Nordhavn
0
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2007
- Messages
- 285
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- 28
THe ones we use have some sort of copper slug that pops off when enough heat is applied to them. It takes a LOT of heat, i.e. fire, to get them to pop.
Our apartment heads have a water supply which goes to an alarm box which is monitored- if one pops, the alarm sounds and the fire alarm goes off, and the fire department reponds. If you get caught triggering a false alarm, God help you... (fire department charges are expensive!).
Each one triggers individually, unlike the movies. And the heads are quite expensive!
-Dave
Those have a solder fillet between those slugs. Its melting point is very low. A laser (like a 1W 445) would not do it because of the mass and reflectivity of metal but you would be surprised at what will set them off.
A standard wet system uses heads that are independent of one another. Water flow through the pipe does trigger a flow switch that will set off the building fire alarm, however!
In any case I highly recommend nobody even think of trying this on a sprinkler head connected to a charged system!
Go to a bank or car dealer that has a bucketload of balloons or something.