There's actually quite a bit to know, and I hope to remember them since I plan to run one this afternoon, too- if they fix the main break. Since it's 2 miles south of my house, what a great thing to do on a Fri in August.
If the flow is from one direction, you read static from the hydrant before where your tap is, or will be, and flow a hydrant past it. If direction of flow in a grid isn't obvious, you could reverse it, but if it is a big main and flows aren't taxing it, I wouldn't sweat it. Measure the ID of the hydrant butt(s) you're flowing, confirming 2.5" or adjust in the formula. Check if it is a .7,.8, or .9 hydrant, so you can enter the appropriate coefficient (and not have to drive back and explain to the police why you've got your finger in a hydrant butt on Friday night). If it's a .9, and FM is your job's underwriter, you'll have to use a .8 coefficient and degrade supply. Fortunately, if it's a .7 you get a bonus from FM, it's still a .8 if you wish, but I'd still use the .7- just a jab at standardization of variables. Make sure your gauges are new or calibrated, liquid-filled to minimize bouncing. Might be too late to go buy a couple Hose Monsters, we swear by them for all sorts of things- we know, for instance, what gpm we flushed an UG lead-in at. Get elevation difference between your static/residual hydrant and FF of your building. Ask the water co what their tank elevation was during the test, what lowest tank gradient is, and subtract the elevation pressure from both static and residual points on your curve- that's the worst your supply should get (except the zillion other things like a new bottling plant that can affect it in the future). The pitot tube I assume you're using should be held half the diameter away from the opening when taking readings, and you need to bleed the air out of the zone between the tip and the gauge- that's what that little bleeder valve is for. Wear rubbers or boots. Let the water co guy open and close the hydrant. Don't rip up crops. Don't attach a hose monster directly to a hydrant, it needs some hose for accuracy and sometimes they start spinning on the hydrant - leading to a large amount of water on your head -repeatedly. We found this can cause severe abdominal distress to young design managers witnessing this, plus its cold when you walk in a store to get coffee cause you're soaked on the way home. Watch where the puddles form so you don't get drenched by passing traffic. Be prepared to laugh if a convertible drives thru it. Obviously, 30+ years of water test war stories could add a lot to this, but I need to get some stuff dome before going to mine. Finally- enjoy being out of the office and playing with static and dynamic energy. glc -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Richard Lindner Sent: Friday, August 03, 2007 12:46 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Proper Flow Test Recording In order to get a flow test done for a project, the local water utility will perform the flow test but we need to be present to "record the numbers". Being that I have never had to do this, I wanted to ask the group for their thoughts and recommendations of what is considered "standard operating procedure". I have already printed out a copy of AFSA's "Flow Test Information Sheet". I can pretty much figure out where to put most of the "info" but would appreciate any pointers, methods, etc that others use. What should I be looking for, what should I be asking for, etc. One item that I was told a while back when requesting a flow test was to ask for the system to be tested both directions, ie, read static on hydrant 1, residual on hyd 2 and then switch everything around to then be able to static hyd 2, residual hyd 1. Guess my question is.. is that necessary or just overkill and a waste of time? Appreciate any pointers. Richard _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
