Fire risk reduction/suppresion?

[DeveloperFish]

I've got a couple of machines now mining 24/7 in my garage, and planning on adding 2 more machines.

Heat is an issue, I'm blowing (then venting) the majority of that, but I'm curious if anyone else has installed any kind of standalone fire suppression system. Clearly installing an alarm above the machines is easy, but with these machines running unattended for days (and on a few occasions a year, weeks), I would feel better if there was an easy way to set up a suppression system above the machines.

Any guidance/thoughts/experiences to share?

- DeveloperFish

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[razorfishsl]

fire suppression is for pussies.

Mine like a man, just remove ALL flammable items, and ensure you vent the smoke.

But if you want to be a pussy go for CO2 , many of the current fire suppression materials will destroy computer & electronic equipment or people..... (yep they don't tell you that)

Buy a cheap fire sensor, link the output thru a relay to  something that just connects live to earth Via a resistor to trigger the ECB on your equipment.

[NorthChileanG]

 You can get rack mountable fire suppressors, but they are not cheap. Easiest would be to use canister of CO2 with temperature sensitive release - either temperature to pressure converter acting valve or simply melting tube (not that good on long term).

Heat is an issue, I'm blowing (then venting) the majority of that, but I'm curious if anyone else has installed any kind of standalone fire suppression system. Clearly installing an alarm above the machines is easy, but with these machines running unattended for days (and on a few occasions a year, weeks), I would feel better if there was an easy way to set up a suppression system above the machines.

[tom_o]

I noticed the other day a fan going very slowly and vibrating, bearings had gone and the hub motor smelled of badly burnt plastic. Careful guys!

[razorfishsl]

I noticed the other day a fan going very slowly and vibrating, bearings had gone and the hub motor smelled of badly burnt plastic. Careful guys!

The issue is getting hold of  DECENT fans... not the cheap shite made in a rice field in China
Many of these "fans" are made on cheap molding equipment with shitty tools and low pressure or poor pressure control, this results in the moulded fine parts being like sand paper , generally they do not last long.

Sunon do a "mag lev" series, none of those shitty leaky bearings or stupid plastic split rings to keep the fan blades in position.

They cut the air at 7500 RPM and since the blades have a decent edge, there is very little noise.

[ISAWHIM]

I use bathroom fans... They last forever.

Fire suppression... You need a "non-liquid" rated for "electrical". (Baking soda)

Put a bunch of boxes above the computers. If they catch fire, they burn and drop the powder.

Cheap, effective, legal, certified.

However, electronic equipment should be in an electrical box, made for restricting or containing open flames. (Eg, a case.)

[gbx]

I use bathroom fans... They last forever.

Fire suppression... You need a "non-liquid" rated for "electrical". (Baking soda)

Put a bunch of boxes above the computers. If they catch fire, they burn and drop the powder.

Cheap, effective, legal, certified.

However, electronic equipment should be in an electrical box, made for restricting or containing open flames. (Eg, a case.)

That's a damn good idea right there.

If the computers do catch fire, they should be limited to only what's around them.  Hopefully you put them on the floor (cement) or bakers rack, or a table that has a formica top.  Keep all the bundles of kindling and other fuel sources away from this area.  You should be OK.  Check your insurance to make sure you have enough coverage in case of a loss (insurance riders for things you are heavy on, etc).

[dogie]

I use bathroom fans... They last forever.

Fire suppression... You need a "non-liquid" rated for "electrical". (Baking soda)

Put a bunch of boxes above the computers. If they catch fire, they burn and drop the powder.

Cheap, effective, legal, certified.

However, electronic equipment should be in an electrical box, made for restricting or containing open flames. (Eg, a case.)

LOL. If a box is on fire enough to crumple, then a bag of baking soda wouldn't do shit. The ceiling will be so hot from the fumes it will already be on fire.

[TomKeddie]

In general electrical fires will go out if the source of energy is removed early on.  Consider hooking up a power disable to the smoke detector with a latching relay circuit.

[Lethos]

I read up on one Datacenter recently which had a different approach to fire suppression. They have their entire floor(s) operating with a lower O2 levels (oxygen %), which by dropping by half (I think) makes it nearly impossible for a fire to even start. So they don't need to risk damaging the servers using something to put it out. It's technically still breathable, though I suppose it wouldn't be comfortable for long periods of time.

Obviously I'd imagine that be difficult to do on a small scale, but figured I'd throw the idea out there.

[roflplatypus]

just out of curiosity, are you planning on having your rig hit ~200C? otherwise, nothing should catch fire, but think about this - when was the last time your read about a building burning down from a server overheating?

[Singlebyte]

Cheap fire detection. 

[dogie]

just out of curiosity, are you planning on having your rig hit ~200C? otherwise, nothing should catch fire, but think about this - when was the last time your read about a building burning down from a server overheating?

Because of something called fire suppression.