You are viewing an archived code
Loading...
All parts of the system shall be provided with indicating type valves so that any portion of the system can be taken out of service for repairs or in an emergency without interfering with the operation of the remainder of the system. Each system shall be provided with a gate valve so located as to control all sources of water supply except siamese connections.
Each floor and level of a building shall be provided with a separate control valve for that floor or level.
All valves in connections to water supplies and in supply pipes to sprinklers shall be outside screw and yoke or other indicating type except the valve at the connection to the city main.
Check valves shall be installed in all sources of water supply. They shall be straightway, wafer style, or silent pattern installed in horizontal piping unless of a type designed for installation in a vertical position.
A control valve shall be installed on each side of each check valve unless otherwise herein provided.
Where a gravity tank is located on a tower in a yard, the gate valve on the tank side of the check shall be of the outside screw and yoke type; where located on top or inside of a building both gate valves shall be of this type.
Where pressure tanks serve as a source of supply, a check valve shall be provided near the tank; no valve need be provided between the check valve and the tank.
Where a city main serves as a source of supply, no valve except the city gate valve need be provided on the street side of the check valve.
All siamese connections shall be connected to the system on the discharge side of all city control valves; the check valve shall be located as far as possible from the source of supply.
Valves controlling water supplies for sprinklers shall be located within building stairwells or in other locations where readily accessible. They shall not be located within a space occupied by an individual tenant unless the valve controls sprinklers located only within that space.
All valves in supply pipes to sprinkler systems shall be secured open. All valves shall be plainly marked to indicate the area controlled.
(Prior code § 91-24; Amend Coun. J. 10-30-96, p. 31216, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 9-6-17, p. 55278, Art. VII, § 25)
All sprinkler pipes and fittings shall be so installed that they can be completely drained. On wet pipe systems, sprinkler pipes may be installed level. In dry pipe systems and portions of pre-action systems subject to freezing, branch lines shall be pitched at least one- half inch per ten feet and mains shall be pitched at least one-quarter inch per ten feet.
Drain pipes for system risers and mains shall be not less in size than given in the following table:
Size of Riser or Main | Size of Drain |
Two inches or less | 3/4 inch |
Less than four inches but greater than 2 inches | 1 1/4 inches |
Four inches or greater | Two inches |
Where sectional or floor control valves are provided, they shall be provided with a drain sized as shown in the above table to drain that portion of the system controlled by the sectional valve.
Where installed underground, drains shall be galvanized with galvanized fittings or other corrosion resistant material. Where exposed to the weather they shall be fitted with hoods or elbows turned down to prevent stoppage with ice.
Drain pipes shall be so arranged as not to expose any portion of the sprinkler system to frost and shall be so connected that they will not overflow domestic or other piping. Direct connection shall not be made between sprinkler drains and sewers.
On wet systems all piping for sprinklers in excess of 20 which may be trapped, shall have a separate drain valve and drain connection; piping for 20 or less sprinklers shall be provided with non-ferrous drain plugs except the drop to an individual sprinkler head. On dry pipe systems, piping for sprinklers in excess of 20 which are trapped shall be equipped with a drain consisting of two one-inch valves separated by a 12-inch length of two-inch in diameter pipe. Where fewer than 20 sprinklers are trapped the drain may consist of a valve not smaller than one-half inch.
(Prior code § 91-25; Amend Coun. J. 10-30-96, p. 31216, § 1)
Hand hose to be used for fire protection only may be attached to sprinkler pipes. The pipe and valve supplying the hose shall be not less than one inch and not larger than one and one-half inch. The hose shall not be larger than one and one-half inch. The nozzle orifice shall not be larger than one-half inch except that an adjustable spray nozzle may be used. Hand hose shall not be connected to pipe less than two and one-half inches unless the system has been hydraulically designed to include the water discharged from the hose at the point where the hose is connected to the system. Hand hose shall not be connected to a dry system.
(Prior code § 91-26; Amend Coun. J. 10-30-96, p. 31216, § 1)
All piping shall be protected against corrosion. Sprinkler heads located in places where subject to corrosion shall be especially designed or protected against such corrosion.
Where pipe is used underground, the pipe shall be protected against corrosion.
(Prior code § 91-28; Amend Coun. J. 10-30-96, p. 31216, § 1)
A test pipe of not less than one inch diameter, with a smooth bore corrosion resistant outlet giving a flow equivalent to one sprinkler of a type having the smallest orifice installed in the system, shall be provided on wet sprinkler systems. This test pipe shall be connected to the end of the most remote branch line at the highest level of the system. There shall be a separate test pipe for each system. A test valve, which is not exposed to freezing, shall be provided to allow use of the connection.
A test pipe as provided above shall be installed in each dry sprinkler system. The test valve shall be equipped with a brass plug or a nipple and cap.
(Prior code § 91-29; Amend Coun. J. 10-30-96, p. 31216, § 1)
In high-rise buildings the test pipe for a sprinkler system may be placed at the water flow switch or the valve controlling the sprinklers for an individual floor or portion of a floor. The test connection shall be a listed sight test connection utilizing an orifice equivalent to a sprinkler of a type having the smallest orifice used in the system. The test connection shall terminate at a drain capable of accepting full flow of one sprinkler under system pressure.
(Added Coun. J. 10-30-96, p. 31216, § 1)
A dry pipe system shall be permitted only where heat is not adequate to prevent freezing of water in all or sections of a system. If the sprinklers in such unheated spaces are 25 percent or less of the total number of sprinklers required on a system having a total of 100 or more sprinklers, only such 25 percent or less shall be on the dry system and the remainder shall be on the wet system.
The dry pipe system shall be isolated from the water supplies (or from the wet portion of the system, if a combined wet and dry pipe system) by a dry pipe valve located at an accessible point as near as practicable to the dry system, adequately protected against mechanical injury and freezing.
(Prior code § 91-30; Amend Coun. J. 10-30-96, p. 31216, § 1)
No more than 500 sprinklers shall be controlled by one dry pipe valve. The capacities given below for various sizes of pipe shall be used to calculate the capacity of a system.
Capacity Per Foot of Pipe | ||
Diameter | Gallons | |
Schedule 40 | Schedule 10 | |
Capacity Per Foot of Pipe | ||
Diameter | Gallons | |
Schedule 40 | Schedule 10 | |
1 in. | .045 | .049 |
1 1/4 in. | .078 | .085 |
1 1/2 in. | .106 | .115 |
2 in. | .174 | .190 |
2 1/2 in. | .248 | .283 |
3 in. | .383 | .433 |
3 1/2 in. | .513 | .576 |
4 in. | .660 | .740 |
5 in. | 1.040 | 1.144 |
6 in. | 1.501 | 1.649 |
8 in. | 2.66 | 2.776 |
Gridded dry pipe systems shall not be permitted.
(Prior code § 91-31; Amend Coun. J. 10-30-96, p. 31216, § 1)
Dry pipe valves controlling systems having a capacity of more than 500 gallons shall be provided with a quick opening device. The quick opening device shall be located as close as possible to the dry pipe valve while providing protection to the restriction orifice and other operating parts against submergence in water resulting from system drainage or priming. A soft disc globe or angle valve shall be installed in the connection between the dry pipe valve and the quick opening device. A check valve shall be provided also in the connection between quick opening device and the intermediate chamber of the dry pipe valve to prevent the escape of water if the dry valve should trip with the quick opening device disconnected. If the quick opening device requires a pressure feedback from the intermediate chamber, a valve type that will clearly indicate whether it is opened or closed shall be permitted in place of the check valve.
(Prior code § 91-32; Amend Coun. J. 10-30-96, p. 31216, § 1)
Sprinkler piping in small unheated areas exposed to frost shall be filled with pure glycerine solution only. The total number of sprinklers in such areas shall not exceed 20. A durable sign or metal tag shall be firmly attached to the solution filling connection plainly marked “THE CITY CODE REQUIRES THE USE OF A PURE GLYCERINE SOLUTION ONLY”.
The sprinklers on the piping filled with glycerine shall be below the interface between the water and antifreeze solutions provided that sprinklers may be located above the interface between the water and the antifreeze when a check value with a one-thirty-second inch hole in the clapper is provided in a U-loop. A water control valve and two small solution test valves shall be provided.
(Prior code § 91-33; Amend Coun. J. 10-30-96, p. 31216, § 1)
There shall be provided dial spring pressure gauges in each sprinkler system on the riser above and below the alarm valve if so equipped, at the system main drain; at each main drain associated with a floor control valve; at the pressure tanks and in each independent pipe from the air supply to dry pipe systems.
Gauges shall be graduated from zero to a pressure approximately double the normal working pressure of the system to which they are connected. Pressure gauges shall have a connection to the sprinkler system not less than one-quarter inch. Each gauge connection shall be equipped with a shutoff valve and provision for draining.
(Prior code § 91-34; Amend Coun. J. 10-30-96, p. 31216, § 1)
A brass relief valve not less than one and one-half inches in size shall be installed at the filling pump, set to relieve pressures ten percent in excess of the pressure at the pump when the pressure tank is under normal working pressure.
A brass relief valve not less than three-fourths inch in size set to relieve pressures ten percent in excess of the normal pressure shall be installed in the air pipe between the check valve and the air compressor.
(Prior code § 91-35; Amend Coun. J. 10-30-96, p. 31216, § 1)
Loading...