Type of Sprinkler for Corrosive Environments?

12/4/2019

For areas with high water vapor concentrations (such as near showers, steam rooms, etc), what type of sprinkler would perform best? Wax coated? Concealed with gaskets?

There's many circulated images of corroded sprinklers, but I'm interested in what others feel is current best practice for these areas.

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8 Comments

Colin Lusher

12/4/2019 10:11:08 am

I work in Hawaii where corrosion is a huge problem due to the salt air....we've had the BEST luck with the Electroless Nickel PTFE (ENT) coated sprinklers (by Viking, Reliable, or Minimax). They hold up much better than poly coated sprinklers for corrosive environments, and look better than wax coated sprinklers.

Hector Ramirez

12/4/2019 10:23:57 am

It's my understanding that you would use polyester finished sprinkler heads in such indoor corrosive conditions, and ENT for outdoor corrosive conditions. Feel free to correct me, I'm still relatively new to the industry.

Colin Lusher link

12/4/2019 01:53:44 pm

Hector,

While this is common in practice, there is no definitive rule, and ENT heads are commonly used in indoor environments as well. It really just depends on the level of corrosion resistance you need. Poly coated heads provide a much lower corrosion resistance level than ENT, so a in a low to moderately corrosive environment, you may be just fine with a Poly coated head. In a moderate to high corrosion environment, you'd be much safer with an ENT head, as it will last longer than a poly head subjected to the same corrosive conditions.

Jon Dimanlig link

12/4/2019 12:49:03 pm

There are Stainless steel sprinkler nozzle introduced on the market coming from Reliable and Viking. Material is SS316 which will greatly provide protection from corrosive environment.

Colin Lusher link

12/4/2019 01:58:15 pm

Yes, I believe most sprinkler brands carry stainless steel option, however they are often cost prohibitive. I recently priced them at nearly $200.00 per sprinkler. These are typically only necessary in highly corrosive environments, often chemically corrosive industrial applications. For a standard corrosive environment due to humidity, poly or ENT coated heads are fine, and at a fraction of the cost ($10-$30 per head).

Jonathan Hatcher

12/4/2019 04:32:47 pm

For corrosion resistance, stainless steel sprinkler heads are hands down the best option. However, they come with a hefty price tag. Depending on the type of environment, the ENT coated heads perform well for corrosion resistance. Be careful using ENT coated sprinklers in chlorine rich environments as I've had experience with them degrading rapidly in that type of installation.

Chris Covalt

12/5/2019 08:08:49 am

There are coatings available from the manufactures. Victaulic has a VC-250 coating we are using on a parking garage. Tyco, Viking and others also have their own coatings. The manufacture should provide a salt-spray test report on their coating giving you an idea how the coating will perform. SS heads are the best but they are 5 times the cost. Special coatings, such as the VC-250 are next best.

Kevin Sneed

1/9/2020 09:55:42 am

Would the use of chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) pipe a viable option versus cooper piping for sprinkler system?

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