Worried about fires

[sangers]

Hi All,

 

I'm a first time indoor grower and recently aquired a grow cabinet. All the wiring is professionally done, and there aren't any lights touching wood or plastic or anything like that.

 

I'm super paranoid about fires though. At the moment i've got my lights set up so that they're off whilst i'm at work. But trying to sleep is a problem, as the extraction fan in the grow cabinet is damn noisy.

 

Am i being paranoid? Seriously has anyone had issues with fires/heat in their cabinets? And if so, what are the signs to look out for and what steps do you take to avoid things like this.

 

Regards,

[louise]

I've never had an indoor fire, but Bunnings have household fire extinguishers on sale atm... I sleep easier with one on hand.

[biggerbuds]

no your not being too paranoid sangers,fire are real & they can happen,like lou lou i have a nice big fire extinguishers on hand if i ever needed it,i also have 2 fire alarm fitted in my grow cabinet.

 

always use high quality timers & relays on your lights to cut the risk down too

 

always plan for what would you do if a fire did ever break out,like i have rope on hand for all of us lot if i ever needed to lower kids out of the top window.

 

its better to be safe then sorry,some of my mates tell me i am being to paranoid but i no i am not.

 

also make sure you buy the right fire extinguishers,i have the powder one that can be used on fires started by an electrical fault.you would not wont to use a water one on an electrical fire.

Edited December 19, 2009 by biggerbuds

[falconcobra]

As above man, take precautions but try not to worry,ur house is full of appliances that havnt killed u yet.

People are wired differently and worry about different things, i dont lose any sleep over fire fears but have a hard time at the beach with thethought of sharks!!!

[Rocker]

Any man made product can cause serious problems at any time.

That's why jet engines and cars catch fire and houses burn to the ground.

 

Thankfully these occurances are rare. Still, it's worthwhile taking every precaution you can.

I have had the wiring melt near the hood of a 600W HPS. Or at least the plastic covering did.

I was here and the smell told me something was amiss.

I don't know whether this would have led to something as serious as fire but I'm glad I was here when it happened.

 

If I'm away for a while I switch to a couple of CFL's. I might be paranoid but at least I don't worry when I'm out.

[smokinjoe]

Growing in an outbuilding of some description will appease your worry. It might catch fire but at least it won't burn your house to the ground.

 

I would expect most fires would occur as the result of poor workmanship in assembly; causing something to fall over and ignite something, dodgey wiring/faulty equipment, or overloading a circuit.

[biggerbuds]

DIY is the killer

[sangers]

This has turned into a good discussion. I'm still waiting for my min/max digital thermometer to come in the mail so i can monitor the ambient temp in the cabinet. Not too concerned about it though as there is only a 250w MH lamp in there at the moment.

 

I've been extra cautious in the last few days regarding wires getting anywhere near the lamp shade/globe. Tied a lot of things down.

 

Good idea about the smoke alarm inside the cabinet too!