5-year 150psi 2-hour Hydrostatic Test on a Fire Department Connection

[@waydewhittaker4997]

Did you know that the 150 psi testis ONLY for sprinkler FDCs and not sprinkler / standpipe combo FDCs? We just learned this. The code book is confusing, but it is there. 200 psi minimum or 50 psi above working pressure.

[@FireSprinklerSifu]

This is true, but only for MANUAL and SEMI-AUTOMATIC DRY standpipe systems (at least that’s what’s in NFPA 25 (2014 edition). It’s very possible this may have changed in later codebooks and if so I apologize. My jurisdiction goes off of NFPA 25 (2014 edition) so that’s the one that I’m most knowledgeable on. 6.3.2.1 Hydrostatic tests of not less than 200 psi (13.8 bar) pressure for 2 hours, or at 50 psi (3.4 bar) in excess of the maximum pressure, where maximum pressure is in excess of 150 psi (10.3 bar), shall be conducted ever 5 years on manual standpipe systems and semiautomatic dry standpipe systems, including piping in the fire department connection. I wish I remembered to mention that in the video. I honestly made these videos on the fly while on site and didn’t have any lesson plan… I just showed up on site and realized I had some spare time to kill and decided to make a video.

[@newtonasanchez-rodriguez1989]

In my jurisdiction you have to pump the FDC as well

[@BPH435]

Extremely informative

[@FireSprinklerSifu]

Thanks I appreciate it!

[@BPH435]

​@@FireSprinklerSifu can you give a demonstration of when doing a flow test through the FDC here in New York we have to flip the check valve when doing so, I saw it done once just looking to lock in the procedure of doing so

[@FireSprinklerSifu]

​@@BPH435 Hey bro, so I had to do a little bit of digging and it seems as though NYC fire code refers to NFPA 25 (2017 edition) as the accepted standard. There is nothing in NFPA 25 (2017 edition) that actually states that the FDC check valve needs to be flipped around when doing a hydrostatic test. There's actually nothing in NFPA 25 (2017 edition) that actually requires a residual (flowing) pressure test on the FDC piping either. If this is how the fire marshals in your municipality demand for the test to be done then so be it, however there is nothing in NFPA 25 to support doing the hydrostatic test this way. One thing I didn't mention in my video was that this 150psi test only applies to FDC's for sprinkler systems. When testing FDC's for standpipe systems, its actually a minimum 200psi hydrostatic test or 50psi in excess of normal working system pressure (whichever is greater). Personally, before setting up pumps/flipping the check valve around I would simply put regular city water supply pressure on the FDC piping just as a preliminary test to see if there's any leaks (why go through the hassle of draining/flipping checks/setting up pumps if there is a leak in the system piping which can be detected by simply hooking up a garden hose?). That being said there's pro's and con's to flipping the check valve. Cons: - It's time consuming flipping the check as it requires a full system drain down - additional materials may be required when flipping the check valve (especially flanged checks as they may require replacement gaskets) - It's putting the entire building at risk in the event of a fire as it requires a full system drain down while you are flipping the check valve around - It's putting the entire building at risk for the entire time that the FDC check valve is reversed because now in the event of a fire, the fire department themselves cannot hook up to it because with the check valve reversed, they simply cannot pump water into the building. - It may not be feasible to do so especially on high pressure systems where a heavy duty 6" swing check valve weighs 200lb - After flipping the check valve, if your normal system pressure matches/exceeds your hydrostatic test pressure you would actually want to isolate and drain down the system pressure (which would now be supply pressure) to below your testing pressure- otherwise if there is a small leak happening on your FDC piping that is inaccessible/not visible (perhaps behind a wall), you would have no idea its leaking. Pros: - By flipping the check valve around, it gives you the opportunity to actually "flush" your fdc piping system- but this would only work with a siamese style pump head where there is one single clapper that flips back and forth between the two 2-1/2" hose connections. If you have the same style pump head as the one in my video... how would you keep those two 2-1/2' check valves in the open position while simultaneously trying to flush? As seen in the video I used a piece of pipe to wedge those two 2-1/2" check valves open to perform the hydrostatic test. If I were to flip the check valve around and FLUSH that pipe, odds are those two pieces of pipe would just get flushed out almost instantly and then those check valves would just close on themselves. So to answer your question, can the test be performed by flipping the FDC check valve around? Yes it can be done. Is it necessary to do so as per NFPA 25 (2017 edition), no it is not. IF the fire department is hellbent on doing it this way for the sole purpose of flushing the pipe to ensure there are no obstructions, I would ask them if its possible to perform an internal obstruction investigation on your fire department connection piping to verify 100% that it is not obstructed by anything. As per NFPA 25 (2017 edition) there is no requirement for any residual flow test on the Fire Department Connection piping, only a 2-hour hydrostatic test (150psi for sprinkler, 200psi or greater for standpipe). NFPA 25 (2017 edition) Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems. 6.3.2 Hydrostatic Tests. (standpipe) 6.3.2.1* Hydrostatic tests of not less than 200 psi (13.8 bar) pressure for 2 hours, or at 50 psi (3.4 bar) in excess of the maximum pressure, where maximum pressure is in excess of 150 psi (10.3 bar), shall be conducted every 5 years on manual standpipe systems and semiautomatic dry standpipe systems, including piping in the ƒre department connection. 13.8.5 The piping from the fire department connection to the fire department check valve shall be hydrostatically tested at 150 psi (10 bar) for 2 hours at least once every 5 years. Table 13.11.1 Fire department connection- sprinkler system(s). Inspection, Test, and Maintenance Procedures. (1) Isolate and hydrostatic test for 2 hours at 150psi (10 bar). (2) Main drain test (only when a control valve has been closed) Fire department connection- other than sprinkler system(s) Inspection, Test, and Maintenance Procedures. (1) Isolate and hydrostatic test for 2 hours at 50 psi (3.5 bar) above the normal working pressure [200 psi (14 bar) minimum]. (2) Main drain test (only when a control valve has been closed) Hopefully that answers your question brother.

[@BPH435]

Bro, I can't say how much I appreciate and respect your Knowledge and thoroughness in this Trade of ours!! I love it Bro!! Really I was literally just watching your link to the first video when j saw your response to my question.. So in New York the Fire inspectors want to see the flow just to ensure that the water is coming out clear.. they literally watch it for no more than 5 minutes and then we wrap it up and pressurize the system all this is done with the check valve out as you said there is alot of risk that is ran by doing this I will in the future fill up with air first to ensure there is no leaks or missing pipe before going straight to it.. we do the same similar procedure that you do with the pipes holding open the check valves on the FDC what we do is we screw an piece of 2½ in diameter pipe into an manifold Rig equipped with a gauge and a hose cock on both of the Threads of the FDC and then proceed to Pump up the System either with a Hydrostatic pump or turn the pump on until whoever is outside confirms that we have reached our desired PSI. Now that you have confirmed by code we do not have to flow I will be citing this to all inspectors when doing future 5 Year FDC test.. I'm. Currently studying for my Nicet 1 in Sprinkler so I have to get savvy with code. Looking forward to more of your knowledge and videos I truly, truly appreciate it!!!

[@BPH435]

Quick question to pressurize the wet side of the check valve do you first isolate everything that I'd above the check valve meaning if your able to isolate the 1st Floor you isolate then do you torn on the pump or is it another procedure you take?

[@newtonasanchez-rodriguez1989]

That spare box is a relic…Grinnell…heck the entire main is a relic.

[@jerryflanigan7351]

I think this is great information. We perform 5 year hydrostatic testing and it is difficult to pull the flanged check valves apart to put that flange on them. This would also work here in az where you have a remote fdc connection and the check valve is just below the siamese. Thank you

[@kevinsandoval8313]

Hey man! Thanks for explaining everything with details 👍

[@albertcollazo3548]

Great content!

[@FireSprinklerSifu]

Thanks brother! I’m glad you like it!

[@mikerod5396]

Good information, thanks, this was helpful and entertaining, water leaks really do happen and they need to be dealt with. Like you said expect and plan for them. The velocity check valve has me a little puzzled since on our dry valve trim work they are called automatic drain valves. This type of operation doesn't sound 'automatic' to me. Unlike the ball check valve which is in my mind very automatic if installed horizontally!

[@FireSprinklerSifu]

Thanks for the compliments and the comment! The velocity drip check and ball drip are honestly very similar in how they function. Both of them will allow a small volume of water to flow through them, however if they are under a pressure (flowing water from the alarm line of a dry pipe valve tripping or if the fire department connection piping is under pressure in the event that the fire department does indeed hook up to the FDC to try and pump water into the building). The major differences between them is that the ball drip will seal up and there's no means to "reset" it, you simply need to take pressure off of the pipe to the point where that ball will roll itself out of that concave shaped cavity. A velocity drip check on the other hand obviously has that plunger which you can use to manually force that ball out of the concave cavity if it is under pressure. Depending on how your dry pipe valve is trimmed, the velocity drip check "should" eventually automatically drain after pressure is removed from the alarm line piping. Velocity drips are really just designed to "automatically" drain small amounts of water in the event that the clapper seat on a dry pipe valve or preaction/deluge valve starts passing small amounts of air/water from either the supply side or system side of the clapper. If you notice air constantly leaking from the velocity check, you know its system air dumping. If you see water leaking from the velocity check... it could be either supply water leaking past the clapper seat, or you could still possibly be the system side priming water passing; I would say wait to see if the water stops but really it doesn't matter, inspect the brass clapper itself to see if it's warped. If not, service or replace the clapper rubber and that should fix the issue. At somepoint in time you'll hear fitters tell you if you're having a hard time trying to get air back on the dry pipe valve, they'll tell you to remove the velocity drip and install a 1/2" ball valve there and leave it closed while putting air back on (or just use a spare sprinkler head out of the headbox to plug it up). Once you get to 10psi system air or so they'll say throttle open/closed the ball valve and it'll suck the clapper seat down. When trying to put priming water/air back on the system, the velocity drip check will sometimes dump system air and/or priming water so you just need a means of temporarily plugging off the alarm line to lock in that priming water/system air while the system pumps up to push down on that clapper seat to create a seal. **You NEED to remember to remove pressure off of the alarm line before opening the main control valve and putting water back on the supply side of the clapper (hence why a ball valve is preferred over just plugging the alarm line with a sprinkler head or 1/2" plug)... if you forget then you're just going to end up tripping your dry pipe valve because you've essentially just created an accelerator on the alarm line piping** Hopefully that answered your question. Its sometimes easiest to just get your hands on the parts and examine them yourself so you can see how they work.

[@charlesworrell5946]

Nice details

[@FireSprinklerSifu]

Thanks for the comment and compliment, I really appreciate it!

[@AshSuper]

Is it okay if I connect the FDC below the Riser?

[@FireSprinklerSifu]

Yup. It’s quite common to see the FDC tie in below the riser and into the header itself which allows one single FDC to supply multiple system risers. It’s only acceptable to tie into the header if the header itself is checked (either with a backflow or check valve). If the header is not checked and Fire Department were to try and pump water into the building, that pressure would simply dissipate into the water supply and not actually provide any additional volume/pressure into the systems itself. Furthermore the Fire Department Connection SHALL be tied in BELOW any dry pipe valve. It is unacceptable to tie in the Fire Department Connection downstream of a dry pipe valve. If I’m not mistaken, the reason for this is because the hammer of pressure from the Fire Department Connection can actually warp/damage the dry pipe valve clapper (hence the reason why when performing a 200psi hydrostatic test on a dry system you must ensure the clapper remains OPEN when performing the test to not damage the clapper).

[@donniebrewer8050]

Why are you using 150 psi instead of 200psi?

[@FireSprinklerSifu]

That’s a great question, I was waiting for it because I knew someone would ask that eventually and I forgot to clarify in the video; if the Fire Department Connection supplies a sprinkler system, then it needs to be pressure tested at a minimum of 150psi as per NFPA25. However, if the Fire Department Connection supplies Standpipe, then the Fire Department Connection needs to be tested at a minimum of 200psi or 50psi in excess of normal system pressure. So in this video this system was solely a sprinkler system which is why I only pressure tested to 150psi. Thanks for the comment and great question! I really wish I remembered to point that out in the video.

[@penguinworldorder3545]

What if it's a combo ?