KH - One other reason that those of us in seismic land are growing more fond of the flexible drops is the ability to eliminate a hard pipe swing joint giving us 1" clear movement around a sprinkler in a ceiling, or those incredibly ugly escutcheons which allow that same amount of movement. Once we started seeing that requirement, as noted in ASCE7, it became much more cost effective for us to use them to fit the allowances in NFPA-13.
The latest field information I have on an installation of these I designed a couple of years ago was the delight the property owner had in not having to drain the system and take it out of service to relocate the sprinkler on the end of a flexible drop. In the application I'm referencing, the new sprinkler location was within the length and tolerance of the flex drop, and rather than drain down the system to repipe the sprinkler, the installer simply relocated the bracket, and re-inserted the drop fitting, and it was done. Just more anecdotal information, if you will. -- PARSLEY CONSULTING Ken Wagoner, SET 760.745.6181 voice 760.745.0537 fax [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> e-mail www.ParsleyConsulting.com <http://www.ParsleyConsulting.com> website Ken Holsopple (forum) wrote: > Rahe, > > All the points you made are valid, and I'd like to add two more. Hangers. > > In some situations these flexible drops work well and eliminate the need for > additional hangers and restraint. The elimination of trapeze hangers on > armovers can add up quickly in the cost savings category. Anyone who has > worked in a building where the electrical conduits and the like are embedded > in the floor above can attest that sometimes finding somewhere to weasel a > hanger up through can be a challenge in and of itself. > > One other advantage is being able to test with the sprinkler heads in the > drops even prior to grid or sheet rock installation. And not waiting till > all the drops are hard piped. > > As far as being able to move sprinklers to accommodate new wall > layouts....it's case by case. I imagine in 10 years we will all be > scrounging around for the flex drop cut sheets of a particular model just > like we do with old dry valves today. When these new installations become > old installations. > > As far as cost....I do believe it is different for every company and a sell > sheet doesn't give the whole picture. It's a SELL SHEET people! If you > factor in the advantages above...the flexible drop can save a lot of > headaches and or money. They are AN answer. Not THE answer. And definitely > not always the "cheapest" answer. > > These same flex drops may inhibit the use of other advantages like OH EC > sprinklers. Each situation must be weighed out individually. One size does > not fit all. > > I implore you to keep in mind that project may present itself to even you > Mr. Loftin that "screams" for this kind of technology. > > So now that I have kicked the dead horse, I will close with a phrase from > Mr. Forrest Gump. "That's all I got to say about thaaat" > > Ken Holsopple > Off the Soap Box > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of > [email protected] > Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:43 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: RE: Flex Head Friction loss > > So very well put Ken. One of the many advantages touted by the > manufacturers and contractors alike is the layout flexibility that flexible > sprinkler fittings provide. I have found that when using even 6 feet > lengths, there is extremely limited flexibility provided for moving heads > for wall and room changes. So, using 2 and 3 feet lengths will, in all > practical senses, not provide the flexibility to move heads at all. Looks > to me like that the chief advantages of flexible sprinkler fittings is that > they are simply less expensive, in regard to labor, and can provide center > of tile layouts. > > Otherwise, they could have more friction loss than hard piped systems thus > increasing main sizes in some situations. > > Thank You > > Rahe Loftin, P.E. > Region 7 - GSA > Office - 817-978-7299 > Fax - 817-978-8644 > Cell - 817-371-3102 > > > > _______________________________________________ > Sprinklerforum mailing list > [email protected] > http://fireball.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 [email protected] http://fireball.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)
