Cheap fire suppression system for a PC?

"SteveH" wrote in message
. ..
Ken Maltby wrote:
"SteveH" wrote in message
...
ShadowTek wrote:

That's my main concern. I need to have a lot of sound absorbant
material around my computer, and I'm thinking about creating a 4
sided cabnet composed of 5/8" sheet-rock covered with carpet. That
may be all I need on the sides, but I need something more as the
bottom layer that will absorb the vibrations from the case.



Out of interest, why do you /need/ to have all that crap around the
PC? If you want quiet, why not get a quiet case and coolers?

--
SteveH


You can also use watercooling to remove all the
noise producing elements to another room. That
leaves just the hard drive "noise" to manage.

Luck;
Ken

I could never be assed with watercooling. I've got a decent case in the
Antec P180, some decent 120mm fans from Quiet PC and a very quiet VGA
cooler from Arctic Cooling. The only way I could get my PC any quieter is
to turn it off.

--
SteveH

That can certainly be the case, but we have no way of knowing
how much performance you are demanding from your system.
More to the point for this thread, we don't know if you have a
paranoia with regard to sound, that in anyway matches the OP.

I think most of us are quite satisfied with the sound level of our
systems, without the efforts the OP seems compelled toward.
I have a couple of very quite Antec "Three Hundred" cases,
for instance.

Luck;
Ken

On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 06:02:13 +0000 (UTC), ShadowTek
wrote:

I would like to install a small fire detection/suppression system for my
computer. I've seen a lot of rediculously expensive stuff online, but
I'd like to spend as little as possible.

Surely there's something that could be had for little more than the cost
of a small hand-held fire-extinguisher, as all I need is basically that
with some sort of detector/trigger.

Any suggestions?


Put the system in a large tub of water and freeze it.
Simple, cheap, effective.

All kidding aside, it is not reasonable to even think about
fire detection and suppression for a PC so long as you have
a reasonable quality PSU inside, most of your other AC
powered electrical products are more likely to catch fire
than a PC.

On 2009-10-19, SteveH wrote:

Out of interest, why do you /need/ to have all that crap around the PC?

I have sensitive hearing, and typical PC noises aflict me with an
occasional case of tinnitus.


If you want quiet, why not get a quiet case and coolers?

I did.

On 2009-10-19, Ken Maltby wrote:

You can also use watercooling to remove all the
noise producing elements to another room. That
leaves just the hard drive "noise" to manage.

The hard drives produce the highest pitch noises, so I would still need
some kind of sound insulation.

Also, the greatest resonating vibrations are comming from the
power supply (not its fan), and I would still need to isolate that as
well.

On 2009-10-19, Ken Maltby wrote:

That can certainly be the case, but we have no way of knowing
how much performance you are demanding from your system.
More to the point for this thread, we don't know if you have a
paranoia with regard to sound, that in anyway matches the OP.

I think most of us are quite satisfied with the sound level of our
systems, without the efforts the OP seems compelled toward.
I have a couple of very quite Antec "Three Hundred" cases,
for instance.

It isn't "paranoia" that's motivating me, it's an actual hearing
sensitivity that I have which allow me to hear things that some people
can't.

It's more than just distracting, it physically hurts.

Just to illustrate my point, how many other people do you know carry around
earplugs *everywhere* they go?

On 2009-10-19, Man-wai Chang to The Door (+MS=32B) wrote:

If you just truely turn off all power, the chance of fire while the PC
is un-attended is slow. DO NOT trust soft standby!

Oh, I don't. Actually, I have everything strategically plugged into an
array of surge protector strips that allows me to conveniently switch
off the power to everything that I don't use when I'm not home, with
only an absolute minimum of equipment left energized.

Regardless, I need my *computer* running 24/7.

["Followup-To:" header set to alt.comp.hardware.]
On 2009-10-19, kony wrote:

All kidding aside, it is not reasonable to even think about
fire detection and suppression for a PC so long as you have
a reasonable quality PSU inside, most of your other AC
powered electrical products are more likely to catch fire
than a PC.

As I just posted, I have removed any other equipment from the equation.

Anyway, the day I post back about my house burning down, your response
of "Well, I guess Gigabyte took a dump on that one." isn't going to make
me feel any better.

I intend to make an effort.

ShadowTek wrote:

I would like to install a small fire detection/suppression system for my
computer. I've seen a lot of rediculously expensive stuff online, but
I'd like to spend as little as possible.

Use a case made of steel, not aluminum, with no window on the side.
Keep all cooling fans and vents at least a foot from anything
flammable, such as curtains. Computer fires aren't likely to spread,
except their odor, since the materials are fairly fire resistant, even
the plastics (except those for windows). The cheapest automatic fire
supression system I know of is a large bag of baking soda. The fire
melts the bag, and the baking soda extinguishes the flames.

ShadowTek wrote:

That's my main concern. I need to have a lot of sound absorbant material
around my computer, and I'm thinking about creating a 4 sided cabnet
composed of 5/8" sheet-rock covered with carpet. That may be all I need
on the sides, but I need something more as the bottom layer that will
absorb the vibrations from the case.

Last night, I inserted a layer of 3/8" foam carpet-paddeing with an
additional layer of carpet on top of that, which helped to reduce the
vibrations quite a bit, but it isn't good enough yet. I think 2 more
layers of carpet-padding with competely solve the vibration problem, but
adding all that foam makes me a little paranoid.

If you really want to prevent fire, you wouldn't use carpeting or
carpet padding for soundproofing but only fiberglass or rock wool or
melamine foam (not the usual urethane foam). Boric acid will reduce
the flammability of fabric (it's used for cellulose insulation, which
is fire safe for attics), but I don't know how long the effect lasts.
A treatment used for clothing that may work: 12 oz. sodium stannate
in 1 gal. water. Soak fabric for 15 minutes, then wring. Next, soak
in a solution of 4 oz. ammonium sulfate in 1 gal water for 15 minutes,
then wring and let dry.

Currently, the bottom layer that my computer is standing on looks like
this:
______
| |
| PC |
| |
---carpet---
---foam padding---
---carpet---
---5/8" sheet-rock---
---carpet---
-----------------------

I would set the PC direclty on either sheet rock or ceramic tile.

Be skeptical of fire resistance ratings because unless you're told the
exact safety standard that applies, like UL 94 for plastics (V0 is its
best rating), the information may be useless. For example, styrofoam,
which is highly flammable, has been rated as "self extinguishing," but
must be covered with highly fire resistant material when used in
building, and fire wood has been rated as "fire resistant."

In most situations, the best way to prevent fire with a computer
system is by not blocking any vent openings in the computer cabinet,
monitor, printer, and battery backup power supply (if set on
carpeting, place ceramic tiles under it to keep its bottom vents
clear). Don't use any electrical cords bought from a 99-cent store.

Ken Maltby wrote:

You can also use watercooling to remove all the
noise producing elements to another room. That
leaves just the hard drive "noise" to manage.

I thought the purpose was to improve safety, not worsen it by creating
a potential electric shock hazard with a cooling system that hasn't
been UL, VDE, or CSA certified. The cooling systems I've seen use
vinyl hoses that can melt if the processor's heatsink gets hot enough,
and I haven't seen any leak detection devices, like those made for
preventing washroom flooding. A better solution may be a heatpipe
cooling system