Smoke Detector Inside Controller Cabinet

SPS2020

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Hi All,

After reading a very upsetting and concerning thread here on R2R the other day, I decided that my home severely lacked enough smoke detectors. My two Acropora tanks are in the master bedroom and each tank has its own controller cabinet. One tank has a separate cabinet containing almost all of the electronics; the other has all electronics in the aquarium cabinet under the tank. Has anyone installed a smoke detector inside the controller cabinet? Is that a good location? It seemed to me that it would be a suitable location since the smoke would rise to the "ceiling" of the cabinet or stand.

There is a shelf directly above the top of this picture. Almost all electronics are located here.
20230528_122036.jpg



The smaller tank has all electronics in the stand beside the sump.
20230528_122108.jpg



Thoughts are appreciated and I hope this makes others aware of safety requirements!
 

dschuffert

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This is an interesting concept. I wonder whether a smoke detector in the cabinet would be able to handle the amount of moisture in the air. I am thinking maybe a smoke detector above the tank may be more likely to work for a longer period of time.
 
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SPS2020

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This is an interesting concept. I wonder whether a smoke detector in the cabinet would be able to handle the amount of moisture in the air. I am thinking maybe a smoke detector above the tank may be more likely to work for a longer period of time.

Thanks! That is a good thought as I noticed earlier that there was some moisture on the two USB fans I have in the aquarium stand. The other cabinet is a few feet away from the tank, so it has no moisture and would be more suitable.

After pondering, I think I'll put a cheap(er) smoke detector in the aquarium stand and replace as needed. I'm using Nest Protect in all other locations throughout the house and they are around $115 each.
 
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Propane

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I read the same thread. Horrible and tragic. It made me think about changes I might make myself. Hopefully there will be several ideas to read through on this thread.
 

Bohemian Waxwing

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The other thing I've seen mentioned is TING.

 
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SPS2020

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The other thing I've seen mentioned is TING.


I've looked at that after reading someone else post about it. Mentioned it to my insurance rep, but he hadn't heard of it. After looking for reviews on it, there doesn't seem to be any third party insight, only from State Farm or from Ting. If it were such a great thing, (IMHO) there would certainly be other companies offering the same thing.

One other thing I plan to add is a water mist fire extinguisher (A and C). These only contain deionized water and will not spray white powder everywhere with the potential of killing everything in the reef. The nozzle is the key to how the water is sprayed allowing it to be used on Type C fires (electrical).

I also picked up a Klein Tools RT310 just to test outlets and wiring.
 

SpyC

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I read the same thread. Horrible and tragic. It made me think about changes I might make myself. Hopefully there will be several ideas to read through on this thread.
What was the tragic thread?
 

C4ctus99

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Hi All,

After reading a very upsetting and concerning thread here on R2R the other day, I decided that my home severely lacked enough smoke detectors. My two Acropora tanks are in the master bedroom and each tank has its own controller cabinet. One tank has a separate cabinet containing almost all of the electronics; the other has all electronics in the aquarium cabinet under the tank. Has anyone installed a smoke detector inside the controller cabinet? Is that a good location? It seemed to me that it would be a suitable location since the smoke would rise to the "ceiling" of the cabinet or stand.

There is a shelf directly above the top of this picture. Almost all electronics are located here.
20230528_122036.jpg



The smaller tank has all electronics in the stand beside the sump.
20230528_122108.jpg



Thoughts are appreciated and I hope this makes others aware of safety requirements!
Just out of curiosity, what size is your cabinet space? If you are talking about the same thread I think you are, I was trying to look into gaseous fire suppression systems (CO2, N2) but I don’t have a controller or cabinet so need to know what size space it would need to cover
 
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SPS2020

SPS2020

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Just out of curiosity, what size is your cabinet space? If you are talking about the same thread I think you are, I was trying to look into gaseous fire suppression systems (CO2, N2) but I don’t have a controller or cabinet so need to know what size space it would need to cover

That portion in the picture is 36x24x24; it is the bottom section of a larger piece of furniture.
 

vetteguy53081

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very ingenious and I just mounted my spare unit to back of my stand away from moisture which is open in the back
 

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Good idea about the extinguisher, going to have to work it around my new tank. I had a pump fry on me while at work a few years ago. The entire wire melted all the way to the power strip. Thank god the Belkin strip did its job.
 

C4ctus99

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That portion in the picture is 36x24x24; it is the bottom section of a larger piece of furniture.
Okay cool. Honestly, I just want to try taking the 90g threaded co2 canisters and hooking them up to a small solenoid valve and a heat sensor. Not certain how many you would need to flood a 12cu ft area to displace the o2 though

Research time!
 

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