Fire Safety: How do you prevent a disaster?

[Absorber]

That's so uncomforting..that's absolutely terrifying.

Scary shit

 

[JiggiLotus]

Hey buddy thanks for the new tech.
But I'm not convinced it's perfect for our needs.
If I close my eyes I can still see the panda film melting and dripping flames on everything.
Nothing you ever want to deal with.
You said 650c melting temp.
Bick lighters 900c , a grow room fire is well over a 1000.
The bran new light blew up.
Temp had to be well over 650.
I'm not saying it isn't a far superior product.
Looks good, has a lot of great uses.
Just not fire proof.

Stay safe
Bill284

That's absolutely terrifying. We would use that plastic stuff when we were candy flipping and cut it into strips we and hang it around the ceiling and catch it on fire so it would drip little colored flames...at a cement warehouse kinda place just to be clear.

 

[Bill284]

That's so uncomforting..that's absolutely terrifying.

If it helps everyone who reads it improve their rooms and make them safer I'm happy.
I can't read this thread anymore, the pics haunt me.
But I've never been safer.
So here's a question do you have a fire extinguisher?


Stay safe
Bill284

 

[JiggiLotus]

If it helps everyone who reads it improve their rooms and make them safer I'm happy.
I can't read this thread anymore, the pics haunt me.
But I've never been safer.
So here's a question do you have a fire extinguisher?


Stay safe
Bill284

I got a big bag of flour. You're right, I need an extinguisher in my house. It's an old house, weird wiring and such. I've been in a house fire growing up. Lost everything from floor to ceiling. This just reminds me of all that .. like you said, haunting.

 

[Bill284]

I got a big bag of flour. You're right, I need an extinguisher in my house. It's an old house, weird wiring and such. I've been in a house fire growing up. Lost everything from floor to ceiling. This just reminds me of all that .. like you said, haunting.

Had the same thing as a child.
Then this happened.
I constructed a purpose built year round grow facility beside the new house.
And have a huge green house.
I sleep well.
If I were you I'd get the biggest fire extinguisher I could.
And check everything starting with those old wires & plugs.


Stay safe
Bill284

 

[mandalaGreen42p]

Hello everyone.
Here is my question.

How do you prevent a grow room fire?

Do not let this happen to you.

For those of you who don't know I had a horrendous fire in my grow room.
For those that do know, Thank you for all your love and support.
Everyone here has been a godsend of love and positivity.

My recommendation for everyone is as follows.

1- put drywall on the ceiling and walls of your grow room.
Any fire retarded material is recommended.

2- install atleast 2 smoke detectors in your grow room.
Install one directly above your light.
And one at the opening that can easily hear.
And a CO,2 Detector at the opening.

3- do not put panda film near any heat source or possible source of ignition
panda film is flammable and produces toxic smoke it will spread the fire everywhere.

4- do not use wood or any other flammable material to hang or brace anything in your room.

5- install a full size fire extinguisher at the entrance to your room.
Make sure its easily accessible.
Small fire extinguishers are not sufficient.
They discharge in seconds and do not do the job you are expecting.

I CAN NOT EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH. GET A FULL SIZE EXTINGUISHER!!!!!

6- do not use thin or cheep extention cords.
Get minimum #14 guage extension cords #12 would be better.
Don't cheep out here.

7- if you use a power bar make sure it has a GFI breaker on it.
Don't use cheep or dollar store power bars.
Spend the extra 20 bucks and get a good one.

8- keep your room tidy.
Do not store anything in your that is not needed.
Especially if it is flammable

9- do not overload any circuits.
Make sure you are plugged into a 15 amp breaker.
Do not change breakers to 20 amp.
If you need more power run another dedicated circuit to your room.

Please do not let this happen to you.
**********************
Also everyone in Canada.
**********************
Since growing is legal here you Must inform your insurance company that you have a grow.
Just because its legal doesn't mean your covered.
You must inform them and fill out a small questionnaire.
There won't be a problem you just have to let them know ahead of time.

Please everyone head my warnings.
Don't let something like this happen to you and destroy your life.
These small measures can mean the difference between cleaning up a mess and loosing your home or worse.

Please be careful and weary of possible problems.
Thank you for reading this and doing what I recommend.
Small measures can mean the difference between life and death.

If anyone has any other recommendations as I am not an expert please share them with us.

Bill

I guess I have new plans for after work tomorrow I guess ahahaha

 

[Bill284]

I guess I have new plans for after work tomorrow I guess ahahaha

It was a bran new light right out of the box that caused the initial issue.
My poly and wood construction made it a disaster waiting to happen.
Do what you can to prevent this happening to you.
I was lucky to be there and awake.
Otherwise it would have been far worse.


Stay safe
Bill284

 

[mandalaGreen42p]

It was a bran new light right out of the box that caused the initial issue.
My poly and wood construction made it a disaster waiting to happen.
Do what you can to prevent this happening to you.
I was lucky to be there and awake.
Otherwise it would have been far worse.


Stay safe
Bill284

Sorry for the French

But fuck me dead bro!!!! Ur lucky asf!!!

I have a camera, inside and out, that's all I have
Atm that is, tomorrow hopefully!!!


I sure as shit cannot afford for anything like that to happen tbh

 

[mandalaGreen42p]

Im down to field test as well ahahaha

Its so obvious im surprised no one has done it.
I don't mind field testing it

 

[mandalaGreen42p]

Had the same thing as a child.
Then this happened.
I constructed a purpose built year round grow facility beside the new house.
And have a huge green house.
I sleep well.
If I were you I'd get the biggest fire extinguisher I could.
And check everything starting with those old wires & plugs.


Stay safe
Bill284

I'll be on that tomorrow I'm thinking!!!!

I honestly don't sleep easily enough with just the cameras on
This will definitely help me

Plugs and wiring and drilled into my body clock nowadays definitely not complaining about that 1 tho ahaha

My "Plan" is to eventually have the same thing but down sized ahaha

 

[bluter]

I have a camera, inside and out, that's all I have
Atm that is, tomorrow hopefully!!!

know a grower who set up cameras and remote systems to monitor the grow before it was legal here. he got to watch his place burn down on the internet 120km away. the cameras stayed on long enough to see the fire dept. and police show up.

he served 2 yrs.

 

[mandalaGreen42p]

know a grower who set up cameras and remote systems to monitor the grow before it was legal here. he got to watch his place burn down on the internet 120km away. the cameras stayed on long enough to see the fire dept. and police show up.

he served 2 yrs.

That's some hella bad luck right there tho...


Imagine actually watching it all burn

 

[Papa OG]

know a grower who set up cameras and remote systems to monitor the grow before it was legal here. he got to watch his place burn down on the internet 120km away. the cameras stayed on long enough to see the fire dept. and police show up.

he served 2 yrs.

Moral of the story is never leave a grow unattended.

 

[bluter]

That's some hella bad luck right there tho...


Imagine actually watching it all burn

it was pretty awful. it was caused by a light mover. i also had one that shorted and would send sparks flying everywhere. couldn't pay me to use one now.

Moral of the story is never leave a grow unattended.

some folk need to travel for work. not everyone can sit home all day.

 

[mandalaGreen42p]

Moral of the story is never leave a grow unattended.

Got that covered at least ahah

 

[Bill284]

I'll be on that tomorrow I'm thinking!!!!

I honestly don't sleep easily enough with just the cameras on
This will definitely help me

Plugs and wiring and drilled into my body clock nowadays definitely not complaining about that 1 tho ahaha

My "Plan" is to eventually have the same thing but down sized ahaha

There is a lot of fire retardant products.
Starting with drywall, best thing to slow a fire.
Remove everything flammable from your area and get a huge extinguisher.
Anything to prevent and slow the flames.


Stay safe
Bill284

 

[Doctor Trevor]

And be sure not to set your wiring (extension cords, surge guards, etc) where you can't reach it. Electrical fires need electricity to burn. If you can disconnect the power while the fire is small, there's a very good chance it would extinguish itself.

 

[Bill284]

And be sure not to set your wiring (extension cords, surge guards, etc) where you can't reach it. Electrical fires need electricity to burn. If you can disconnect the power while the fire is small, there's a very good chance it would extinguish itself.

Thanks Doc.
That would have helped me if I didn't build a flammable grow room.
By the time I crawled in with a fire extinguisher it was already a worker.
Black smoke and flames was all I could see.
Panda film ignited instantly.
I was lucky just to get out with my pets.
Never put anything flammable in there is a good rule aswell.


Stay safe
Bill284

 

[bluter]

insufficient or poor wiring is the number 1 cause of grow room fires. it's insane how many folk don't even know what else is on the circuits they use when setting a room up. fewer still will isolate one or used a dedicated circuit.

the second cause is bad or poorly built equipment, which is what happened to @Bill284 here.

the strength of this thread is bill goes beyond those two narrow factors, to include things like choice of materials when setting a grow up.

 

[Trump]

When I setup indoors I generally use 1800w max on a circuit of 15amps as a rule of thumb which is what most bedroom/offices will have. That doesn't mean that I'm going to load the circuit to max. I typically top out the circuit at 20% of its max being 1440w. A typical 3 x 3 will have a light that puts out around 300w. Fans and other gear like humidifier/dehumidifier/pumps will add another few hundred watts at the most so most home setups should be ok with what they currently have. In my case I'll be setting up several tents so I upgraded the room wiring.

I just moved and the room I'm setting up to start the first grow has already been rewired from the breaker with 12 gauge along with a new 20 amp GFCI breaker. Because I don't have any motor loads on the circuit I can actually go up to 25 amps but 20 should be more than sufficient for what I need. The main box is old but still in good condition and the main breaker was replaced a few years ago. I also replaced the plugs that were in the wall with a heavier duty plug that can handle more amperage through it. I basically fortify everything along the path so that I don't get any choke points where overheating and fire can possibly happen.

I think what most people should do when setting up a grow room in their homes is to swap out the breaker they will be using with a new one at the very least unless they know for sure the breaker is in good enough shape to handle the load it was built for. Thankfully I'm handy enough that I can do the work myself but for those that can't they'll need to decide whether the wiring that they presently have is properly gauged to the amount of electricity they will be running through it and if employing an electrician is worth it. Most homes built in the last 50 years will typically have 14 gauge running through their walls. This should be able to support the 1800w the 15amp breaker will be able to provide.

After the source has been fortified to be able to take some heavy amp loads, a properly gauged extension is needed from the wall to the tent. Inside the tent I use a heavy duty multi plug extension with a 15amp breaker on it and plug everything directly to it. If I ever have to use an extension inside the tent I make sure that the extension is a grade up from what the device requires but I try and not use.

While all of that will most likely prevent any sort of electrical fire, a smoke detector or several in and outside the tent in the room the tent will be are also a must. 5lb fire extinguisher at minimum and, if you can go a step further and install an automatic fire suppression system even better.

BTW those automatic fire extinguisher balls don't work very well in a tent fire.