Staying Safe at Christmas: What Your Fire Sprinkler System Should Be Tested for Before the Christmas Break

The Christmas break is a wonderful time to catch up with friends and family and have a bit of a break from work and other concerns of life, but it can come with its own stresses. Your home is a lot more of a fire risk than usual, especially if it's full of people, cooking, candles, and decorations. 

So, it’s important to make sure your home is as safe as possible before the Christmas period properly kicks off, so if something does go wrong, you reduce the chances of your family potentially getting hurt.

There’s also the fact that, while emergency services will still operate over the bank holidays, a lot of businesses will be shut down. So, getting things sorted sooner rather than later is the most reliable way to keep your home and your loved ones safe.

Why Sprinkler Testing is So Important

As well as getting your sprinklers checked out before the Christmas period, annual fire sprinkler testing is vital for making sure your sprinkler system works properly year-round.

The most important reason to get your fire sprinklers checked out and serviced by professionals is that it ensures your property is safe. Sprinklers save lives and even belongings. They also include a lot of different components that keep them working properly, and if even one thing goes wrong, your sprinkler system won’t be as effective as it needs to be.

You also need to consider the legal side of things. If your building requires sprinklers, it also needs to live up to fire sprinkler standards and regulations. 

Different Types of Fire Sprinkler Tests

When you look at how fire sprinklers work, you very quickly realise that a lot of things can go wrong. So it’s important to make sure that professionals are able to undergo the following tests on your fire sprinkler system. 

Visual Inspection

The quickest and simplest test is a visual inspection, and as you might expect, this doesn’t require a lot of physical contact. But it is a good way to look for visible damage, blockages, and other issues that could obstruct the water flow and compromise your fire sprinklers. This is typically the first test.

Dry Pipe Testing

As the Christmas season is famously in the middle of winter, you’d expect it to be cold. This can cause issues for sprinkler systems and make them less effective, so dry pipe testing checks that your sprinkler heads will activate even during freezing conditions.

This test works by adding air pressure to the pipes, which checks for leaks and the operation of the release valve.

Flow Testing

During flow testing, we’ll check the flow rate and pressure at different points in your fire sprinkler system. We can then compare our findings against specifications. This test makes sure that your sprinkler system has enough water to work properly and potentially put out fires.

Hydrostatic Testing

Much like the dry pipe testing, which uses air pressure, hydrostatic testing uses pressurised water to check for leaks, cracks, or other issues in the pipes and fittings. The water is forced inside at higher pressures, so if there’s an issue, it’ll show up.

Always get this test done after sprinkler repairs or upgrades to make sure the new pipes and fittings are connected securely.

Alarm Testing

During a fire, your sprinkler system detects heat and activates. It’s also linked to your alarm system, so as well as releasing water, it should kick your fire alarms into action. During a test, we will simulate an activation and make sure that your alarms are properly activated when they need to be.

Common Issues to Test For

So, these are some of the tests you should expect during a fire sprinkler inspection, but what are they looking for? Here are some of the problems our team might notice during a routine fire sprinkler servicing.

Corrosion and Aging

Moisture is the enemy of a lot of materials, and fire sprinkler systems have to contain a lot of water. This means that corrosion is a very common problem with fire sprinkler systems. It can cause rust as well as weakening of the pipes and fittings, which can, in turn, reduce water flow or even cause leaks and blockages. 

It’s much better to discover corrosion as well as other wear and tear during a test than during a fire.

Obstruction and Blockages

If your sprinkler heads are blocked, they won’t be able to distribute water correctly when you need them most, making them far less effective than they should be. We can clean away grime and other blockages in your system.

Water Pressure and Valve Issues

If your water pressure isn’t high enough, your sprinkler system might as well not be there. Or, on the other hand, if the water pressure is too high, this can damage your system and cause failures later down the line.

Another problem could be that your valves are stuck or damaged, which means that your system can’t properly regulate its water supply. This can cause water pressure issues, as well as other problems.

Sprinkler Coverage and Alignment

Depending on how your sprinkler system was installed, you might find that the pipes aren’t aligned properly, or that the sprinklers don’t actually cover your whole property. 

If you’ve just moved into a house with sprinklers, had an extension, or other major work, get your fire sprinkler system checked out as soon as possible.

Conclusion

There’s no point in delaying your fire sprinkler servicing and testing, especially during the Christmas period. 

You should get in touch right away to find out about how our team can test your sprinkler system, repair any damage, and make sure that it’s as safe as possible. After all, sprinklers save lives, but only if they work.