Fire Safety: How do you prevent a disaster?
- Thread starter Bill284
- Start date
Not sure if this has been covered yet - but somebody please pick up this ball and run with it…
damn please don’t choke down your gear like reducing output on dehuey, this thing was engineered to shed heat if you block the airflow (input or output) then bad shit happens. Reducing the life of the device is ok cuz you can buy another one, but overheating any type of motor, refrigeration or thermal device is just asking for problems
could apply to fans, humidifiers, dehumidifiers,
even positioning the hot air exhaust vent too close to tent wall.
this goes from factory exhaust to hvac duct, to 6 inch flex choked down to 4 inch exhaust
damn please don’t choke down your gear like reducing output on dehuey, this thing was engineered to shed heat if you block the airflow (input or output) then bad shit happens. Reducing the life of the device is ok cuz you can buy another one, but overheating any type of motor, refrigeration or thermal device is just asking for problems
could apply to fans, humidifiers, dehumidifiers,
even positioning the hot air exhaust vent too close to tent wall.
this goes from factory exhaust to hvac duct, to 6 inch flex choked down to 4 inch exhaust
- Thread starter
- #123
Hey @013 Hope you are well my friend.Not sure if this has been covered yet - but somebody please pick up this ball and run with it…
damn please don’t choke down your gear like reducing output on dehuey, this thing was engineered to shed heat if you block the airflow (input or output) then bad shit happens. Reducing the life of the device is ok cuz you can buy another one, but overheating any type of motor, refrigeration or thermal device is just asking for problems
could apply to fans, humidifiers, dehumidifiers,
even positioning the hot air exhaust vent too close to tent wall.
this goes from factory exhaust to hvac duct, to 6 inch flex choked down to 4 inch exhaust
Good point.
I had insulated flex pipe on my ac to help wit the heat.
4" discharge into a 6" flex pipe.
Helped unit and tent stay cooler.
Exhaust on ac units can get hot A.F.
Your right to be careful with venting.
Another thing to be careful of, thanks.
Stay safe.
Bill
Crickets.
I contacted HLG lighting and within an hour, they confirmed that their lights are compatible with AFCI breakers. I think at thirty bucks this is a no brainer.
Just viewed a very interesting video on GFCI & AFCI tech, and Leviton's Dual AFCI/GFCI outlet. Going to get some of those!
Also got myself a 10 pound ABC extinguisher and another AFO for my mylar tent.
Once I have the Dual AFCI/GFCI outlets installed I think both my little gardens will be pretty well protected. I'd like to get a couple ceiling mount ABC extinguishers but they are HELLA expensive so the AFO's will have to suffice for now...
Also got myself a 10 pound ABC extinguisher and another AFO for my mylar tent.
Once I have the Dual AFCI/GFCI outlets installed I think both my little gardens will be pretty well protected. I'd like to get a couple ceiling mount ABC extinguishers but they are HELLA expensive so the AFO's will have to suffice for now...
I'd like to get one of these, but they have been out of stock for weeks if not months at the linked company. The small unit is 60.00.
Shop Safety & Sanitation in ⋆ HTG Supply Online Store
www.htgsupply.com
@Gammagoat yeah, the few you see on Amazon & eBay are running hundreds of dollars. Beyond my budget for the foreseeable future...
not a bad price for the ones at htg….
Doctor Trevor
Well-Known Member
Before you buy any fire/safety equipment, make sure it's approved by Underwriter Laboratories and have an NFPA rating.
SinSemillaWhisperer420
Well-Known Member
Wow! U a good guy to help everyone prevent this from happening to all. Thanks so much for sharing. I will be reinvesting in additional fire safety measures you have suggested. Thanks so much bro! Much love for the post!
- Thread starter
- #132
Yankeerunner
420 Member
All good advice, I now know that I need to replace my inexpensive cords with quality ones. I am sorry for your tragedy, and hope that in the end you came out the other side ok.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
- Thread starter
- #134
Thank you @Yankeerunner
We are still trying to put things back together.
But we are good thanks.
Stay safe.
Bill
stealthed-up
Active Member
Thanks for all the info on this post. Interesting reads. Im running a 600w digital myself and i see no mention of protecting your grow in case of the extractor fan / temp controller failing ? I have been looking at using thermal fuses, bi-metallic thermostats and a temperature controller on a contactor relay but if any of you have a suggestion id appreciate it.
I did some testing with my XH-M452 temp and humidity controller. Basically i got the thermostats relay to stay off when temps range between 0 - 35c once the temp hits 36c which will only happen when my extractor fails the relay kicks in and will charge a N/C contactors coil which will N/O the contactor and shut the light off connected to it & stay off because the tent will never reach 0c here in summer even with nothing running, i also dont want the temp to drop to say 25c and my light kicks on for half a day every 10 minutes which will damage it. Then once im home i could swap this with my 6" intake extractor and carry on the grow with no damage to anything basically, a bit of plant stress but thats all.
One problem i see is that even though i get the temp controllers relay to stay off within 0-35c, once i power it off and on again the relay kicks in even though temps are within 0-35c, ive ordered Temp controller XH-W3001-220v, hopefully this stays off once restarted as i dont want to come back home and my lights have been off all day because somebody tripped the earth leakage or a brown out occured.
I think i might be overlooking or missing something simple , im sober as nun though, frustrating not having green but unfortunately it seems noids sprayed on bud are becoming a thing down here...
I did some testing with my XH-M452 temp and humidity controller. Basically i got the thermostats relay to stay off when temps range between 0 - 35c once the temp hits 36c which will only happen when my extractor fails the relay kicks in and will charge a N/C contactors coil which will N/O the contactor and shut the light off connected to it & stay off because the tent will never reach 0c here in summer even with nothing running, i also dont want the temp to drop to say 25c and my light kicks on for half a day every 10 minutes which will damage it. Then once im home i could swap this with my 6" intake extractor and carry on the grow with no damage to anything basically, a bit of plant stress but thats all.
One problem i see is that even though i get the temp controllers relay to stay off within 0-35c, once i power it off and on again the relay kicks in even though temps are within 0-35c, ive ordered Temp controller XH-W3001-220v, hopefully this stays off once restarted as i dont want to come back home and my lights have been off all day because somebody tripped the earth leakage or a brown out occured.
I think i might be overlooking or missing something simple , im sober as nun though, frustrating not having green but unfortunately it seems noids sprayed on bud are becoming a thing down here...
PaulyG
Well-Known Member
Question? Is that a box fan hanging in upper corner of grow room? If so it's quite possible that was source of fire. Box fans are not designed to run in that position. Bearings will seize fan overheats and shorts out. This from past experiences as fire restoration and home remodeling.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
- Thread starter
- #137
Thanks @PaulyG I appreciate the advice.
Hope your having a good day.
That box fan ran for all of 5 minutes the day I mounted it.
It made so much noise I unplugged it right away.
I just hadn't taken it down yet is all.
The actual grow light blew up literally, starting a fire on the wood ceiling that spread through the room.
Fortunately I was in the room next to it when it happened.
I blew through 2 small fire extinguishers before I gave up and called 911.
It was very traumatic for me.
Running into a burning room full of smoke trying to fight the fire wasn't the best thing for me.
Then Cops , fire marshals, insurance people, inspectors, contractors, electrical employees, gas company and so on...........
The feken aftermath was a absolute nightmare, seriously.
Fortunately I hadn't done anything wrong and eventually everything was covered.
So make sure you are prepared for an emergency situation.
I thought I was but apparently not.
I don't want anyone going through the hell it put me through.
Stay safe.
Bill
don't know where you are getting this but all led is compatible.
almost certain bill had what's called a run away event. one or more emitters failed, which increased voltage to the rest, leading to a melt down / grounding / fire. an afci or gfci would probably not have helped in that instance. it's not an arc so the afci would just supply constant, the gfci would have snapped, but not before it supplied enough current to have started the trouble.
it's the fixture itself that should have snapped down, but it was not built correct, or was wired so that it would not.
i worked with led for years in show production. i was growing with led before there were commercial fixtures. it is definitely the safest lighting. miles and miles and miles ahead of hid lighting from both a fire and safety perspective.
Thanks for info.
What do you mean by "fixture itself that should have snapped down"?
the drivers are internally fused. it comes with the ip rating. any metal case driver should be built that way.
there are still ways in which a driver will supply enough current to start an issue even if internally fused. normally that's when the external breaker would have tripped though. i also run fused drop boxes with their own breakers as back up and my flower room is on a separate dedicated circuit.