New forge vs fire sprinkler

[territorialmillworks]

I always say if you do something stupid, tell your friends first so they get the facts straight. My ribbon burner forge is too small for some things so I made an adjustable forge. While tuning the burners outside of the forge and several feet from my normal forge position, it started to 'rain'. I ran outside to turn the sprinklers off and the valve handle broke so off I ran to the cut-off valve at the street. All together, it took five hours, two cans of WD-40 and a lot of paper towels to get the shop back together with the sage encouragement of my wife "Well, it could have been worse" LOL.

[SmoothBore]

Well, ... the sprinklers work properly, ... that's a good thing, ... right ? :D

[pkrankow]

Sounds like you need to swap in some higher temperature sprinkler heads, and remember to have more airflow next time you are tuning.

Phil

[clinton]

Fire sprinklers and forges are not a good combination

[JNewman]

I have set off the heat detectors on my fire alarm a couple of times. The first time tuning a burner the other two times with a big rosebud torch. It means a mad rush to the phone to call the alarm company so they don't call the fire dept. Of course the alarm ties up the phone so I have to use the cell phone. The gas saver has eliminated the problem because I don't have the torch running on a stand or being held with the flame in an upward direction.

[ptree]

In the valve shop, we changed to 265F heads over the heat treat dept, added a draft wall and lots and lots of vent fan to take care of the quench smoke. I caught the problem when the management tossed the already contracted for plans on my desk after a union vote that decided where the plant was to be built. I openbed the plans and asked did you plan to water quench the loads at heat trteat, and the plant manager looked at me and asked why? I told him I found it odd they put the heat treat in the middle of a 6.5 acre air conditioned plat with no provision ofr the quench smoke or the heat. The roof air con units had smoke detectors in the supply and returns and the sprinkler heads were standard 135F units. The small furnace was a 1000# per load and the stress relieve was a car bottom!

They also put the parkerize line right next to that with no provision for the acid vapors off the tanks!

I spent a long day of questions and their secrecy about the plans led to a $10 million plant being a $14 million plant after the change orders.

Never popped a sprinkler, but the smoke overwhelmed the ventalation inside the draft wall, a couple of times till we got the really big upblast fan installed.

I feel for you.