proftournesol Posted July 5, 2020 Posted July 5, 2020 I just thought that I'd detail the process we've been through this year to automate our rooftop sprinklers. Background We relocated to northeast Victoria several years ago, and replaced the old ramshackle farm house on the property with a prefab. We only had a BAL rating of 19, but decided to over-protect the house Passive features: colour bond skin underfloor sealed window shutters wooden verandahs, but the area under the verandahs are open and gravelled to reduce flammable load. Active features We planned to install rooftop sprinklers and added 2x 20,000L colour bond water tanks located within the building envelope, under the balconies. The pumps are powered by a high flow electric pump that is powered by a 17kWh lead-acid gel battery and rooftop PV so we can island if the grid is down. We also had to install a seperate 10,000L tank for the CFA, fed from the shed roof and figured that the CFA could activate the roof sprinklers if they were fighting a local fire or refilling their tank. Then last summer happened. We had 2 evacuations and were told by CFA that they were unlikely to be able to defend houses outside the main towns (when things looked grim). We decided to automate the roof sprinklers so they could be activated if we were away, as we couldn't rely on local firefighters being available. Initially, we thought of an internet remote activated system, but that required ongoing internet access and the ability to know when to activate the sprinkler system. Solution We decided on a temperature triggered system. Netatmo weather system Fibaro connected with an Automation Bridge The system is set to trigger a scene when the external temperature reaches 50 degrees, unlikely to happen in the normal course of events, but almost certain in a fire 6
VirginiaHart Posted January 13, 2021 Posted January 13, 2021 This is very useful information, thank you very much! I also want to put myself an automatic installation like this, but I need advice on this
BugPowderDust Posted January 13, 2021 Posted January 13, 2021 @proftournesol thanks for that. I’m on a property in the Macedon Ranges that’s rated BAL29. Our house is fairly new so built to spec but we have yet to investigate a rooftop sprinkler setup. I’ll do some reading based on above but if you wanted to expand on the moving parts of your setup, indicative costs etc it would be greatly appreciated to help my research.
Kaynin Posted January 13, 2021 Posted January 13, 2021 What are the sprinklers and water piping made of? The Black Saturday fires showed that many of the water systems people had installed had plastic or PVC piping, which melted in the heat of the fires.
jjmatthew95 Posted January 14, 2021 Posted January 14, 2021 It is very strange that in such an area plastic pipes melted, because they are usually made of temperature-resistant special plastic
eman Posted January 14, 2021 Posted January 14, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, jjmatthew95 said: It is very strange that in such an area plastic pipes melted, because they are usually made of temperature-resistant special plastic It can only be so resistant. The only things left of my place were concrete and steel and the concrete was cracked and the steel was buckled. We're not talking about a grass fire here. Edited January 14, 2021 by eman 1
Kaynin Posted January 14, 2021 Posted January 14, 2021 3 hours ago, jjmatthew95 said: It is very strange that in such an area plastic pipes melted, because they are usually made of temperature-resistant special plastic No, not strange at all. 1
proftournesol Posted January 20, 2021 Author Posted January 20, 2021 We have lagged copper piping, lagged, because the first winter split the copper pipes and we had to replace them. We then also installed drainage taps on the sprinkler Ines and drain them, and leave them open, all winter. The sprinklers are brass rotary sprinklers. about 3m apart with overlapping watering fields. The only plastic parts are the downpipes, they'll currently return all the sprinkler roof water to the tanks, but we have 40,000L for firefighting, even without any return. The only weakness now is that our inverter doesn't provide UPS level supply so we may add a small UPS to the sprinkler powerpoint, the risk is that a brief interruption may stop the pump. I think that the scene would re-trigger it, but just to be sure... 1
Mickstuh Posted January 20, 2021 Posted January 20, 2021 Thanks for that, all very useful info. I live in a fire zone too. Opted for an in-ground bunker, 6 inches thick concrete, stainless steel door rated to 980 degrees (won't buckle). Peace of mind!
proftournesol Posted January 21, 2021 Author Posted January 21, 2021 In ground bunker is on our list too, which one did you get?
BugPowderDust Posted January 21, 2021 Posted January 21, 2021 (edited) I had these guys quote me last year: https://www.wildfiresafetybunkers.com.au/bunkers.html Cost was about $15k all up. Properly tested and rated. I’m still on the fence for now but it is a thing I will do at some stage I think. Edited January 21, 2021 by BugPowderDust
Mickstuh Posted January 24, 2021 Posted January 24, 2021 Yep, I got the one referenced in the post above. They plonked it in the ground and drove off with the words 'hope you never have to use it'.
Nada Posted January 24, 2021 Posted January 24, 2021 (edited) @proftournesol Im glad to see your planning for evacuation with smart remote home defence, instead of the stay and get PTSD option. Did you get under eave sprinkler placement like below? It looks like the way to cool the walls and wet a verandah in a fire storm. Ive only seen roof top ridge sprinklers installed, which might be OK in a slow burn but in a fire storm the hurricane force winds would likely just blow ridge mounted sprinkler spay clean away? This house amazingly survived the 2020 fires despite being built with external kindling and the forest being so close with evidence of a a crown fire! Edited January 24, 2021 by Nada
proftournesol Posted January 24, 2021 Author Posted January 24, 2021 @Nada we have no eaves on the house, they collect too many spiders here and more ember points of entry, and that's why we have rooftop perimeter sprinklers. Instead, we have window shutters. Yes, in a firestorm they may be ineffective, but so will anything else. We do what we can 2
jjmatthew95 Posted January 29, 2021 Posted January 29, 2021 Guys, why do you so categorically say that melting pipes there is normal? You can easily get rid of it, come on. My friend lives there and he has LCP pipes installed that can withstand the temperature. He has good sprinklers around the perimeter of the house and he even recommended Toolschief to me so that I could also pick up some cool sprinklers. I bought myself a couple of automated sprinklers that work on sensors and do not spray water just like that. I certainly do not live in such a hot area, but I also have very good pipes installed in the yard and they will last with a reserve for many years.
Cloth Ears Posted February 3, 2021 Posted February 3, 2021 On 30/01/2021 at 5:14 AM, jjmatthew95 said: Guys, why do you so categorically say that melting pipes there is normal? You can easily get rid of it, come on. My friend lives there and he has LCP pipes installed that can withstand the temperature. He has good sprinklers around the perimeter of the house and he even recommended Toolschief to me so that I could also pick up some cool sprinklers. I bought myself a couple of automated sprinklers that work on sensors and do not spray water just like that. I certainly do not live in such a hot area, but I also have very good pipes installed in the yard and they will last with a reserve for many years. Little things, like it's really hot!!! https://ecos.csiro.au/bushfire-in-australia-understanding-hell-on-earth/ "A bushfire is one of the most terrifying natural phenomena that anyone is likely to experience in Australia. To be caught in a bushfire is to witness a true hell on earth — conditions hot enough to melt metal, heat fluxes that literally vaporise vegetation, and smoke plumes so dense they turn day into night." "Inside the turbulent diffusion flames of a bushfire, the temperature of the reaction zone, where the volatile gases released from the thermally degrading vegetation mix with oxygen in the air and combust, can be in the order of 1600°C. The temperature of the flames themselves, however, is less than this adiabatic value, with the maximum temperature at the base of tall flames reaching approximately 1100°C due to mixing with ambient temperature air. The tips of flames are around 600°C."
Recommended Posts