Wet Pipe Fire Sprinkler System

Wet Pipe Fire Sprinkler System

Wet pipe sprinkler systems are the simplest and most common fire suppression method on the market today. This fire sprinkler system is cost efficient and low maintenance. They are comprised of pipes that constantly contain pressurized water.

When a sprinkler activates this water is immediately discharged onto the fire.  The first automatic, closed-type sprinkler head immediately discharges water, as more individual sprinkler heads are subsequently activated by heat, they too will discharge water onto the fire until it is controlled or extinguished.

Wet pipe fire sprinkler systems can be installed in buildings not susceptible to freezing (i.e., where temperatures are above 40 degrees Fahrenheit).  

Typically, a Fire Sprinkler Systems are made up from a series of components including; Stop Valve, Alarm Valve, Fire Sprinkler (head), Alarm Test Valve and Motorized Alarm Bell (Gong). In addition to this there are additional components that support this arrangement including a Valve Monitor, Pressure Switch and Flow Switch

As we noted, wet pipe sprinkler systems may be installed in any structure that is reliably maintained above 40 °F (4 °C), to automatically protect the structure, contents, and/or personnel from loss due to fire. Using water as its extinguishing agent, one wet system riser (or combined system riser) may cover as much as 52,000 square feet of floor area on any one floor, for light and ordinary hazard. (For extra hazard - hydraulically calculated, and storage occupancies, the limit is 40,000 square feet. For extra hazard - pipe schedule, the limit is 25,000 square feet.) Note that NFPA 13 limits the maximum area of each floor; it doesn’t limit the number of floors that can be protected by a single riser.

NFPA-13 provides the installation rules and characteristics that are unique to wet systems. Hydraulic calculations are required to verify that the system’s overall layout is compliant with the standard. A proper chapter of NFPA-13 discusses the procedures for calculating the hydraulic demand of the sprinkler system and for verifying whether the available water supply will meet the requirements.