You’re on a jobsite. On the phone with the boss back at the office. You’re looking up at a portion of the sprinkler system and have a question about that one piece of pipe. How do you describe that piece of pipe? What’s it called? It sounds silly, but up until Monday I’m not so sure that I knew the proper name for each segment within a sprinkler system. Like the true, proper terms that I should have learned way back when. There are a few things that can impact that – one is informal regional terms, which can cause some inconsistency. One is that up until Monday I’d never actually read all the definitions in NFPA 13 for each stick of pipe. One is that when I’d get cross-eyed looks when talking about a specific piece, I’d usually just point to it in conversation and move on. Well – as we do around here – it’s time to bring this topic out into the light and maybe we can all learn a bit from the discussion. Here’s a basic diagram of a sprinkler system, which each pipe path identified as best I understand it today: Is this consistent with the terms you use? What other names (maybe keep it PC?) or terms do you use? If not, what terms (even informal ones) do you use to describe each pipe? Take a look at the diagram above and some of these pictures and let us know here.
Craig S.
11/29/2023 10:17:28 am
I agree with what you have labeled. The only thing I’d add is that I’ve heard an armover on a riser nipple being called either a return bend or a mud loop.
Josh
11/29/2023 10:21:23 am
Good point. Most of the subs I talk to call them return bends.
Angie Kamm
11/29/2023 10:22:53 am
I have heard gooseneck as well as return bend.
LC
11/29/2023 10:27:53 am
My understanding is that an armover comes off the side of a branch line and then drops down to a sprinkler (one tee, one elbow), while a return bend goes up and then over and then drops down to the sprinkler (one tee, two elbows).
Chad
11/29/2023 10:24:47 am
Once again a great teaching tool, thank you Joe!
Mark Wiedeburg
11/29/2023 10:52:40 am
Outrigger is also new to me. We have always called these "tail backs"
Adam
11/29/2023 10:27:17 am
For the gridded system, I refer to the Cross Mains as Near and Far Mains in their relation to the riser.
Carl
11/29/2023 10:38:05 am
"Floating main" for the back main.
Steven
11/29/2023 11:10:30 am
Primary Main, Secondary Main, Tertiary Main is what I normally go with for gridded systems. Never ended up with a fourth main but this naming system keeps going and I am sure we all have used Primary and Secondary. 12/18/2023 03:30:10 pm
We usually call the 2 cross mains the LIVE main and the DEAD main.
Jesse
11/29/2023 10:28:24 am
I learned from a guy on 13 and he mentored me for years. The only thing I see different from what was drilled into my noggin is in lieu of "front main" and "back main"; Near Main and Far Main on a gridded system relative to the riser
Tommy Hintz
11/29/2023 10:33:12 am
We call the outriggers "tailbacks"
Joe Meyer
11/29/2023 10:35:35 am
I haven't heard that one, but I like it. Is that a football reference?
Dan Wilder
11/29/2023 10:40:43 am
Dead main (the secondary Cross Main)
Dave
11/29/2023 11:30:50 am
Oh yeah I forgot rooster tail.
Jerry Clark
11/29/2023 10:49:36 am
The little thing that you screw the sprinkler head or sprig into is either a threadolet, or weldolet...trust me, I learned the hard way on this one.
Dave
11/29/2023 11:19:10 am
GREAT, FUN topic, and not just semantics, for example if it does not meet the definition of a branch line not a long armover (computer: add armover to dictionary) then I say it does not require branch line restraint.
Eric R
11/29/2023 11:23:28 am
Nice graphic!
Michael Millman
11/29/2023 12:34:21 pm
I agree with most of what you have here. Here are some things I'd add/modify:
DAVE
11/29/2023 06:53:44 pm
Like the one-piece HCE's?
Anthony Brown
11/29/2023 01:20:17 pm
For many years I called sprigs "candlesticks. Use "sprigs" (up/dn) on the plans, candlesticks in conversation and as an Engineer I say "condensate drain".
Tony
11/29/2023 04:50:03 pm
We call any cross main that isn't attached to a feed main a floating main.
Dave
11/29/2023 07:11:57 pm
Of couse the definitions chapter of 13 has:
Patrick
12/1/2023 12:11:01 pm
I would consider the feed main on your diagram a cross main because it has an outlet for a branch line. Throw a coupling in before that outlet and then it becomes a feed main.
Fred Walker
12/5/2023 09:20:28 am
Building this drawing with all the variations becomes a useful definition tool.
Franck Orset
12/6/2023 07:42:28 am
Definetely different names as English is not the recognized language in Europe, Japan, Korea and China :) Comments are closed.
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