This all went down a little more than 10 years ago. Wonder if there has been any follow up testing to see if the problem has gotten worse regarding the failure rates at the various pressures? Wonder if there is an increased probability of actual failure in actual systems under real conditions?
I believe in the beginning many thought it is a problem but discounted because as the pressure rose the failure dropped quick. And it was real small at the pressure normally on systems and only 1 or 2 heads usually operate. Like our AHJ Dave pointed out if you are at 7 psi I think you have a much bigger problem. But if there are failures at larger rates at say 50 psi maybe that is now really the problem that wasn't there years ago. Chris Cahill, P.E. Fire Protection Engineer Sentry Fire Protection, Inc. 763-658-4483 763-658-4921 fax Email: [email protected] Mail: P.O. Box 69 Waverly, MN 55390 Location: 4439 Hwy 12 SW Waverly, MN 55390 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of David de Vries Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2009 3:29 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Chewable topic.....Omegas Yes, there are still plenty of Omegas and the other Central o-ring sprinklers out there. Tested new, they are supposed to open at 5 psi; used ones like the 50 year old samples sent to UL are supposed to operate at 7 psi. Among the o-ring sprinklers, there were reported failures as high as 70 psi, I believe. UL reported ones in the lab that did not open at 40+ psi. Not common, but a few anyhow. If you are the one in a hotel room with only one sprinkler and it is one of those 40+, you might have a problem in a fire. BTW there was a model by RASCO that at first glance looked a lot like an Omega. I do not think the RASCO had any problem. Dave David A. de Vries, P.E., CSP Firetech Engineering Incorporated 2715 Harrison St. Evanston, IL 60201 Tel: 847-733-0944 Fax: 847-866-6255 --- On Thu, 9/17/09, Autry, David <[email protected]> wrote: From: Autry, David <[email protected]> Subject: RE: Chewable topic.....Omegas To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Date: Thursday, September 17, 2009, 10:11 AM If I remember correctly, the Omegas wouldn't open at 7 psi. The one I set off from my collection seems to stick on the o-ring, but otherwise worked fine. If you only have 7 psi on your sprinklers, you've got bigger problems than "sticky" o-rings. (see sawmill from yesterday's post) David Autry Plans Examiner Nebraska State Fire Marshal's Office 246 S. 14th Street Lincoln, NE 68508 402-471-9659 402-471-3118 fax www.sfm.ne.gov ** Note new email address: [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ben Young Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2009 10:00 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Chewable topic.....Omegas When I worked in Raleigh, we pulled some out of the basement of a church downtown. This was during a renovation of the basement space to turn it into a donation center, so it wasn't like they were only doing this because they were Omegas. I managed to snag four from the dumpster for my collection. The one that I set off with a lighter did manage to pop open, which was nice to know. This was a little over three years ago now. The other interesting thing about this church was that they had sprinkler protection in the steeple, and instead of using an antifreeze or small dry system, they opted to use a non-listed recirculation pump to keep the piping from freezing during the winter. The amazing thing is that the city of Raleigh inspectors allowed this. If you ever have the pleasure of working in Raleigh, you will know why that is. -Ben On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 10:26 AM, Ron Greenman <[email protected]>wrote: > We have eleven in the college where I work in an otherwise > unsprinklered building. Four are along a wall in an office. They used > to "protect" an opening/pass thru. The other seven are on one side of > a double door that opens into the public side of the financial aid > office. They used to "protect" something else also but I need to start > working and the story is long and rambling. You are saved by the > bell. > > On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 6:24 AM, Chris Cahill <[email protected]> > wrote: > > For a small company we find them often enough. Maybe a new site every > > couple weeks. Then there are a bunch of regulars that elected not to > > replace. > > > > Chris Cahill, P.E. > > Fire Protection Engineer > > Sentry Fire Protection, Inc. > > > > 763-658-4483 > > 763-658-4921 fax > > > > Email: [email protected] > > > > Mail: P.O. Box 69 > > Waverly, MN 55390 > > > > Location: 4439 Hwy 12 SW > > Waverly, MN 55390 > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [email protected] > > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Todd > Williams > > Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2009 8:08 AM > > To: [email protected] > > Subject: Chewable topic.....Omegas > > > > I walked into a school to do a small consulting job regarding > > obstructions and discovered that they still had Omega sprinklers > > installed. (My immediate sarcastic reaction was that since there is a > > good chance the Omegas may not work, do the drain pipes really cause > > an obstruction?) How many of you out there are still finding Omegas > > installed? Any statistics on how many were sold vs. how many were > > replaced under the program? > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Sprinklerforum mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum > > > > For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] > > > > To Unsubscribe, send an email > to:[email protected]<to%3asprinklerforum-requ...@fire sprinkler.org> > > (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) > > > > > > -- > Ron Greenman > Instructor > Fire Protection Engineering > Bates Technical College > Tacoma, WA > > Member: > SFPE, ASCET, NFPA, AFSA, NFSA AFAA, WSAFM > _______________________________________________ > Sprinklerforum mailing list > [email protected] > http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum > > For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] > > To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected]<to%3asprinklerforum-requ...@fire sprinkler.org> > (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) > _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
