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#1
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Cheap fire suppression system for a PC?
On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 06:02:13 +0000 (UTC)
ShadowTek wrote: I would like to install a small fire detection/suppression system for my computer. I've seen a lot of rediculously expensive stuff online, but I'd like to spend as little as possible. Surely there's something that could be had for little more than the cost of a small hand-held fire-extinguisher, as all I need is basically that with some sort of detector/trigger. Any suggestions? Why do you think your PC will catch fire? The danger of fire (if there is one) would be contained in the Power Supply. I've seen a couple of PC power supplies that virtually exploded in a spectacular sound and light show. But in both cases, after the initial pops/sparks flying...the PC was dead and smelled terrible, but there was no collateral damage. Oh, and both of the power supplies that did that were cheapie no-name power supplies that (obviously) weren't designed properly. I think your best bet as far as fire prevention in a PC is, buy a good quality name-brand power supply for it. Corsair and BFG seem to be the best bets as far as brands go, at the moment. If you are REALLY paranoid, make sure there is nothing flammable sitting behind the power supply, in case it should throw a spark or two. But you shouldn't really have anything flammable sitting behind your computer anyway, as that would be an odd place to store it. To be clear, I think the danger is not that your computer will actually catch fire, and I doubt if a computer would cause anything nearby to catch fire, either. As a friend of mine is always saying, "Anything can cause Anything". But I think you're wasting time and energy worrying about a computer fire. At least, if this is an ordinary run-of-the-mill personal computer we're discussing. -Dave |
#2
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Cheap fire suppression system for a PC?
I would like to install a small fire detection/suppression system for my
computer. I've seen a lot of rediculously expensive stuff online, but I'd like to spend as little as possible. Surely there's something that could be had for little more than the cost of a small hand-held fire-extinguisher, as all I need is basically that with some sort of detector/trigger. Any suggestions? |
#3
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Cheap fire suppression system for a PC?
ShadowTek wrote:
I would like to install a small fire detection/suppression system for my computer. What is the incidence/ risk/ mechanism of a 'fire' - whatever that actually means - in your computer? Do you mean your keyboard catching on fire? (If your question isn't a joke, then why should my question be a joke.) What exactly do you mean? Before you can install a detection suppression system, you have to have an idea of where and what the thing is you are trying to detect and suppress. -- Mike Easter |
#4
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Cheap fire suppression system for a PC?
In article ,
ShadowTek wrote: I would like to install a small fire detection/suppression system for my computer. I've seen a lot of rediculously expensive stuff online, but I'd like to spend as little as possible. Surely there's something that could be had for little more than the cost of a small hand-held fire-extinguisher, as all I need is basically that with some sort of detector/trigger. Any suggestions? To the extent that any of the material that goes into a PS is flammable, it is self-extinguishing when power is removed. In 2009 with name-brand stuff conservatively used, I think you are needlessly concerned. That being said, I saw an office fire caused (I am told) by a no-name power supply in a PC. I didn't do it. It was the office on the floor below the one I was doing computer support work in. My floor was saturated with shoot and I got paid a bunch to work on the cleanup. It was also 12 years ago. PC parts have gotten much better. -- Al Dykes News is something someone wants to suppress, everything else is advertising. - Lord Northcliffe, publisher of the Daily Mail |
#5
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Cheap fire suppression system for a PC?
On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:31:30 GMT
"SteveH" wrote: ShadowTek wrote: I would like to install a small fire detection/suppression system for my computer. I've seen a lot of rediculously expensive stuff online, but I'd like to spend as little as possible. Surely there's something that could be had for little more than the cost of a small hand-held fire-extinguisher, as all I need is basically that with some sort of detector/trigger. Any suggestions? Watercooling! Not bad. Run the main lines up high, route them over any component that would be a source of fuel. Fire melts coolant line, fire goes out. But seriously, I don't think you really need to worry about fire in a computer. Well, no more than you need to worry about getting killed by a tornado. -Dave |
#6
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Cheap fire suppression system for a PC?
I currently have a Gigabyte PS. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817233010 Hey, I didn't know Gigabyte had their own line of power supplies. That one should be decent quality. I'll have to read reviews on it sometime. If Gigabyte put their name on it, I doubt if you need to worry about that puppy blowing up like some of the cheapies can. That's my main concern. I need to have a lot of sound absorbant material around my computer, and I'm thinking about creating a 4 sided cabnet composed of 5/8" sheet-rock covered with carpet. That may be all I need on the sides, but I need something more as the bottom layer that will absorb the vibrations from the case. Last night, I inserted a layer of 3/8" foam carpet-paddeing with an additional layer of carpet on top of that, which helped to reduce the vibrations quite a bit, but it isn't good enough yet. I think 2 more layers of carpet-padding with competely solve the vibration problem, but adding all that foam makes me a little paranoid. Currently, the bottom layer that my computer is standing on looks like this: ______ | | | PC | | | ---carpet--- ---foam padding--- ---carpet--- ---5/8" sheet-rock--- ---carpet--- ----------------------- If there were some kind of cheap fireproof fabric that I could use as an outermost layer, something that would prevent a fire from spreading through to the rest of the material, that would help ease my mind. Or maybe some kind of fire retardant chemical coating that I treat the surrounding material with? Ummm... if the computer is in a cabinet where you don't care how it looks...and assuming you are worried about sparks or something igniting the soundproofing foam/otherstuff, how about a layer or two of aluminum foil? That should work as a cheap, easy solution. -Dave |
#7
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Cheap fire suppression system for a PC?
ShadowTek wrote:
I would like to install a small fire detection/suppression system for my computer. I've seen a lot of rediculously expensive stuff online, but I'd like to spend as little as possible. Surely there's something that could be had for little more than the cost of a small hand-held fire-extinguisher, as all I need is basically that with some sort of detector/trigger. Any suggestions? Watercooling! -- SteveH |
#8
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Cheap fire suppression system for a PC?
In article ,
ShadowTek wrote: I would like to install a small fire detection/suppression system for my computer. I've seen a lot of rediculously expensive stuff online, but I'd like to spend as little as possible. Surely there's something that could be had for little more than the cost of a small hand-held fire-extinguisher, as all I need is basically that with some sort of detector/trigger. Any suggestions? Put a standard smoke alarm above the PC. Keep a fire extinguisher nearby. Turn the PC off when it's unused. -- Al Dykes News is something someone wants to suppress, everything else is advertising. - Lord Northcliffe, publisher of the Daily Mail |
#9
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Cheap fire suppression system for a PC?
ShadowTek wrote:
I would like to install a small fire detection/suppression system for my computer. I've seen a lot of rediculously expensive stuff online, but I'd like to spend as little as possible. Surely there's something that could be had for little more than the cost of a small hand-held fire-extinguisher, as all I need is basically that with some sort of detector/trigger. Any suggestions? In a server room, a person might use Halon, to protect all the computers at the same time. Halon is expensive as a fire suppression system. Our old mainframe had such a system. Since Halon would suffocate you, you want to get out when it goes off. The basic idea, is it removes oxygen from the area of the fire. And is better than a sprinkler system, if the computers are expensive enough. I haven't seen such a thing, a fire suppression system, in looking at PC products, so haven't run into one by accident. As others have mentioned, electronic components are designed to smoulder, rather than promote open burning. That is not to say, there haven't been cases of flames shooting out of the back of a power supply. Merely that the design intent on the components, is to not act as a good source of fuel. So a PC fire can stink up your place, but the intention is that the PC should not become a molten mass. In that respect, the responsible purchase of a computer case, will go a long way to helping you. I consider people putting a computer in a Plexiglas (transparent computer case), to be irresponsible from a fire perspective. Even if the case had a coating over the plastic, the plastic would still be a good fuel source. The best kind of case would be one made from steel. Aluminum would be a less preferred construction, and a plastic case is lunacy by comparison. This is an example of how they used to solve the problem. I don't know what current practice is, now that RoHS is popular. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polybrominated_biphenyl http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brominated_flame_retardant Paul |
#10
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Cheap fire suppression system for a PC?
On 2009-10-18, Al Dykes wrote:
Put a standard smoke alarm above the PC. Keep a fire extinguisher nearby. Turn the PC off when it's unused. My computer runs 24/7. I *do* have an extinguisher within arms reach, but that doesn't do any good when I'm not here. |
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