Installing a single fire sprinkler in Garage?

[SLYDIT]

thinking about putting a single (or possibly 2) sprinklers in the garage. the main water feed to the house comes in at the garage in 1" pipe so was thinking about tee'ing into that to feed the head(s).
I was just thinking about using some 1' or 3/4" galv pipe over the top of the garage and connecting into the main feed with a ball valve for isolation..

At this stage dont want to do a full house install/certified etc. just a couple of heads has to be better than nothing at all?

anyone DIY'd or got thier plumber to put something like this in?

 

[rkevins]

don't forget a drain brought near the floor with a drain valve so you can flush it

 

[n8n]

and I don't think I'd do something like this without a flow switch and tie in to alarm system. don't want water flowing in your garage for days if you go on vacation and it pops for some reason...

 

[SLYDIT]

and I don't think I'd do something like this without a flow switch and tie in to alarm system. don't want water flowing in your garage for days if you go on vacation and it pops for some reason...

good idea....(goes and checks ebay for solution..)

 

[n8n]

flow switches are common in commercial applications, are required by code. usually a double pole NO contact with a retard so that water pressure fluctuations do not set it off. really not a big deal. Potter is the name that comes to mind but there are undoubtedly plenty of others. If you already have a home alarm system that has fire points available you're good to go, just make sure you coordinate with your monitoring company.

 

[maynard9089]

Is would also put a good backflow preventor in place. The water in sprinkler system gets real nasty due to being in a stagnent environment and I wouldn't want to risk it entering my drinking water system.

 

[SLYDIT]

here the authorities say it must be s stand alone system thats inspected blardy blardy blah. It's absolutley stupid that they put barriers in the way of safety. sprinkler systems should be mandatory in new builds and only have a few basic requirements. here in NZ the code is practically a commercial spec that cost about $5000 to install.(mostly due to flow requirements) thats just crazy. you could integrate a domestic instal for about $1000. i just read a cost/benefit study from the authority itself saying domestic sprinklers should be less compliant....13 years later they are still the same.... NUTS!

 

[Norcal]

There are residential sprinklers & they are plumbed w/ plastic pipe, funny thing in a condo complex did some work at, they did not install sprinklers in the garage, when crawling in the attic there, was always worried that if was to step on the sprinkler pipe I would crack it. The pipe is made for fire sprinklers & a salmon color, BTW, fire sprinklers are not a DIY job, must have the proper license & certification.

 

[Jack Olsen]

There are also celing mounted foam extinguishers that are triggered in the same way a sprinkler is. I think Griot's sells them.

 

[mechan]

There are also celing mounted foam extinguishers that are triggered in the same way a sprinkler is. I think Griot's sells them.

This would be how I would go. Unless you are spot on with how you are going to install the system the chances of it being effective may be questionable. Also, I would wager your insurance company might not cover the water damage if you ended up with an accidental leak or head breaking at some point.

 

[jimindm]

I would guess unless you know some one, just getting a sprinkler head to plumb in, maybe a challenge.

Not saying that it could not help, but most sprinkler systems are on much larger piping than one inch. I am not sure that you would even get much spray out of one if it did pop. Even in a perfect system they are usually only intended to activate upon initial fire development.

Once more than a few are activated it slows to just a place for water to run out. That is until a pumper truck arrives to boost the pressure and flow through the system.

 

[mechan]

I would guess unless you know some one, just getting a sprinkler head to plumb in, maybe a challenge.

Not saying that it could not help, but most sprinkler systems are on much larger piping than one inch. I am not sure that you would even get much spray out of one if it did pop. Even in a perfect system they are usually only intended to activate upon initial fire development.

Once more than a few are activated it slows to just a place for water to run out. That is until a pumper truck arrives to boost the pressure and flow through the system.

Sprinkler heads are readily available on the internet and I am sure local supply houses. They are not super expensive maybe say around 5 to 6 per head. As a piping system goes they are fairly easy to put in. Not a bunch of flanges or welding they are typically comprised of screwed and vic'd piping for the majority of the system. It is usually all carbon pipe unless you go with that pex type piping. Tape and dope all of the screwed connections. A 1" header does not give you very much in the way water, but you would only get so much out of your well anyways. I believe that a single head puts out on average 15 to 20 gpm.

 

[SLYDIT]

just looked on youtube and the "majority" of systems use 1" or even 3/4" per head. as i will only have one or two sprinkler heads in the garage which is right on the main incomer, i'm thinking the flow will be ok.

 

[captain14]

About 15 GPM and a diameter of about 15 feet from the sprinler head in a designed system with sufficient flow. A wagon driver in my juristriction has to maintain 125 PSI with his pump while supplying the system.

Wheree are you located at? Place your area in the location.

Freezing weather will affect the system too if not in a heated area.

 

[mechan]

just looked on youtube and the "majority" of systems use 1" or even 3/4" per head. as i will only have one or two sprinkler heads in the garage which is right on the main incomer, i'm thinking the flow will be ok.

Maybe residential uses 1" lines for the headers, but commercial for sure does not. A lot of the branches are 1" lines though ...

If you are on a well you usually have a flow meter right as it comes in, so you should be able to see what your GPM are and whatever your PSI is coming out of your tank. I believe off from the well pump I am at 35 GPM or there abouts, but I am not sure of what the PSI is off the top of my head.

 

[SLYDIT]

we are on "high pressure" town water supply and the main water incomer is only about 25Feet from the front boundary where the water main is. flow wont be an issue for 1 or 2 heads...just wondering if anyone had home sprinklers/ what they used??

 

[mechan]

we are on "high pressure" town water supply and the main water incomer is only about 25Feet from the front boundary where the water main is. flow wont be an issue for 1 or 2 heads...just wondering if anyone had home sprinklers/ what they used??

http://www.tyco-fire.com/index.php?P=product&S=S4

Gives you the specs and sizing info for how much area you are trying to cover depending the style head you'd like to install.

 

[bigdav160]

There are also celing mounted foam extinguishers that are triggered in the same way a sprinkler is. I think Griot's sells them.

Can you provide a link? I've found the Flame Defender brand on Amazon. It seems to powdered chemical type. I want to mount a couple of these in my attic above my air handlers

 

[Dgkasmauskas]

Use a fire sprinkler contractor. There are hydraulic calculations that are needed and you'll need "dry fire sprinklers" not regular fire sprinklers. Too much to go into but do not DIY.

 

[maynard9089]

It would only need to be a dry system if the location were at risk of freezing. I would plumb it in 1" pipe with either 1 or 2 heads.

 

[RAYJAY]

is water the best way to do a garage..... i would think water and gas would not mix to well

 

[BHR4CE1]

There are also celing mounted foam extinguishers that are triggered in the same way a sprinkler is. I think Griot's sells them.

Yes. I have 4 of them mounted in my garage...

 

[plow]

I installed them in homes for years. Your water supply determines the size of pipe. However, on a 2 head system 1" will be fine. Residential sprinkler heads are designed for low pressure. We used a product called Blazemaster, It's CPVC pipe but listed for fire protection.PM me your addy and I'll send you a couple.

 

[holdover]

If you do not think a 1" pipe under 50lbs of pressure doesn't supply a lot of water stand in front of it while it is flowing. I installed a bunch of residential fire systems years ago and they are all still working just fine, including mine. It can be a DIY, IF you are capable of doing it. When I got started into this in the 70's I contacted the local professional fire sprinkler company for advice, they were happy to help telling me the max SQ Ft per head, pipe size etc etc. I bought all my heads from them and also flow meters etc to tie into alarm systems. For areas that are prone to freezing that part of the system is dry, there is a one way check valve in the heated section of the house, like one you would use on a well pump that has a small air compressor teed into the pipe that keeps appox 80 lbs of pressure on the dry part of the system(residential system). The pros recommended the compressor over just charging the line incase there was a small leak, there also is a air pressure gauge so you can monitor the pressure. It turns out to be overkill but cheap insurance from a pipe busting from freezing. The insurance companys, Liberty Mutual, Farmers etc usually give 10-15% discount for the systems. Also as a fireman I have seen what a drop of water can do at the right time, rather than a tanker full after the fire gets going.. I live in a rural area where the building inspectors are not so **** like they are in other places...

 

[Dgkasmauskas]

Look at statistics of where fires start that cause the most damage and where fires start that kill at www.NFPA.org

Here is a hint....it's NOT the garage.

You are asking for a world of headaches, not to mention that when you go to sell your house someday, a savy real estate agent will ask the local Code Official if it is installed correctly.

Per Intl Fire Code, to paraphrase....a voluntary fire protection system must meet Code (which references NFPA 13D and IPC 2904). Your "system" will not meet the Code. You'll have to pull it out before selling or bring entire house up to code, meaning fire sprinkler your house (which is what you want to do any way because if you are concerned with fires....most of them start in the habital areas of the home, not the garage.

 

[LB-1911]

I installed them in homes for years. Your water supply determines the size of pipe. However, on a 2 head system 1" will be fine. Residential sprinkler heads are designed for low pressure. We used a product called Blazemaster, It's CPVC pipe but listed for fire protection.PM me your addy and I'll send you a couple.

SLYDIT resides in New Zealand

Home Sprinklers
http://homesprinklers.fire.org.nz/home_owners.html


Homesafe
http://www.home-safe.co.nz/index.html

 

[LifeLongWNYer]

I probably know enough to be dangerous, but I've worked in a lot places with sprinklers. It seems that after every two or three heads, the pipe drops down a size, as you move to the end of the branch. I think the decreased size keeps the pressure up. Maybe a plumber can weigh in on that. So, if you are planning on only one or two heads, what ever size you use should carry the flow for those heads, but be careful about too many heads on too small a pipe.

Also, if there won't be heat in the space, you need to either make arrangements to have a "dry pipe" or some antifreeze in the pipes. Either of those require a valve to keep the air / antifreeze from flowing backwards and into the supply piping. Usually a dry pipe requires a connection to a "constantly on" air compressor.

I understand that even though a nonapproved sprinkler won't get a nod of joy from the insurance company, but it might help prevent a ( serious ) garage fire, like several mentioned in these pages.



.

 

[plow]

SLYDIT resides in New Zealand



Shipping not included!

 

[G_P]

Call your insurance company. They may not cover all the water damage even if the system is set off by fire. They may want proof its a certified system.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

[Riverside]

Yes. I have 4 of them mounted in my garage....

I have been trying to find more information about ceiling-mounted dry chemical fire extinguishers. BHR4CE1, where did you get yours? Here is the only place in the USA I have found them so far:

http://www.thehydrosource.com/flame...uishers.html?gclid=CMi7laDk3L4CFTBk7AodFSgA2w

They look like a simple, reasonably-priced solution that bypasses some of the complexities mentioned in this thread.