Sprinkler system in server room

[ozydave]

Hello
Just wanted to check I am not missing some important advancement / discovery in science where water no longer conducts electricity
Moving to a new build soon and they want to install a water sprinkler system in the server room. Not sure who thought this one up, local authority or builders.

I can understand the need for a fire suppression system but water….
With redundant hot swappable parts on server / switches etc, power supplies all sorts, I don’t want to be the one standing at the back of a server rack, hands in servers when the sprinkler system goes off by design or accident.

Think my risk assessment will be to turn off everything including the UPS if I need to touch a piece of equipment in the server room.
Kind of makes the redundant features of equipment redundant..

Any got any thoughts or is it just me!

Cheers

[Jawloms]

I had a friend who who was a NM, went on leave for a fortnight and came back to find a water sprinkler system had been installed in his server room. He isolated the power to the room and refused to turn it back on until the water system was turned off.

[Geoff]

You need to use a gas based fire suppression system in a server room. New installs tend to be CO2 based but I always have fond memories of the older Halon based systems. There's nothing quite like watching your PFY setting off the halon release then sprinting for the breathing apparatus before the oxygen gets forceably removed from the room and he suffocates.

[tobiasclarity]

Hello
Just wanted to check I am not missing some important advancement / discovery in science where water no longer conducts electricity
Moving to a new build soon and they want to install a water sprinkler system in the server room. Not sure who thought this one up, local authority or builders.

I can understand the need for a fire suppression system but water….
With redundant hot swappable parts on server / switches etc, power supplies all sorts, I don’t want to be the one standing at the back of a server rack, hands in servers when the sprinkler system goes off by design or accident.

Think my risk assessment will be to turn off everything including the UPS if I need to touch a piece of equipment in the server room.
Kind of makes the redundant features of equipment redundant..

Any got any thoughts or is it just me!

Cheers

I am sure if anything HAS to be installed like that it is meant to be one of those Halon systems, weirdly first knew about this system after watching terminator 2 :P

This is a vid of it accidentally going off, naturlaly you wouldnt want to be near it when it does!!!

[localzuk]

Water based suppression in a room for electrical systems. Not the smartest idea on the planet!

I'd point out that such an idea is preposterous and dangerous. I wouldn't go into a room like that!!

[elsiegee40]

@Soulfish has the water feature installed in his server room... Not a good idea

[FN-GM]

Legally there is no reason why it can't be disconnected.

[twin--turbo]

They were going to put it in our server room, We headed them off at the pass during an M&E meeting.

They still put it in the second distribution room , but we had them disconnect it.


And for the record..


Water does NOT conduct electricity.

Rob

[chazzy2501]

if they used distilled water it'd be ok

[twin--turbo]

if they used distilled water it'd be ok

Well , yes and no...

[Oaktech]

C02 FTW.

I'd kick up an almighty stink. It would only take one rogue kid and a member of site management to be a second too late cancelling the alarm and the disaster recovery plan (we all have one, right?) would have to be enacted. No Thanks...

[Abaddon]

Halon is no longer used - we have an Argonite system installed in our server room. Not quite as human unfriendly as halon, but you still wouldn't want to be in the same room. There is a 30 second panic delay button installed near the door (just in case). The alarm that sounds is like the red alert klaxon on the USS Enterprise - how cool is that?

[Oaktech]

Well , yes and no...

But more... 'No'

[ozydave]

Well , yes and no...

That's good news I can have a shower with my hairdryer tonight then

[mjs_mjs]

If you'r going to argue this point make sure you have your EPO's connected to your UPS's so that should the fire or ambulance service need to kill power to the room you also kill the UPS's.