Yes on copper, seen it in real fire. 1950's or 60's construction. We were crawling down the basement stairs and all of a sudden things were not right. Hot black smoke went to white/gray and it got real humid. We hadn't done anything yet. Pulled back to assess. Then went back in and found the water pipe to the hot water heater released at a coupling. The fire does need to be a bit bigger than what sets off a sprinkler head and right under the joint. Think in the plume. In the end fire damage wasn't much more than what we'd see with a traditional sprinkler. More certainly but not that much more. But there was a lot more smoke damage through out the whole house and contents. Water damage about the same (less than if we used the hose). Like I said earlier I've personally been to two and I know others that have been to them. It's a real buzz kill to FF's.
On CPVC that is why there are limitations on how one uses it exposed. During UL testing they reported some instances where the top of the pipe thinned and created a fine spray. The good news if it happens in real life on CPVC the fire just might be controlled. They couldn't figure out how to predict and quantify so no listing yet on linear sprinkler heads (CPVC pipe with no heads). Chris Cahill, P.E. Fire Protection Engineer Sentry Fire Protection, Inc. 763-658-4483 763-658-4921 fax Email: [email protected] Mail: P.O. Box 69 Waverly, MN 55390 Location: 4439 Hwy 12 SW Waverly, MN 55390 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Monday, July 20, 2009 10:07 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Variation on Sprinkler Save Will solder melt on a copper pipe filled with water? CPVC doesn't melt when water filled, I don't believe. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -----Original Message----- From: Ron Greenman <[email protected]> Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:34:34 To: <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Variation on Sprinkler Save The NAHB will be arguing that you don't need sprinklers because their water pipes will open and put out the fire. And as for the article there is of course the last line letting you know about the water damage and not mentioning that the house didn't suffer from fire damage. Of course it was the plumbing that caused the damage, hmmm, maybe we should have indoor plumbing banned as an unnecessary expense that causes water damage, mold, etc. For thousands of years people hauled water, went down to the river to wash clothes and pooped in a hole in the ground. This new fangled indoor plumbing sounds like a scam by plumbers to drum up work. And look at any of those alarmist web sites my wife is so fond of and you'll see the kitchen is the germiest place in your house. And who ever that pooping inside was a good idea? It's time for banning INDOOR PLUMBING. On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 2:49 AM, Dave Phelan<[email protected]> wrote: > http://www.northjersey.com/news/51184127.html > > > > See link above where a melted solder joint sprayed water into a developing > fire and 'saved' the day. I would expect the NAHB to begin strong lobbying > efforts shortly to ban copper and solder in home construction as it > apparently leads to water leaks. > > > > Someday I'd like to read this article with the word residential sprinkler > substituted in place of solder joint. All it takes is about a dollar a > square foot and a dream ... > > > > Keep well. > > > > Dave P. - back in the office after a week in the hammock > >_______________________________________________ > Sprinklerforum mailing list > http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum > For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] > > To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] > (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) > -- Ron Greenman Instructor Fire Protection Engineering Bates Technical College Tacoma, WA Member: SFPE, ASCET, NFPA, AFSA, NFSA AFAA _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
