A New Fire Sprinkler Max Drain Flow Calculator

I was asked recently for a specific project how much flow the owner should anticipate coming from a building's main drain. 

There are just a few factors that play into exactly how much water to expect. Is the drain serving as the main drain for a system? Is it only serving an inspector's test? Is the drain off a 1-inch pipe or 2-inch pipe? How much pressure is on the system?

These are relatively easy to answer if you're familiar with the job, but each answer plays a role in determining how much water will come out of an open orifice.

This week, I simplified a few of these parameters to create a quick inspector's test and drain calculator for fire sprinkler systems.

This tool estimates the maximum amount of flow that could come from an inspector's test or main drain. It does not represent the actual amount of flow from a main drain or inspector's test. Read more about this challenge here.

With it, you can estimate the amount of flow that will come from an inspector's test (use the k-factor option) or from a drain (diameter option), for the purposes of figuring out drain solutions from these outlets.

​For our international audience I have incorporated real units from the get-go this time. It's a free tool that's now live on the site, here.

Give it a spin and let me know what you think in the comments here. 
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READ "THE TROUBLE WITH ESTIMATING MAIN DRAIN FLOW"

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Thanks & have a great week!