Re: Sprinklers in instrument rooms

Posted by Oshel, Philip Eugene on
URL: http://confocal-microscopy-list.275.s1.nabble.com/Sprinklers-in-instrument-rooms-tp7582262p7582269.html

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There are also sprinkler systems using water that have empty pipes. The
pipes to the sprinkler heads only fill with water when the system is
activated. So no leaks. (This is supposed to be the system that goes in
our new building. If the building is built right ...)

Phil

On 06/26/2014 15:06 , Martin Wessendorf wrote:

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>
> As I understand it, most sprinkler systems go off only if there is fire
> (or a sufficiently high temperature--e.g., hot enough to boil alcohol)
> in the room--i.e., if a sprinkler goes off, you WANT it to go off--at
> that point, you have a fire in the room the water damage will be
> incidental. (The exception to this generalization seems to be "deluge"
> systems-- see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprinkler_Systems.) However,
> it might be possible to accidentally hit a sprinkler and set it off, if
> (for instance) someone were careless when moving equipment. If the
> ceilings (and sprinklers) are low and your equipment racks are tall, you
> might want to have wire guards placed around the sprinklers to protect
> them.
>
> Dr. Haller makes a good point about leakage--anyone know how common that
> is? My own sense is that the real danger is of a sprinkler going off on
> the floor *above *you. That could flood your space and cause needless
> damage. Tarps and shelves might shield you from that but might also
> prevent the sprinklers from properly drenching the room if there were a
> fire in your own equipment.
>
> Martin Wessendorf
>
> On 6/26/2014 5:05 AM, [hidden email] wrote:
>> Hi all, (sorry for cross-posting)
>>
>> I know this has been discussed before, just wondered if there were any
>> new thoughts. We're moving twice, first into a refurbished basement,
>> second time into a new building. The basement has a sprinkler system
>> in case of fire, unlike our current building which just has alarms
>> (it's a single storey brick building). I imagine the new building will
>> have some sort of sprinkler system too.
>>
>> What precautions, if any, do people take to protect against the
>> unlikely showering of your confocal or EM?
>> Are there any relatively simple alternatives? (One alternative is to
>> have fire-doors and walls for each room but that is prohibitive.)
>>
>> thanks much,
>> Rosemary
>>
>> Dr Rosemary White
>> CSIRO Plant Industry (for 4 more days only)
>> GPO Box 1600
>> Canberra, ACT 2601
>

--
Philip Oshel
Microscopy Facility Supervisor
Biology Department
024C Brooks Hall
Central Michigan University
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859
(989) 774-3576