Section 5.3.2.1 of NFPA 25, Gauges shall be replaced or tested every five years by comparison with a calibrated gauge.
Is it required for us to provide a sticker on the gauge to indicate it has been re-calibrated by the 3rd party, or will a sharpie inscription on the glass of the gauge be sufficient to meet this requirement? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe
15 Comments
Alex
1/30/2023 05:51:08 am
In short, I've seen gauges labeled by sharpie and small labels on the back of the gauge. As far as I am aware, both are acceptable. NFPA 25 is silent on the labeling methods. It tosses the requirement back to the manufacture. Code sections below.
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Dan Wilder
1/30/2023 07:12:31 am
As I deal with inspectors & insurance agents requesting calibration paperwork on our pump test/flow testing gear....if a company I was paying did the calibration and marked sharpie on the gauge, it would be the last time I would use that company. If it is written on, it's typically for an installation date, some PSI number to indicate high/normal/low PSI (air gauges I see this on a lot), or other basic info.
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Dan Wilder
1/30/2023 11:03:41 am
Point of clarification, we do this for liquid filled gauges. Standard air/water gauges are just a replace and typically less costly going that route.
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Anthony
1/30/2023 07:21:51 am
I'm of the opinion that if the gauge is even inspected that's a win. Dan's method would be best but I'll take a sharpie any day of the week.
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Patrick Spillane
1/30/2023 08:30:54 am
The gauge does not have to be calibrated, just compared to a calibrated gauge. If it is calibrated, then a label should be provided by the calibration company. If just compared, then common practice is just to have a sharpie with the date of comparison.
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Greg
1/30/2023 08:37:49 am
As an AHJ inspector, I would be thrilled with either, as this requirement gets ignored the majority of the time.
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Randy Kimbro
1/30/2023 08:51:51 am
As an AHJ this annoys me to no end. Gauges are cheap … replace them. We never accept a Sharpie marker date. Unscrupulous business owners just write a new date on them to save a few dollars. With NFPA silent on this, if the gauge is verified against another gauge per NFPA, we require the sprinkler inspection company to attach one of their inspection tags to each gauge and write a notation on the tag that it was verified, the date, and the technician number.
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1/30/2023 09:07:32 am
As Randy said, it is extremely less to simply replace the gauge. Gauges are not that expensive. Change them out and be on your way to the next problem.
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Anon
1/30/2023 11:17:12 am
...Back in the day that's how I've got some of the coolest old gauges in my collection. It's good to be friendly with fitters.
Glenn Berger
1/30/2023 09:24:48 am
I would never trust a sharpie marking on any gauge. Like others have said, gauges are cheap and should be replaced.
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Eric R
1/30/2023 09:53:44 am
Up till very recently I was in the "just replace them" boat, but we are currently going through the due diligence process to see if switching over to checking the gauges may be workable for us. Throwing away gauges that are only 5 years old seems pretty damn wasteful, especially when the standard for these gauges is so forgiving at 3% accuracy variance.
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Randy Kimbro
1/30/2023 10:27:39 am
I like the thought of being less wasteful but, and there is always a but, if YOU can buy those stickers, what stops a business owner from buying them and just slapping them on to save a few $$?
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Anthony
1/30/2023 12:12:58 pm
The pain threshold for ordering those stickers is higher than just doing the inspection and buying the gauge. I'd expect someone to have fake heads (just cover plates) before they bothered going thought all that nonsense over a gauge.
Mark Harris
1/31/2023 06:41:11 pm
If a gauge is marked with a sharpie or sticker there would be or should be inspection paperwork supporting what was done. Owner should not be able to fake that. One thing I don't see talked about above is how do you "tag" a replacement gauge so the five year time starts over again?
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