American Fire Sprinkler Association
12750 Merit Dr., Suite 350 Dallas TX 75251
Ph: (214) 349-5965 Fax: (214) 276-0908
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TECHNICAL UPDATE
April 25, 2008
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"We have an existing sprinkler system with a riser larger then 4 inch
that was installed in the late 1970s. The system was installed without
a 2-inch main drain test valve and gauge. How does this effect an NFPA
25 inspection?"
We have reviewed the 2002 Edition of NFPA 25 that you have identified
as the applicable Standard. The 2 inch main drain valve is a
requirement on any sprinkler riser 4 inch or larger in size. A smaller
drain is required for riser or main sizes less than 4 inches. The lack
of this main drain valve means that the original installer of this
system did not properly installed it and as such the system is out of
the scope of NFPA 25.
The oldest edition of NFPA 13 that I have is the October 1, 1936
edition and at that time was called the NBFU Pamphlet No. 13. Section
452 of this pamphlet calls for a 2 inch test pipe. The next oldest
edition in my library is the June 1951 Edition where we will find the
requirement for a 2 inch drain pipe and valve in Section 442. As you
can see this requirement for the 2 inch main drain valve has been
around for a long time and was a requirement for a sprinkler system
installed in the 1970s. The lack of the main drain valve places this
existing system out of compliance with current NFPA 13 and NFPA 25
requirements as well as NFPA 13 requirements when the system was
originally installed. NFPA 25 inspection requirements are based on the
system that is being inspected having been properly installed to the
requirements of the NFPA Standards that were in affect at the time of
installation. It is not the intent of NFPA 25 to bring existing
systems into compliance. However, it is the intent that a deficiency
should be brought to the owner's attention. Another standard will have
to be referenced such as NFPA 13 for corrective action.
It is advisable to inform the owner of the system of this deficiency.
It is the owner's responsibility to have this problem corrected.
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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) 2008, American Fire Sprinkler Association. All Rights
Reserved
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