fire resistant sprays

[axldoozer]

I am about to complete a 40 x 60 cypress pole barn. Do any of you guys know the scoop on fire resistant sprays for wood. Most of the the stuff I have seen on the web are from overseas and it looks like you may have to hold a certification to spray the stuff on. Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Darren Earle

 

[rmacan]

Try this link. www.flameseal.com . You don't say what you will have in the barn, if it's any kind of animals be careful. Some of the retardants give off toxic vapors. FX-100 expands and forms an alblative layer that gives off CO2 and water vapor. I have been looking into some of these coatings for our horse barn since any fire department help will be a long (too long) coming.

 

[Soundguy]

I've seen flame retardent sprays for xmas trees, to make them less likely to CATCH on fire.. but once burning, your sol.
Might try that. I have also seen a foam retardent spray that dries to a rough texture... I believe the latter is expen$ive.

Have you thought about a sprinkler system.... even a pvc concoction in the ceiling with garden sprinkler heads and a manual dump valve ( gate valve, etc.. ) If you see the fire, you will be ahead of the game. I've never seen the real alcohol vial-heat-triggered heads for sale in any consumer plumbing shops.


Soundguy

 

[Stonewall]

If you have water to the barn a simple sprinkler system might be cheaper and certainly more effective than FRCs. Barns burn because the contents catch fire. All the retardent in the world won't make much difference once the contents are really roaring in a fire. Most sprinkler companies make thier money on the electronic detection side of the system. If you want to put up the pipe yourself you could probably talk one of them into giving you some general specs and guidelines and then coming out to install the sprinkler heads and then anitfreeze and charge the system. Unlike the movies - when a sprinkler head is activated only that head sprays water not the whole system so you don't need 10K gallons of water at the ready for the thing to work and save your investment. NOTE: NEVER PUT WATER ON BURNING FERTILIZER = BOOM!

 

[Soundguy]

Heck.. if he is electrically inclined.. it wouldn't bee to hard to cobble up an electron sensor using a thermistor, and a few other parts. Automatic water dumping coul be accomplished via a sprinkler dump valve, and a timer could be setup so that once triggered, runs 'xx' minutes...( or even untill re-set by owner ) otherwise it may cut off too soon. While you are at it.. you could build an alarm or siren into the trigger circuit.. possibly even a way to signal the hous via a burried line hooked to a light / siren.

The circuit in question should draw very little power, as well as the sprinkler dump valve ( most will activate with a 9v battery )... could make it battery backed up in case it is an electrical fire that starts the whole mess... just hope water pump is on another circuit.. or you have a pressurized resevior or cistern, etc

Soundguy

 

[Stonewall]

That's a good point too SG. I was thinking more along the lines of the fusable links in the sprinkler heads themselves as the activation devices (they make models that release at just over 100 degrees F). Once one went off you could have a preasure switch in the feed line that acitvated an alarm to coincide with sprinkler activation. Still, that could be simple and low voltage and could send to a master system at the house that could alert my brother volunteers to roll out of bed and get on it -SUMTHIN'S BURNIN'!!! I don't know about the flow timer. If the first squirt didn't put it all the way out it would render the sytem useless for a rekindel of any kind and that would still ruin your day.

 

[axldoozer]

Thanks for the input. The barn has a living quarters above it and that is why I am so concerned with the fire aspect. I will probably check into getting a sprinkler system.

Thanks again,
Darren Earle

 

[hosejockey2002]

Like Stonewall said, when barns catch fire, their contents catch fire first. Hay, feed, fuel, and God forbid TRACTORS will burn readily and provide a significant fire load by themselves. By the time the structure itself is actively burning, the battle is lost regardless of whether you have a volunteer station 20 miles away or you have the entire FDNY at your disposal. The sprinkler system Soundguy describes is known as a deluge sprinkler system. Those are typically connected to a heat detector. When the detector activates, all the sprinkler heads in the system discharge water at the same time. This type of system is typically used in industrial/warehouse applications with HUGE fire loads. These types of systems usually have very large waterflow requirements far beyond what a typical residential/farm water system can supply. Soundguy also mentions a manually activated sprinkler system that you could turn on when you see the fire. Unfortunately, by the time you see the fire a sprinkler system would most likely be ineffective unless your system could flow hundreds of gallons per minute. Sprinkler systems are effective because they activate and control fires while they are still small. If I had a barn with a residence attached or above, I would forget about a sprinkler system and focus on fire prevention. Never let anyone smoke in your barn, ever. Make sure all your wiring is done right and per code. Keep your fire load to a minimum, meaning only store the flammable things in your barn that you need to. Store any fuels or other flammable liquids in a separate building. And in the attached residence, have working smoke detectors. It is possible to install an interconnected smoke detector system so that if one detector is activated, all the detectors will sound. That way if something starts to smoldler in the barn, those in the residence will know about it and can evacuate and possibly suppress the fire while it is still small. Just my ramblings, I tend to be a little opinionated on this subject.

 

[Hoeman00]

Don't forget using all 5/8 drywall and even double
it on outside walls and under floor if overhead living
quarters.
I use 5/8" drywall for everything in my home.
A small price to pay for more time to get out in
a fire.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

I do not think a sprinkler system is a good solution unless you have a large water supply, with at least 5,000- 6,700 gallons of water that can deliver about 225 gpm at 50 psi for 20-30 minutes. That is what a basic sprinkler system will take. This is based on 15 gpm per 15 sprinklers operating at the same time. NFPA 13 covers sprinkler design and goes into all kinds of detail. Fire detection system, heat detectors in the barn and smoke detection in the living areas, and a second means of escape would be the way to go. Along with a good 2 hour fire barrier, i.e. two 5/8 type X sheet rock on the ceiling between the living space and you.

Here is some other stuff to consider.

I hope you have smoke detectors in all of your bedrooms, laundry room, boiler/furnace room, etc. and on each level of your home. The type of smoke detector you have is very important too. Most people have ionization type, cheap and are plentiful. BUT they do not work with ALL types of fires.

There are two basic types of smoke alarms:

Ionization - Ionization alarms contain radioactive material that ionizes the air, making an electrical path. When smoke enters, the smoke molecules attach themselves to the ions. The change in electric current flow triggers the alarm. The radioactive material is called americium. It's a radioactive metallic element produced by bombardment of plutonium with high-energy neutrons. The amount is very small and not harmful.

Photo-electric - These type of alarms contain a light source (usually a bulb) and a photocell, which is activated by light. Light from the bulb reflects off the smoke particles and is directed towards the photocell. The photocell then is activated to trigger the alarm.

The ionization alarm responds faster to small smoke particles, while the photoelectric responds faster to larger smoke particles. As a rule of the thumb, fast flaming fires produce smaller smoke particles and smoldering fires produce large particles. Thus the response time of the two alarms will vary, depending on the mixture of small and large particles from the fire.

Installing several smoke detectors of each type will provide better coverage in the extreme case of long-term smoldering or fast flaming fires.

The BEST type is a combination of ionization and photo electric detector. They sell them at Home Depot, for about $25. Look on the back of the package and if you see uses ionization AND photo electric, this is the one to buy. The detector will give you the best possible protection.

I assume you have several fire extinguishers in your house?

The other thing, now I will put my insurance hat on, is to make sure you have 100% replacement cost for your house AND contents. A lot of people have AVC, (actual cash value), which means the TV you bought 2 years ago for $500 is now worth $150. With 100% replacement cost, you would be paid $500. Makes a big difference if you do have a loss and have to replace everything. And if you rent, make sure you have rental insurance, to cover your contents.