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Posted: 1/24/2011 11:46:46 AM EDT
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Does anyone have any thoughts on using a sprinkler head to enhance the fire protection of your safe? It would be quite inexpensive to stub a single sprinkler head out of a nearby water line, especially for those who have their safes in a basement (be sure to put in some backflow prevention).
Obviously, you'd have to deal with potential water damage, but it seems that if you've got a fire serious enough to set off a sprinkler, you're probably going to have the fire department dump much more water in your basement than the sprinkler will. Just on the face of it, water damage seems preferable to fire/heat damage. |
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Dunno about sprinklers, but someone on this board DID mention he'd put a large water bag atop his safe. Bag would rupture when temps got too high.
I think the sprinkler idea is better: it would last longer than the water bag, which would be a one-shot water dump. |
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Quoted:
Does anyone have any thoughts on using a sprinkler head to enhance the fire protection of your safe? It would be quite inexpensive to stub a single sprinkler head out of a nearby water line, especially for those who have their safes in a basement (be sure to put in some backflow prevention). Obviously, you'd have to deal with potential water damage, but it seems that if you've got a fire serious enough to set off a sprinkler, you're probably going to have the fire department dump much more water in your basement than the sprinkler will. Just on the face of it, water damage seems preferable to fire/heat damage. I am sure there are drawbacks to consider, but this sounds like a great idea. Tag for further discussion. I would rather have wet guns than melted guns. |
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I'm a little familiar with residential sprinkler systems. If I understand your question correctly, you are considering installing a single sprinkler head over your safe.
I don't believe that would significantly reduce any damage to your firearms should your house catch fire. IIRC, residential sprinkler heads put out about 15 gallons per minute or so. That's enough to put out a small fire or at the very least, keep the fire in check until the FD arrives. The sprinkler above your safe would be great if that's where the fire is going to start. Not so much if a fire breaks out and grows to involve the area your safe is in. Are you on a well or a city/town water system? Depending on the circumstances, we try to secure power to a house as soon as possible. That would kill you water pump if you're on a well. Residential sprinkler systems are still a fairly new concept. AFAIK, insurance companies don't have discounts for having them installed. Here in SC, starting in 2014 (I believe) all new construction must be outfitted with a sprinkler system. My $.02, get a insurance policy that will cover your firearms, or if you want to really protect your house and you have the money, install a sprinkler system throughout your house. |
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This might help provided:
1) A reliable source of pressurized water is maintained during the fire (e.g., a municipal supply with a impact protected water line). A well power supply will likely die in big fire. 2) The burning house doesn't collapse into the sprinkler area. 3) Your water supply line is sized adequately for the sprinkler head. The best protection involves sprinklers throughout the house. This controls fire spread. Having a single head in a remote area allows the rest of the house to burn out of control and eventually consume everything unless help arrives. |
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Quoted:
Dunno about sprinklers, but someone on this board DID mention he'd put a large water bag atop his safe. Bag would rupture when temps got too high. I think the sprinkler idea is better: it would last longer than the water bag, which would be a one-shot water dump. Waterbag on the safe. I love it. Also on some pro race cars there is a temperature sensitive bottle release. I'm thinking one inside the safe to not only extinguish any flame but to produce a cooling effect when the gas is released. |
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So, I wasn't really thinking that a single head would do anything to put the fire out. The likelihood of the fire starting right at your gun safe is pretty low, so it would probably be quite a fire before this sprinkler kicked in. I was thinking it would just buy some time by reducing the temperature around the safe. Just like fire insulation, it would only delay the damage that would eventually occur, hopefully long enough for help to arrive and get the fire under control. Certainly not a guarantee that it would keep things safe. It's true that the water supply will not hold out for very long, especially if you're on a well, but an extra few minutes might make a difference. From what I've seen, sprinkler heads are about $10, and, if there's a handy pipe, it would easily be a sub $100 project.
For the record, the previous owner of our house, who was the builder, did pipe in a sprinkler system. He never finished it, so I've been looking to add the sprinkler heads. From the layout of the piping it's pretty clearly designed to just maintain an escape route for as long as possible, which sounds like a reasonable goal given the fact that we are on a well. Just got me thinking that it would be trivial to add an additional sprinkler from the line over the boiler to cover the safe area. I appreciate all the input. |
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