A Sprinkler System is totally dependent on its water supply. The water supply can vary from a connection to the town`s main to the installation of tanks and huge pumps.

For the purpose of this article we are only going to deal with the town`s main supply. The town`s main supplies the water to the system via an appropriately sized connection. This connection is normally valve at the point of connection so that it can be isolated if the need arises. The size of this connection is determined by the flow and pressure required for the correct operation of the system. This is determine by the hydraulic design – more on that later. It goes without saying that the water supply is the most important part of a fire sprinkler system .No water supply, no fire sprinkler system. I have been involve in design of numerous fire sprinkler systems.

Experienced in this field:

Over my years in the industry and it all starts with the water supply. The first thing to ascertain before you proceed with the either the design or installation is quality of water supply. I have known of instances when systems could not be install. It is because water supply was not sufficient and was not capable of being improve by use of pump. Once you have the water supply to the building you need a control valve set. This contains another isolation valve for the purpose of quickly shutting down the system in the event of a false activation or after a genuine activation in order to allow the system to be reset. It also allows for the system to shut down for maintenance purposes. At this point there is also an alarm valve which is a modified check valve.

What are its uses and benefits?

This serves the purpose of keeping the system charged with water. Owing to it is special design, allowing for a hydraulic gong to activate when the system operates. This gives a local warning of the activation. Located on this alarm valve is large drain port which allows system to be drain as and when necessary. We also have Direct Brigade Alarm which is an electrical device that monitors the state of the fire sprinkler system. It notifies the fire brigade when the system activates and also has a defect function. It warns the service agent of any pressure drop or other potential problems. If the system is pressurize above town`s main pressure then there will also be a small system booster pump. There are also many other smaller ancillary valves. Above the control valves the system covers the entirety of the building with pipe and sprinkler heads.

Each pipe is hydraulically calculate to make the most of the available water supply. The pipe weaves from the valves to its final point in varying sizes. The larger pipes are call mains and the smaller pipes are call ranges. Each pipe is support with seismically design supports to maximize its ability to withstand earthquakes and other destructive forces.