American Fire Sprinkler Association
12750 Merit Dr., Suite 350 Dallas TX 75251
Ph: (214) 349-5965 Fax: (214) 276-0908
------------------------------
TECHNICAL UPDATE
September 19, 2007
------------------------------
"Are cobwebs and dust considered foreign materials that sprinklers
must be free of and cleaned?"
We have reviewed NFPA 25, 2002 edition, as the applicable standard.
Our informal interpretation is that NFPA 25 does not quantify
unacceptable loading but loaded sprinklers must be tested or replaced.
Section 5.2.1.1.2 says that any loaded sprinkler shall be replaced.
Section A.5.2.1.1 recommends that severely loaded sprinklers should
be rejected (replaced) as part of the visual inspection. It
indicates that such sprinklers could be affected in their
distribution or other performance characteristics not addressed by
routine sample testing. It further recommends that lightly loaded
sprinklers could be permitted for continued use if samples are
selected for testing based on worst-case conditions and samples
successfully pass the tests. Section A.5.2 recommends that soot-
covered sprinklers be replaced because deposits can result in
corrosion of operating parts. There are no criteria in either NFPA 13
or 25 for cleaning sprinklers. The base requirement from NFPA 25 is
that loaded sprinklers be replaced. However, at the discretion of the
AHJ, samples of lightly loaded sprinklers can be submitted for
tested. Otherwise, all loaded sprinklers must be replaced.
-----------------
Technical Update is prepared by the Technical Services Dept. of the
AFSA: Vice President of Engineering and Technical Services Roland
Huggins, a PE registered in fire protection engineering; Phill Brown,
a NICET IV certified automatic sprinkler technician and NFPA
Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS) and Tom Wellen, a degreed
fire protection engineering technologist. This is provided with the
understanding that the AFSA assumes no liability for this opinion or
actions taken on it and they are not to be considered the official
position of the NFPA or its technical committees.
Copyright (c) 2007, American Fire Sprinkler Association. All
Rights Reserved
--------------------------
If you'd rather not receive future faxes from AFSA, fax your removal
request to Linda Dawson at Efax (214) 242-3155 or call toll free
(888) 839-4830 or send e-mail request @ [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Please include your company name and the specific fax numbers(s) at
which you do not wish to receive faxes from us. Our failure to
comply with your request may be unlawful.
_______________________________________________
Sprinklernotes mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklernotes
