Remotely operated roof sprinkler

[EricG]

So the fires here in Colorado have me worried. I live in the trees and I've done alot to prepare my property - cleared trees back, removed brush & low branches, keep the gutters clean, stucco siding & paver patio. But I watched some houses go up last night that looked like they were at least as prepared and not in areas as heavily wooded as mine. I think alot of it is embers landing on roofs. I want to go with a steel roof eventually, but it's not in the cards at the moment.

So I'm thinking about running some pipe up through the roof in two places and putting some big sprinkler heads on. I have no delusions that it will mean anything in the event the structure catches fire, but figure it may help alot with embers on the roof and immediate area.

I'm also concerned that I'm often away from the house, and in the event of an evacuation I may not be able to get back to turn it on. Neighbor has the key, and I could show them how to use it ... but they're often away also and if things get tight I expect them to take care of their own stuff first. So I'm thinking about putting two valves in parallel - one manual, so I can still open it if power is lost, and one solenoid hooked up to the internet in some manner so that I could activate it remotely. Possibly via an existing home automation system - though that's kind of overkill. I'd prefer to just roll my own scripting so I could send it an email or txt message to turn it on or off. Just have to learn how to control an external device like this.

I can set this up in a water heater closet with a 3/4" supply on the 2 story part of the house. Would likely have to do it in the crawlspace with 1/2" supply for the other, 1 story end. I'm on a water district which has its own backup generator so supply should be independent of power, for awhile at least. Typically have in excess of 70 PSI to work with, though that would likely change in a fire situation.

Couple of decent looking brass sprinkler heads on Grainger:

Sprinkler Head, 1 In, NPT, Brass - Sprinkler Valves and Hose Swivels - Lawn and Garden - 4NDP6 : Grainger Industrial Supply
Sprinkler Head, 3/4 In, NPT, Brass - Sprinkler Valves and Hose Swivels - Lawn and Garden - 4NDP7 : Grainger Industrial Supply

I know some of you guys have alot more experience with this stuff -both on the plumbing side and the fire side. It should work plumbing wise. Need to figure out the control side. But could this be effective, or is it just pissing on a forest fire - so to speak?

 

[bigndn]

Anything would help, and it sounds like you have done a lot of the right things by limbing up trees and cutting them back. Double check all openings, especially into the attic, to ensure they are screened. That's where embers get blown inside and then it's pretty much over. Move any fuel away from the structure that you can, especially firewood. Keep your lawn watered and green, if possible. If possible, run sprinklers on your lawn, as well, if you have to evac.

Good luck and God speed. HERE is some good info.

 

[EricG]

Anything would help, and it sounds like you have done a lot of the right things by limbing up trees and cutting them back. Double check all openings, especially into the attic, to ensure they are screened. That's where embers get blown inside and then it's pretty much over. Move any fuel away from the structure that you can, especially firewood. Keep your lawn watered and green, if possible. If possible, run sprinklers on your lawn, as well, if you have to evac.

Good luck and God speed. HERE is some good info.

Thanks for the link - lots of good information. I particularly like this document: http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8393.pdf

We also have a fire hydrant across the street - unusual for this area - and I've toyed with the idea of going in with my neighbor on a big chunk of hose & nozzle. I'm guessing the fire department might have a problem with us hooking our own stuff up to the hydrant though. And if/when they make us evacuate it won't matter anyway.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

not that it may help you out today....but Idec makes a smart relay that you can talk to with your smart phone. could also wire in several(up to 4) seperate inputs that can be fired by various types of sensors(smoke heat etc) smart relay is about 150 bucks and there will also be a few other things needed to get it all set up, but it can be programmed to fire up to 4 different outputs based on time of day week month year internal program various inputs and of course, an on board or remote manual input. you could set it and forget it if you wanted. sorry it is not a cookie cutter solution, but I hope it might help.

 

[EricG]

not that it may help you out today....but Idec makes a smart relay that you can talk to with your smart phone. could also wire in several(up to 4) seperate inputs that can be fired by various types of sensors(smoke heat etc) smart relay is about 150 bucks and there will also be a few other things needed to get it all set up, but it can be programmed to fire up to 4 different outputs based on time of day week month year internal program various inputs and of course, an on board or remote manual input. you could set it and forget it if you wanted. sorry it is not a cookie cutter solution, but I hope it might help.

Sounds very cool. In a quick look, I didn't see the smart phone interface, but I'll read more on it later. Would be awesome to hook it up to an IR detector on the roof!

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

National Control Devices: Web Relay for iPhone - 1 High Power Relay with a Web-i Interface



this is even mo better.....

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

or thishttp://www.controlanything.com/Relay/Device/LRR110_USB

 

[EricG]

Very cool stuff LAMBCRUSHER! Not sure why the first one goes one & one about iphone, ipad, etc. Looks like it should work from any web browser. But didn't dig into the details yet.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

its because you can make an ap for it.....they also have ethernet switches rs232 switches stand alone key chain remote switches. I hadn';t seen those before, but am glad I found them. That company also offers a web service for the sole purpose of changing the state of your relays for you. signalswitch or something. I like it cause it gives you the ability to monitor or change the states of your gear from anywhere and it seems to be expandable. They had modules that could take and keep a program so they can operate autonimously and be forced at your will via almost any type of com from almost anywhere. I am trying to figure out how to use one of their products to operate a solar sun tracker. This time, rather than just being able to have the unit operate automatically or having on board manual inputs operate the drives(locally) the home owner can also monitor its position or change it for severe wheather when away.

 

[Frankencruiser]

A couple of thoughts.
1. Power and water often go out as a result of the approaching fire burning power poles or pump stations. Even if the water doesn't go out the pressure is usually vastly reduced due to other people doing the same thing, and burning homes opening water lines.

I have some friends that live in a fire prone area above golden. They have a 10k gallon cistern and a gas pump to use for fire mitigation.

 

[Tancruiser]

I live up in the mts north of Steamboat and was thinking the same thing but I might put a couple rain birds on each gable and hope for the best, pray for rain alot of rain .

 

[toydude13]

Years ago I did some work at a metal roofing manufacturer. Entering trough the front door were pics of housing tracts devastated by fire with the occasional house untouched. The homes left standing had their roof product on them; great advertisement. One thing that struck home were the locations embers get blown and trapped. Even with a metal roof, under the eve with the vent holes Needs to. E addressed.

 

[Living in the Past]

I'm thinking about putting two valves in parallel - one manual, so I can still open it if power is lost, and one solenoid hooked up to the internet in some manner so that I could activate it remotely.

Instead of a solenoid valve might look in a motorized valve with spring return. In this case the valve would be powered closed and spring open under power loss. The down side is if you live in area with many power outages You will have water running everytime the power goes out. I would think this a sysem you would also turn off with a master valve during the winter time. Don't want a sheet of ice running from the roof to the ground and creating a ice rink.

 

[Super Slow Rodeo]

Instead of a solenoid valve might look in a motorized valve with spring return. In this case the valve would be powered closed and spring open under power loss. The down side is if you live in area with many power outages You will have water running everytime the power goes out. I would think this a sysem you would also turn off with a master valve during the winter time. Don't want a sheet of ice running from the roof to the ground and creating a ice rink.

Sorry this is going to be a long post, but some of this you guys may find nice to know!
I use one of those powered valves clocked to operate just the opposite on my air compressor in my shop. They can be made to work either way. Mine is located on the compressor and feeds the air lines through my shop when open. When I go into the shop and flip on the light switch, by the front door to the machine shop area, the powered valve activates. It takes about 20 seconds for the valve to open the 1/2 inch line completely. (you can buy them in all sizes off of E Bay http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=electric+ball+valve) But when I leave the shop at night and turn off the lights it closes by spring action. It works well since my Air Compressor is on the back side of my shop and hard to get to. Keeps the compressor from cycling all night because of quick release fittings that always find a way to bleed air off.
My valve is actually rated for water, but works for air just as well. This function would work well for your sprinkler as it's wired into the light circuit with 110 volts. So you could control it with nothing more than a remote light switch control.

I would suggest you look at putting in a cistern to store rain water in as a water supply for your sprinklers. I'm a retired Power Company Technician, so I know about power failures due to lines going down and all the house of cards that falls when the power/ lights go out.

Having the I Phone Control valve would be great if you had a camera security system on the house and surrounding yard. A battery backup like commercial garage door systems use would make it almost fool proof. ( I have one and it works well on the garage door.) But, the cost of all that would probably pay for a metal roof. And let's not forget your City Government may not want you hoarding free rain water. Surely you've heard about the man that got 30 days in jail recently for collecting rain water without paying for it.

Here in Texas collecting rain water is not such a big deal. I'm putting in a pair of 6,000 gallon tanks behind my shop here on the Ranch to supply us with free rain water storage from run off of the shop roof. (3000 sq ft) My plan is to install a 500 gallon tank on a tower next to the shop to supply the house with gravity fed water. I'll use a wind powered pump to transfer water from the cistern tanks to the tower tank. Kinda like the Old timers used to use on the farms for watering cattle.


I want to replace my asphalt roofing with metal stamped shingles before the solar panels go up. But my Ranch house is three stories high and has a really steep roof pitch. So labor cost our biggest obstacle. Plus, the wind blows here all the time and my roof is taking a beating. Hard to find someone to work on a steep pitched roof in out wind. Should we ever have a fire there's not much I can do to stop it if it comes my way as we are. So I've been thinking of adding a sprinkler system to my roof peaks also.

My brother just replaced his wood siding on his house with Henry Board. (concrete siding) But he still has wood shake roofing. He says Metal Roofing is next. Our homes are half brick and half siding. The Henry Board is flame retardant. The cost of doing that to my house would be astronomical!

Oh and BTY, while you're planning, remember to use metal water piping to plumb your water lines. More expensive, but won't crack or melt in the hot air of a fire storm.

Good luck with it! Fall is coming and now is the time to prepare for next year.

 

[cody c]

have a peak on google for: GSM text relay or http://www.gsm-auto.com/ these would work for automotive purposes as well.

you can get a device that has a couple outputs for relays, works off a SIM card (you will need a pay as you go text plan but it will work if the phone goes out) you can run a cheap uninteruptable power supply (UPS) if you wish as well, so if the power is out and you are away you should be able to still control things.

You may get the option of a couple extra relays.

Also you can get reasonable priced cameras from d-link and download free app/software so you can see whats going on at your place from a remote location. Having a UPS that supports cameras and GSM would be nice in the situation that theres a fire and you have been evacuated from your home.


http://www.dlink.com/ca/en/home-sol...o-set-up-an-affordable-home-monitoring-system


you could also get some rain barrels and run the water to a jet pump, it would give you a lot more water and you would probably have enough to spray your house's walls for 5-20 minutes with more water. Also, you wouldnt be reliant to town water