My Bush Fire House protection system

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Originally Posted by isuzurover

To avoid problems with pums, and needing to be there to turn it on....

Why not mount a water tank on a tall stand (gravity feed) and use proper fire sprinklers with the (wax?) slugs which melt when they get hot enough?

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Could be wrong, but I don't think a domestic tank-on-a-stand will give you enough pressure to drive the sprinklers sufficiently...

Anyway, why do we need them on the roof? - Most houses are lost, AFAIK, from ember-attack blowing into the roof-void via the eaves and other exposed openings.

Speaking of holes... windows and doors are a real weakness. Strong and variable-direction winds can bring debris as well as embers...and break the glass. Doors can be blown out as well as windows, caused by a well-sealed house being effectively pressurised in comparison to the low(er) pressure exterior conditions generated by the fire-front.
Perforated window-shutters and metal-mesh security doors would be the best way here...- Open internal glass windows and solid doors to allow the air-pressures to equalise.

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Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

may still be worth doing, theres a number of cases where houses have burnt down because of stray burning embers being blown into guttering and setting the house fire off from there, same same for evaporation AC units on the roof tops, when the power goes out the elements dry out then the evaporation mesh catches fire because its paper based.

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Up in our fire-risk hills area I've seen a few evap.A/C units on houses, encased in a fine mesh structure.

Even wrapping them in a metal-mesh as a desperate measure would be better than nothing, seeing as most units are built of plastic... Amazing how fast one can get up there and do the job if you have the stuff to hand. !!!

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Originally Posted by superquag

Could be wrong, but I don't think a domestic tank-on-a-stand will give you enough pressure to drive the sprinklers sufficiently...

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P = rho.g.H

g is constant and for our purposes rho can be considered constant. So in short, a high enough tank and you can have all the pressure you want to drive your sprinkler system.

Just a thought on the pump side of the equation.............

A relo of mine has a pump system driven soley by air pressure.

He was trying to develop it with a partner.

I do not know anything about it really - but it might give you some assistance in engineering the result you want.

New Inventors: Air Operated Fire Hose

good luck with it.

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Originally Posted by isuzurover

P = rho.g.H

g is constant and for our purposes rho can be considered constant. So in short, a high enough tank and you can have all the pressure you want to drive your sprinkler system.

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Yessss..... that's self-evident.:eek:
To be pedantic:-
How many sprinkler heads are we looking at and what's the flow-rate required to give coverage, and for how long.

I'm guessing we're looking at a 4000 litre steel tank. Might give us the 5 minutes we need... (Eight outlets at 100 litres/minute)

If you want your house fire resistant then these points are relevant. Good quality metal gutter guard. Dead leaves built up in the gutter are by far your biggest weakness. Toughened glass in your windows and glass doors. Normal glass breaks under heat pressure and your curtains go up and game over. Metal gauze fly screens. As little wood decking and posts as you can around the house, use metal where possible. Colourbond fences....colourbond fences.....colourbond fences. :D Did I mention colourbond fencing? My colourbond fence is wrecked on one side with a charcoal wasteland up to it, and pristine on the house side with the garden barely touched. It was great to hide behind and hose over. The other houses in my street that were saved were also hiding behind colourbond fencing. Don't use sleepers or koppers logs in the garden, they burn toxic for hours.
Handy hint, have a small hose inside that you can attach to your washing machine tap. Use it to quell any fire that makes it into the roof cavity by going up through your manhole. If it gets into the roof then you are done if it takes hold.
Your sprinkler idea is very good but not the total answer.

Houses have also been destroyed by gas bottles depressurising when they heated, the expelled gas ignited beside the houses.
Pretty well need them out from under eaves in that case.

See p 7

Make sure the pressure relief valves on LPG cylinders face outwards (so flame is not directed towards the house).

http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/file_syste...rvivalPlan.pdf

Very comprehensive information and advice from NSWRFS

Bob

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Originally Posted by superquag

Yessss..... that's self-evident.:eek:
To be pedantic:-
How many sprinkler heads are we looking at and what's the flow-rate required to give coverage, and for how long.

I'm guessing we're looking at a 4000 litre steel tank. Might give us the 5 minutes we need... (Eight outlets at 100 litres/minute)

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RFS recommend a minimum 5000 litres -

p 12

http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/file_syste...rvivalPlan.pdf

Bob

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Originally Posted by mikehzz

A great idea but a few recently got caught and lost the house despite sprinklers. First problem is lack of water if you are on mains and at the end of the line. Second, quite a few pumps seized from the heat and were useless. It doesn't take long to drain a tank of water either. Third, you have to be there to turn it on. Many homes were lost in the BM fires because owners were stuck at road blocks.
Keep those things in mind. Cheers

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We are on a rural property so supply our own water. Hopefully we will see the fire coming so can be prepared. We assume power will be off so will use a engine powered pump.
I would imagine if it was hot enough to sieze a pump it would be too hot for me and the house would be a gonner anyway.

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Originally Posted by 4range

Just a thought on the pump side of the equation.............

A relo of mine has a pump system driven soley by air pressure.

He was trying to develop it with a partner.

I do not know anything about it really - but it might give you some assistance in engineering the result you want.

New Inventors: Air Operated Fire Hose

good luck with it.

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Do you have any idea of the cost of these pumps and where they can be bought?

I think it'd be brilliant on a fire trailer Im building...