight! Dry pipe sprinklers are only used
were there
is a danger of freezing.
--
Tom Horne

In article
,
Evan wrote:



@Nate:



@Evan

Stop with the damn ampersands. This isn't a social networking site, it's
a newsgroup.

On Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:04:55 -0700, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article
,
Evan wrote:



@Nate:



@Evan

Stop with the damn ampersands. This isn't a social networking site, it's
a newsgroup.

That's no ampersand, THIS ('&') is an ampersand. ;-)

'@' is an "at sign", "commercial at", or "atmark".

On Jun 28, 10:56*am, wrote:
Also, even if your
computer is off, if it gets wet, you can forget about ever using it
again.

In my experience (admittedly not with any recent computers) that isn't
necessarily true.

If it is powered up when it gets wet, damage can occur as jolts flow
where they shouldn't. But if not powered up, you can usually dry them
out and they work fine.

We used to take keyboards apart and flush them with distilled water,
back in the days when they were expensive.

In article ,
" wrote:

On Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:04:55 -0700, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article
,
Evan wrote:



@Nate:



@Evan

Stop with the damn ampersands. This isn't a social networking site, it's
a newsgroup.

That's no ampersand, THIS ('&') is an ampersand. ;-)

'@' is an "at sign", "commercial at", or "atmark".

Well, shut my mouth. Here I'm trying to be smart and I end up being
stupid.

@Evan, stop with the atmarks.

replying to bob, Taylor wrote:
nospam 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?
Im more worry about water damage (to electronics and computers) than
fire
damage. Perhaps because Ive 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.




They have tools out there to stop the water from flowing. Check out
www.quickstoptool.com. By the time the fire department gets there,
locates your main water shut off valve and the system drains, you will
have plenty of damage inside that could be avoided if you have a shut off
tool on hand. Since most sprinklers are serviced, a malfunction is
unlikely, its vandalism (whether intentional or not) that a lot of times
causes unnecessary damage. As I say all of this, the benefits to having
sprinklers outweighs the risk of potential damage. But for peace of mind,
there are tools out there that anyone can use. And if I was living on the
bottom floor, I would buy my neighbor one who lives above me incase their
sprinkler head gets damaged.

--
posted from
http://www.homeownershub.com/mainten...er-639253-.htm
using HomeOwnersHub's Web, RSS and Social Media Interface
to home and garden related groups

In article s.com,
Taylor wrote:

They have tools out there to stop the water from flowing. Check out
www.quickstoptool.com. By the time the fire department gets there,
locates your main water shut off valve and the system drains, you will
have plenty of damage inside that could be avoided if you have a shut off
tool on hand. Since most sprinklers are serviced, a malfunction is
unlikely, its vandalism (whether intentional or not) that a lot of times
causes unnecessary damage. As I say all of this, the benefits to having
sprinklers outweighs the risk of potential damage. But for peace of mind,
there are tools out there that anyone can use. And if I was living on the
bottom floor, I would buy my neighbor one who lives above me incase their
sprinkler head gets damaged.

You might check in with the local fire inspectors. It has been about
30 years since I dealt with residential sprinklers (and even then only
peripherally) but it sticks in my mind that the first responders just
used a wooden shim like you use to level windows. I could be VERY wrong,
though.
--
America is at that awkward stage. It's too late
to work within the system, but too early to shoot
the *******s."-- Claire Wolfe

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?
Im more worry about water damage (to electronics and computers) than
fire
damage. Perhaps because Ive 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.

Doubt you can turn it off. If the sprinkler does go off, you have more
problems than losing a computer.

In most cases, the valves are locked in the open position. This is to
avoid people turning them off and rendering the sprinkler system useless
when needed. You can even be arrested in some jurisdictions.

The fire department or the building maintenance can turn them off.

Taylor wrote:
replying to bob, Taylor wrote:
nospam 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?
Im more worry about water damage (to electronics and computers) than
fire
damage. Perhaps because Ive 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.




They have tools out there to stop the water from flowing. Check out
www.quickstoptool.com. By the time the fire department gets there,
locates your main water shut off valve and the system drains, you will
have plenty of damage inside that could be avoided if you have a shut off
tool on hand. Since most sprinklers are serviced, a malfunction is
unlikely, its vandalism (whether intentional or not) that a lot of times
causes unnecessary damage. As I say all of this, the benefits to having
sprinklers outweighs the risk of potential damage. But for peace of mind,
there are tools out there that anyone can use. And if I was living on the
bottom floor, I would buy my neighbor one who lives above me incase their
sprinkler head gets damaged.

Hi,
Why OP worry about that? That is FD business unless he is worrying about
accidental trigger of the sprinkler. Think Murphy's law.
If accidents hppens, that is when you are not home....,LOL!

replying to Tony Hwang , Taylor wrote:
dragon40 wrote:

Hi,
Why OP worry about that? That is FD business unless he is worrying about
accidental trigger of the sprinkler. Think Murphy's law.
If accidents hppens, that is when you are not home....,LOL!


Actually, you speak with firefighters (many of my friends are
firefighters) and many of these activations happen when people are home
(kids throwing balls in the house, remodeling being done, burning food on
the stove and the fire gets put out but water is still flowing, etc).
Plus, some fire departments don't have these tools yet and resort to using
wood chalks if the head is still intact. But if its been completely
damaged and they don't have the proper tool, they're going to let that
system drain. You can check with your local fire dept to make sure they
have the tools necessary, or you can have your own back up plan. Just
depends on how valuable your property is. And yeah, renters/homeowners
insurance will replace items, but you have your deductible and there could
be items you can't get back. Having a fire sprinkler shut down tool is
like having a fire extinguisher in your home.. Just food for thought.

--
posted from
http://www.homeownershub.com/mainten...er-639253-.htm
using HomeOwnersHub's Web, RSS and Social Media Interface
to home and garden related groups

Most moments when the sprinkler is going off,
the FD has control of the scene, and no one
is allowed in. So, the device may sit in a
drawer, until it's all over.

..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 8/20/2013 3:48 PM, Tony Hwang wrote:
Hi,
Even if you have the tool there is no guarantee you can use
it in time for restricted access to the valve. I never lived in
a rented place.

Taylor wrote:
replying to Tony Hwang , Taylor wrote:
dragon40 wrote:

Hi, Why OP worry about that? That is FD business unless he is worrying
about accidental trigger of the sprinkler. Think Murphy's law. If
accidents hppens, that is when you are not home....,LOL!


Actually, you speak with firefighters (many of my friends are
firefighters) and many of these activations happen when people are home
(kids throwing balls in the house, remodeling being done, burning food on
the stove and the fire gets put out but water is still flowing, etc).
Plus, some fire departments don't have these tools yet and resort to using
wood chalks if the head is still intact. But if its been completely
damaged and they don't have the proper tool, they're going to let that
system drain. You can check with your local fire dept to make sure they
have the tools necessary, or you can have your own back up plan. Just
depends on how valuable your property is. And yeah, renters/homeowners
insurance will replace items, but you have your deductible and there could
be items you can't get back. Having a fire sprinkler shut down tool is
like having a fire extinguisher in your home.. Just food for thought.

ã…—
Hi,
Even if you have the tool there is no guarantee you can use
it in time for restricted access to the valve. I never lived in
a rented place.

On Saturday, June 25, 2011 1:42:51 PM UTC-7, Evan wrote:
On Jun 25, 3:40*pm, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 25 Jun 2011 11:46:20 -0700, "bob" wrote:
I live in an apartment with several fire sprinkler in the ceiling.

So leave them alone. **

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?

No, No! *Speak to your local fire captain at the fire house.

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.

Get renter's insurance.

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.

Yes

**

Prisoner tampers with his "apartment" over-head sprinkler and sets it
off. *The smart thinking officer used linens and laundry to make a dam
at his door. *Cell, er "apartment" fills knee deep. Then he looked
like a oil field worker. Many years of dirty water in black pipe.

@Oren:

It is not that the water is dirty, as it is the same water that you
could
drink in most places... It is that during the many years of sitting
in
the black pipe the manganese and other dissolved solids settle out
of solution...

~~ Evan

I doubt very much if “renters insurance” is going to pay-up if someone places a Christmas tree on top of their vehicle which hits the fire sprinkler in the garage which destroys everything they have stored in their garage.. Those are the perils of living in an apartment. This happened to someone I know. You would have to put me in a coma to have me live in an apartment.

On Tue, 20 Aug 2013 12:48:45 -0700, Tony Hwang
wrote:

Taylor wrote:
replying to Tony Hwang , Taylor wrote:
dragon40 wrote:

Hi, Why OP worry about that? That is FD business unless he is worrying
about accidental trigger of the sprinkler. Think Murphy's law. If
accidents hppens, that is when you are not home....,LOL!


Actually, you speak with firefighters (many of my friends are
firefighters) and many of these activations happen when people are home
(kids throwing balls in the house, remodeling being done, burning food on
the stove and the fire gets put out but water is still flowing, etc).
Plus, some fire departments don't have these tools yet and resort to using
wood chalks if the head is still intact. But if its been completely
damaged and they don't have the proper tool, they're going to let that
system drain. You can check with your local fire dept to make sure they
have the tools necessary, or you can have your own back up plan. Just
depends on how valuable your property is. And yeah, renters/homeowners
insurance will replace items, but you have your deductible and there could
be items you can't get back

Most of the things I want I couldn't get back. They're my and my
family's personal history and they don't sell that anywhere.

. Having a fire sprinkler shut down tool is
like having a fire extinguisher in your home.. Just food for thought.

?
Hi,
Even if you have the tool there is no guarantee you can use
it in time for restricted access to the valve.

Nothing comes with a guarantee (except death and taxes). I would
certainly want one of those if I had sprinklers.

I never lived in
a rented place.

Rented or owned, you've never had sprinklers, right?

On Tue, 20 Aug 2013 15:18:31 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

Most moments when the sprinkler is going off,
the FD has control of the scene, and no one
is allowed in. So, the device may sit in a
drawer, until it's all over.

Most. May, may not. I'm as cheap as anyone here but if I had
sprinklers, I'd spend the 85 dollars for the one posted, unless for
some reason it wasn't going to work at all.

Actually, I've had more water problems than probably any of you.
Just about everything that can go wrong has, And for the most part,
the only things that got damaged were the cardboard boxes things are
stored in on the basement floor. (I have two wood tool boxes on the
floor but they sit on sections of fence picket. They've never gotten
wet.) I used to try to replace the boxes but they were each of a
different size, and some had thick walls and very hard to find. So
now I just let the boxes sit there until they dry out. They stick to
the cement floor a little, but not much. If any rust forms on what
is inside, I'll use a grinder with a wire wheel later.

Another time, I had a whole set of DC and suburban phone books and
yellow pages, that a friend in DC collected for me. They got wet and
no good, and a few even got moldy, so I threw them all away but one.

If I had sprinklers first I'd hide my photo albums from them The
electonic pictures I have muliple copies of, and probably woudl't be
damaged anyhow.

On Tue, 20 Aug 2013 17:31:01 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

I doubt very much if “renters insurance” is going to pay-up if someone places a Christmas tree on top of their vehicle which hits the fire sprinkler in the garage which destroys everything they have stored in their garage. Those are the perils of living in an apartment. This happened to someone I know.

He put the tree on his car's roof, and the sprinkler damaged his
stuff?

Or someone else S put a tree on S's car roof and the water damaged
your friend's stuff? They shared a garage but he still had space for
a lot of stuff?

Was the garage excluded from coverage?

micky wrote:
On Tue, 20 Aug 2013 12:48:45 -0700, Tony Hwang
wrote:

Taylor wrote:
replying to Tony Hwang , Taylor wrote:
dragon40 wrote:

Hi, Why OP worry about that? That is FD business unless he is worrying
about accidental trigger of the sprinkler. Think Murphy's law. If
accidents hppens, that is when you are not home....,LOL!


Actually, you speak with firefighters (many of my friends are
firefighters) and many of these activations happen when people are home
(kids throwing balls in the house, remodeling being done, burning food on
the stove and the fire gets put out but water is still flowing, etc).
Plus, some fire departments don't have these tools yet and resort to using
wood chalks if the head is still intact. But if its been completely
damaged and they don't have the proper tool, they're going to let that
system drain. You can check with your local fire dept to make sure they
have the tools necessary, or you can have your own back up plan. Just
depends on how valuable your property is. And yeah, renters/homeowners
insurance will replace items, but you have your deductible and there could
be items you can't get back

Most of the things I want I couldn't get back. They're my and my
family's personal history and they don't sell that anywhere.

. Having a fire sprinkler shut down tool is
like having a fire extinguisher in your home.. Just food for thought.

?
Hi,
Even if you have the tool there is no guarantee you can use
it in time for restricted access to the valve.

Nothing comes with a guarantee (except death and taxes). I would
certainly want one of those if I had sprinklers.

I never lived in
a rented place.

Rented or owned, you've never had sprinklers, right?

Hi,
Our FD is less than 5 mins. away from where we live. Just up the hill.
(may be 2 blocks?_
When I run to use the tool, fire engines will be here.

On Wed, 21 Aug 2013 07:14:25 -0700, Tony Hwang
wrote:

micky wrote:
On Tue, 20 Aug 2013 12:48:45 -0700, Tony Hwang
wrote:

Taylor wrote:
replying to Tony Hwang , Taylor wrote:
dragon40 wrote:

Hi, Why OP worry about that? That is FD business unless he is worrying
about accidental trigger of the sprinkler. Think Murphy's law. If
accidents hppens, that is when you are not home....,LOL!


Actually, you speak with firefighters (many of my friends are
firefighters) and many of these activations happen when people are home
(kids throwing balls in the house, remodeling being done, burning food on
the stove and the fire gets put out but water is still flowing, etc).
Plus, some fire departments don't have these tools yet and resort to using
wood chalks if the head is still intact. But if its been completely
damaged and they don't have the proper tool, they're going to let that
system drain. You can check with your local fire dept to make sure they
have the tools necessary, or you can have your own back up plan. Just
depends on how valuable your property is. And yeah, renters/homeowners
insurance will replace items, but you have your deductible and there could
be items you can't get back

Most of the things I want I couldn't get back. They're my and my
family's personal history and they don't sell that anywhere.

. Having a fire sprinkler shut down tool is
like having a fire extinguisher in your home.. Just food for thought.

?
Hi,
Even if you have the tool there is no guarantee you can use
it in time for restricted access to the valve.

Nothing comes with a guarantee (except death and taxes). I would
certainly want one of those if I had sprinklers.

I never lived in
a rented place.

Rented or owned, you've never had sprinklers, right?

Hi,
Our FD is less than 5 mins. away from where we live. Just up the hill.
(may be 2 blocks?_
When I run to use the tool, fire engines will be here.

Oh, I thought you were advising *other* people not to buy one.

On 8/20/2013 10:39 AM, Kurt Ullman wrote:
In article s.com,
Taylor wrote:

They have tools out there to stop the water from flowing. Check out
www.quickstoptool.com. By the time the fire department gets there,
locates your main water shut off valve and the system drains, you will
have plenty of damage inside that could be avoided if you have a shut off
tool on hand. Since most sprinklers are serviced, a malfunction is
unlikely, its vandalism (whether intentional or not) that a lot of times
causes unnecessary damage. As I say all of this, the benefits to having
sprinklers outweighs the risk of potential damage. But for peace of mind,
there are tools out there that anyone can use. And if I was living on the
bottom floor, I would buy my neighbor one who lives above me incase their
sprinkler head gets damaged.

You might check in with the local fire inspectors. It has been about
30 years since I dealt with residential sprinklers (and even then only
peripherally) but it sticks in my mind that the first responders just
used a wooden shim like you use to level windows. I could be VERY wrong,
though.


yes, quite possibly. You'd have to look at the sprinkler heads and
determine how to stop the water from flowing once the element pops
however. Some of them use a glass element that breaks, others use a
metal fuse link.

If this is a multi-story building, there ought to be a valve in one of
the stairwells feeding the entire floor, at which the water can be shut
off. However, touching that valve in an other than official capacity
can cause lots of (legal) problems. I would be very very hesitant to
touch that valve under any but an emergency circumstance (e.g. someone
knocked a head loose, you knew 100% that there was no fire, and you were
on the phone with 911 or the fire dept. and they asserted that it was OK
to shut that valve.) Additionally, it might be a looped system where
you have to shut two valves in two different stairwells to isolate a floor.

nate

On 8/20/2013 11:15 AM, Ed Pawlowski 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?
Im more worry about water damage (to electronics and computers) than
fire
damage. Perhaps because Ive 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.

Doubt you can turn it off. If the sprinkler does go off, you have more
problems than losing a computer.

In most cases, the valves are locked in the open position.

That's the old school way. Today newer buildings tend to have valve
position monitor switches tied into the fire alarm system that will
alert the building personnel if a valve is tampered with (in fact the
common term for them is "tamper switches.")

My understanding was that there should be a "breakaway" somewhere in the
chain or cable that would allow someone to shut the valve in an
emergency by applying greater than normal (but not outside the range of
normal human strength) to the handwheel. However I've seen plenty of
valves locked open with what appeared to be ordinary chain.

This is to
avoid people turning them off and rendering the sprinkler system useless
when needed. You can even be arrested in some jurisdictions.

The fire department or the building maintenance can turn them off.

Agree 100% with the above.

nate