Installation in Work Shop- Sawdust

A

AGPharmD

n3wb
Dec 23, 2019
18
5
Boston
I’m expanding my parent’s home security system to include a couple cameras in the basement to monitor their well water expansion tank in one area, in another, hot water heater and furnace. That way when they are away on a trip (fairly frequently being newly retired), my dad can check in and ensure nothing is leaking or whatever.

All of this equipment is located in their basement which also houses my dad’s wood shop- he is a hobbyist but he’s taken it to an extreme- somewhere between 1500-2000sq ft dedicated to his tools. The camera that would be monitoring the expansion tank is in an area that is exposed to saw dust. Not that my dad is cutting wood daily, but the stuff gets everywhere. The one tool he does not have is a dust collection / air filtration system.

I’m assuming a turret or bullet would be the best option. Is there any type of anti-static coating to help prevent sawdust from spreading through 25adhering to the lens? Any mounting suggestions or other ideas?

I know I could also do smart water alarms and I may do that too, but having the visual is a benefit as leaves no doubt.
 
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AGPharmD said:
I’m expanding my parent’s home security system to include a couple cameras in the basement to monitor their well water expansion tank in one area, in another, hot water heater and furnace. That way when they are away on a trip (fairly frequently being newly retired), my dad can check in and ensure nothing is leaking or whatever.

All of this equipment is located in their basement which also houses my dad’s wood shop- he is a hobbyist but he’s taken it to an extreme- somewhere between 1500-2000sq ft dedicated to his tools. The camera that would be monitoring the expansion tank is in an area that is exposed to saw dust. Not that my dad is cutting wood daily, but the stuff gets everywhere. The one tool he does not have is a dust collection / air filtration system.

I’m assuming a turret or bullet would be the best option. Is there any type of anti-static coating to help prevent sawdust from spreading through 25adhering to the lens? Any mounting suggestions or other ideas?

I know I could also do smart water alarms and I may do that too, but having the visual is a benefit as leaves no doubt.
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A turret's probably preferable to a bullet as far as accumulating saw dust. A camera with a metal body would be preferable to a plastic body. I'd worry an attempt to apply an antistatic coating could damage / cloud the lens. If you decide this is necessary I'd try it on a cheap camera. small dome cameras could work too with gravity working in your favor but the plastic dome against.

As long as they don't have hot water or steam based heat, I'd just turn off the well AND water heater when out of town. It significantly reduces the damage that could occur to the structure or the well.
 
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tangent said:
A turret's probably preferable to a bullet as far as accumulating saw dust. A camera with a metal body would be preferable to a plastic body. I'd worry an attempt to apply an antistatic coating could damage / cloud the lens. If you decide this is necessary I'd try it on a cheap camera. small dome cameras could work too with gravity working in your favor but the plastic dome against.

As long as they don't have hot water or steam based heat, I'd just turn off the well AND water heater when out of town. It significantly reduces the damage that could occur to the structure or the well.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was wondering if anyone knew of a lens-safe anti-static product and how well it works. Metal is a good idea, but obviously it is the lens that’s my biggest concern.

I should mention the ceiling is not finished-
It’s exposed to the floor joists above- so any type camera should be mountable one way or another. I had thought a dome would be among the worst choices as the acrylic would just serve as a magnet for dust. Even with gravity, static is more than enough to keep dust stuck on cameras. Or perhaps it really makes little difference in the end.

I was also thinking about transparent anti-static removable film, such as used with watches. Or maybe see if the are any cut-to-fit screen protectors with anti-static properties.

Any suggestions on turrets?! I’ve used a couple dahuas in other projects but for my own properties and family prefer to use NDAA complaint cameras. I know Axis has the M31-series (M3104/5/6, M3115/16) but I’m pretty sure these are plastic. Wisenet has some I was interested in a while back, ANV and QNV series if I recall. One of the ANV’s had the option for white LED rather than IR which seemed odd- not sure how that works. I’m good with IR but will install a smart switch for the lights to turn on remotely if needed.

I don’t need super advanced functions. Optical zoom could be handy, but at a minimum “digital PTZ” can be handy (I find BI’s native digital zoom/pan annoying)- axis has dPTZ on most cams. I/O ports could be interesting to play with for sensors or light control but probably not something I’d end up doing tbh.

They do turn off water and hot water heater when they leave for more than a couple days unless it’s summer and the forecast suggests the pool may evaporate too much and the pool guy will need to add water. This is especially true if they’re gone for more than a week (or a couple years ago when there was a slow leak, since fixed). If the water level drops below the skimmer you risk losing prime and burning out the filter pump (not cheap).

The hot water heater, even if shut off
will still have water in it and could still cause a mess if it spring a leak- I believe they have a 100gal tank (big house). They also have an issue fairly common in their area where after prolonged rain water leaks through their well pump conduit- I believe they no longer burry these conduit entrances because this is an inherent problem. That said a leak is rare and only a couple times have is been anything beyond a small puddle (both during storms after an abnormally long period of rain).

Another, though rather extreme- their neighbors had the misfortune of the heating oil company improperly filling their tanks,
Resulting in overfilling them, somehow managed to pumping an enormous amount of oil into their basement- an absolute disaster to say the least. Surprisingly not the first time this company has done this.

If someone wanted to rob their house, the basement would be a goldmine for a tool thief- many 10’s of thousands of $. If they manage to hide their identity from the outdoor cameras, they probably won’t expect cameras in the basement.
 
AGPharmD said:
They do turn off water and hot water heater when they leave for more than a couple days unless it’s summer and the forecast suggests the pool may evaporate too much and the pool guy will need to add water. This is especially true if they’re gone for more than a week (or a couple years ago when there was a slow leak, since fixed). If the water level drops below the skimmer you risk losing prime and burning out the filter pump (not cheap).

The hot water heater, even if shut off
will still have water in it and could still cause a mess if it spring a leak- I believe they have a 100gal tank (big house). They also have an issue fairly common in their area where after prolonged rain water leaks through their well pump conduit- I believe they no longer burry these conduit entrances because this is an inherent problem. That said a leak is rare and only a couple times have is been anything beyond a small puddle (both during storms after an abnormally long period of rain).

Another, though rather extreme- their neighbors had the misfortune of the heating oil company improperly filling their tanks,
Resulting in overfilling them, somehow managed to pumping an enormous amount of oil into their basement- an absolute disaster to say the least. Surprisingly not the first time this company has done this.

If someone wanted to rob their house, the basement would be a goldmine for a tool thief- many 10’s of thousands of $. If they manage to hide their identity from the outdoor cameras, they probably won’t expect cameras in the basement.
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I'd turn off the pool heater when gone. Not sure about the skimmer.
If turning off the well, the water heater MUST be turned off. If it's an electric water heater and you create an air space at the top, you'll burn out the heating element. If it's a gas/oil water heater and you create an air space you risk a tank explosion.

It kind of sounds like you're relying on cameras and may not have an intrusion alarm system (eg. Honeywell, DSC, ELK). I would change that.

I would also try to harden doors and windows to make it harder for someone to break in. Consider bars on the interior of the basement windows. Put sticks in the window tracks. Harden door jambs

Generally, but especially in the dark, digital zoom is going to be way less useful than you imagine.
 
tangent said:
Generally, but especially in the dark, digital zoom is going to be way less useful than you imagine.
Click to expand...
Giving yourself the ability to turn on a light in the basement remotely is worth considering.
 
Sounds like money is not a problem, how about a dust collection system, and air filtration. It can be expensive or not.
In a previous wood shop/garage I built my air filtration system from an old furnace blower.

Should do it for dads lungs if nothing else.
 
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