One of the most-requested tool features was not technical - we wanted color! I'm happy to say that with today's new updated release of the MeyerFire Toolkit we now have just that - different color options to match your company's look:

Quick but big post today - we've just completed our most-requested tool to date - I'm happy to announce the System Estimator.

​We've taken the Remote Area Analyzer (free online, here), added in hose allowances, main losses, elevation losses, riser details, and underground for an estimator tool that allows k-factor, spacing, density, system type, etc with updated system pressure and flow demands, all in real-time!

Check out a very rough video snapshot of real-time pressure and flow updates here:
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If you're a toolkit subscriber - great! Get the new tool right now by clicking the download link below:

Have you ever needed to do a quick estimate for a job, and not had a couple spare hours to lay out and calculate a system?

Even for a very basic remote area, laying out sprinklers & pipe, adding fitting, flow, control valve, and backflow losses, a source, and then hydraulically calculating is smoothly - easily can take an hour or more. Now take that same design and change it to a dry system, or at a different density. If you're like me, tweaking sprinkler spacing, k-factors, sprinkler heights, remote area sizes, and c-factors alone can take significant iteration just to get an idea of pressure & flow demand.

With this new estimator you can adjust all of those items in one-click, and see the immediate impact of each decision. It's built for estimators, but it can be a very helpful tool for new designers & engineers to quickly grasp design decisions well before a system has to be completely laid out and detailed.

Any feedback, let me know! As always, thanks for reading & have a great rest of your week.

Last week I introduced a Remote Area Analyzer that evaluates remote area size and shape. 

This week could possibly be the biggest and best expansion of any tool created thus far. I'm thrilled to present a beta version of our Sprinkler Estimator tool. 

With a few default adjustments, you can quickly get a remote area's pressure and flow demand, remote area shape, and have a live schematic of the calculation that updates without a need for "re-running" the calculation. 

For a long time now I've wanted a tool where I could quickly estimate pipe sizes and a remote area's demands before I started laying out the system so that I could be as efficient in my design workflow as possible. What typically takes me 30 minutes to a couple hours can now be gathered in less than 30 seconds.

Another fun application? Want to see what effect k-factors have on your calculation? What about long sprigs? Or what about pipe schedule changes? Wet versus dry systems? What about a consistent branch size versus changing pipe diameters? With this tool you can adjust parameters with just a click and see the live impact it has on your calculation.

I'm really not trying to hard sell this one, I've just had my morning coffee and I'm thrilled to have you give it a try. It's been something I've thought about and developed piece by piece for a couple years now. 

The best way to experience it is with the downloadable version of the Toolkit. You can download the latest full version here. The downloadable version has a split-screen that shows the live preview and live calculated results while also allowing you to adjust parameters... no scrolling required.

Click here to give it a try on our cloud version, and shoot me an email at joe@meyerfire.com if you have any feedback or suggestions.

Thanks and I hope you have a great week!

When I initially set up a hydraulic calculation for a tree-style sprinkler system, there are a few key points I have to consider. All of these points today and the tool are specifically for tree systems (not gridded).

First, we need to determine what the remote area actually is. In NFPA 13, for instance, there are multiple adjustments (quick-response sprinklers, dry systems, sloped systems, high-temperature, etc.). Even if we start with a 1,500 sqft remote area, it could look a lot different after multiple adjustments.

Second, we need to determine the minimum length of the remote area along a branch line. This is a relatively straightforward at 1.2 x √ (remote area size), but it's still another hand-calculation that needs to take place.

We then round up to determine the sprinklers along the first branch line, then expand by branch lines to figure out how many sprinklers are actually in a calculation.

The tool I'm introducing today (which is also now available on the Toolkit) is a schematic-level remote area analyzer that will apply multiple adjustments and quickly estimate the important parameters associated with a remote area.

With only a few quick inputs, you'll see an initial remote area laid out with a live schematic of your situation. Click either of the images below to give it a try:

If you already have the toolkit, you can download this and three other recently added tools in today's Toolkit update here. If you're interested in giving this tool a try, check it out here. I'll have it up without any login credentials for a couple months.

In time, I'm looking forward to expanding this tool to have some powerful estimating abilities. 

Any suggestions, tips or feedback? Post a comment or shoot me an email at joe@meyerfire.com. 

A Hurting World at Large
Just like I don't ask hollywood to be my moral compass, you don't come here for my my personal opinions. I get it. That said there has been a tremendous amount of unrest here locally, nationally, and worldwide this past week.

I think there's a major feeling that our collective perspective has to improve. I want to do better and be part of a better future for everyone. I want you to know that whoever you are and wherever you are, I very much care about you and your well being. You have tremendous value. Hope you and yours are safe, healthy, and doing well.

Thanks & I hope you have a great week.

First - last week I put together a draft PDF cheatsheet for fire alarm design in elevators. Lots of great response to that tool. One major flub on my part - I didn't actually link to it. Here's an actual working hyperlink (fingers crossed).

K-Factor & Pressure Versus Area & Density
One of the hand calculations I do frequently when laying out sprinkler systems is comparing the k-factor, minimum pressures, and resulting flow for the sprinkler. It comes up all the time with residential-style, extended coverage, special application, and storage sprinklers.

Many hydraulic calculation programs do this comparison automatically. That being said, it is important to understand and compare the minimum flow from sprinklers for a hydraulic calculation.

Reducing unnecessary flow from a sprinkler reduces the total calculated flow from a system, which has major impacts on pipe sizing for some branch lines, cross mains, feed mains, and even the underground service size.

Driver #1: K-Factor and Minimum Pressure
There are two drivers for the actual minimum flow that must come from a fire sprinkler.

The first driver is the K-Factor and Minimum Pressure. This equation is

Last spring I created a beta test tool for soffit obstructions to sprinklers. It was fairly basic using the dimensional rules for a soffit against a wall for a standard-spray pendent or upright sprinkler.

Thanks to some feedback and more input on this tool, I'm happy to debut it with new features. I've added code references from the 2007 to 2019 editions of NFPA 13, the different style sprinklers, and an updated visual diagram.

This tool is useful when there's a dropped soffit against a wall to determine whether the sprinkler will throw sufficiently underneath the soffit.

In the coming weeks I'll break out a code path for determining when each of these tools are used. For now, if you're familiar with the NFPA 13 Sections for Obstructions Against Walls then you'll recognize this tool's quick usefulness.

This tool stems from the Figures (b) and (c) for Obstructions Against Walls found in NFPA 13 Section 8.6.5.1.2 for Standard Spray Sprinklers, 8.8.5.1.2 and 8.9.5.1.4 for Extended Coverage Sidewall and Pendent/Uprights, and Sections 8.10.6.1.2 and 8.10.7.1.4 for Residential Sidewalls and Pendent/Uprights. 

Interested in getting access to every tool? Get the Toolkit here.

Know someone that might be interested in this tool? Send them a link! It's greatly appreciated.

​Have a great week!

Awhile back I researched and built a translator for various versions of NFPA 13.

It's built to quickly find where a code section has migrated between different editions of the standard. There's a free version here which connects the 2016 and the 2019 Editions of NFPA 13.

Based on feedback and the positive response to that tool, I've just finished a similar edition translator for all of the published versions of the International Building Code. It covers Chapters 1 through 11, 15 and 30. Here's a quick video of how it works:

If you're interested in giving this a try, you can get it as part of a 30-day trial for the MeyerFire Toolkit here. https://www.meyerfire.com/toolkit-trial.html. 

It's been busy around here tinkering with new tools since I went on my own in October of 2019. I am not by nature a programmer, but as the son of two accountants I'm pretty sure Microsoft Excel is just in my blood.

I've gotten lots of positive feedback from users on the Toolkit and I'm happy to announce this week some major improvements aside from the new IBC translator:

1. A La Carte Tools Coming
Some users aren't designers or engineers and would only use one or two tools. I get it. In the next couple weeks I'll be breaking out individual tools and pricing them for less, separately. The first one offered this way is the Water Supply Analysis tool that will be up this week.

2. Instant Activation Codes
One of the biggest frustrations I've had on the development side is with quirky activation code servers. They drive me nuts. Over the past month I've dramatically simplified the process, so that new purchases automatically get clear activation codes exactly 2 minutes after their purchase. Clean and simple and it's working much better than before.

3. Toolkit Going to $195 in February
With over a half-dozen new tools, the price of the Toolkit is going up to $195 starting in February. If you're interested but haven't bought yet, pick up a license now and you'll lock in your $150 subscription. 

4. New Licenses Are Multi-Device & Sharable with Coworkers
Lastly, based on the biggest piece of feedback I've gotten, with the $195 price-bump starting in February a single license will allow multiple installs, so that you can use on multiple devices and with members of your company.

If you have a design staff with multiple users, it only makes sense that you're able to use and share files with coworkers.

If you have a single-user license now and want to upgrade, shoot me an email at joe@meyerfire.com and we'll get the upgrade set up. Should you want to learn more about the Toolkit, you can do so here.

Hope you have a great rest of your week!

This time of year is just the best. 

I feel extremely fortunate to have three young kiddos at home, a supportive and all-around great family, and an extremely rewarding career in fire protection and doing what I do here at MeyerFire.com. Whether you subscribe, dabble occasionally on the forum, or just stop in to use tools here and there, THANK YOU for a really wonderful 2019.

One of the tasks of wrapping up a year is revisiting what resonated the most in 2019 of all the content here. If you just joined in this year or know someone who would benefit from this content, please consider sending a link.
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While we're at it, here are the Top Ten Tools & Articles of 2018 and the Top Ten Tools & Articles of 2017.

Hope you have a relaxing and rewarding holiday week wherever you call home!

I've been on a bit of a tool creation kick lately. Sorry, I just get excited sometimes.

This week I'm introducing a small portion of a much larger programming effort - this tool helps determine an adjusted fire sprinkler remote area based on the system type and density/area curves of NFPA 13. It can factor in the quick-response area reduction, sloped ceiling adjustment, double-interlock pre-action or dry increase, and high-temperature sprinkler decrease. I'll probably only have this up as a free version for a month or so before adding to it and incorporating the full tool in the Toolkit.

At the bottom of the tool you'll see a schematic remote area drawn with the parameters input. I'm using it when mocking up hydraulic calculations for estimation or when I'm first setting up a hydraulic calculation. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

If you don't see the tool below, click here.

This week I'm pulling back the curtain a little bit and showing a tool that is very much still under development. It's a water-storage tank sizer that incorporates a handful of decisions that go into water storage tank sizing.

I'd like to get it in front of you this week as I'm looking for feedback on how to improve this tool. There's not a lot of great documentation on how to size water storage tanks, but there are plenty of variables that impact proper water storage tank sizing.

With that said, check out the tool as part of our Toolkit package here:​

If you're in the water storage tank space and have tips or feedback, please email me at joe@meyerfire.com or comment here. I'd be very much interested in ways to improve this one (or any tool for that matter).

On a side note, this and many other recent tools are going to be included with a major MeyerFire Toolkit update here in the next few weeks. We've been working quite a bit on improving the activation/subscription process which has been no small task. When that gets cleaned up I'll be happy to send out the major update for the Toolkit.

​Hope you have a great rest of your week!