How To Know Whether Your Sprinklers Are Ready for a Fire

1/13/2021 (Permalink)

You must perform fire sprinkler tests

Below Are Some Of the Tests You Should Regularly Perform

A fire sprinkler system is a valuable piece of your Rhoadsville, VA, commercial building. It can prevent a small blaze from turning into a massive and destructive fire. While you may need fire sprinkler cleanup services after the system activates, this is a small price to pay compared to the thousands of dollars in damage that flames could cause.
You thus need to make sure that your sprinklers are ready for a potential emergency. That is why sprinkler tests are required by the National Fire Protection Association. Below are some of the tests you should regularly perform.

1. Water Flow Test
Simply open the inspector's test valve and let the water flow for 60 seconds. Ideally, the alarm should sound and send a signal to the local fire station. Before you perform this quarterly test, contact the fire department so it knows not to respond to the property.

2. Main Drain Test
This test of the fire sprinkler system checks both the drain valves and the water supply. To start, record the static pressure indicated on the gauge. Then let the water in the main valve run until the pressure stabilizes. Look at the pressure again before slowly closing the valve. The difference between the two pressure readings should be less than 10 percent. A larger variance could mean a dropped gate or obstruction.

3. Trip Test
A partial dry pipe valve trip test should be done each year. Ideally, you should conduct the test when the weather is warmer to limit freezing. Partially open the control valve and make sure the system trips within one minute.
You should also do a full trip test every three years. This is the same as the partial test but requires you to fully open the control valve so the water flows.
To comply with insurance requirements and NFPA regulations, you must perform fire sprinkler tests. You can then rest assured that your fire suppression system will work during a blaze.