In order to ensure that your fire sprinklers are going to be able to do their job in the event of a fire, you will want to check out the following tips for maintaining them.
Check The Water Pressure Gauges
Your sprinkler system will have water pressure gauges that you will want to check at least once a week. These gauges measure the available water pressure in your pipes. If the water pressure is too low, the fire sprinklers will not be able to properly send out enough forceful water to put out the fire. Therefore, if you notice that the gauge is showing a low reading, you will need to have a sprinkler system expert come in to inspect the problem and fix it right away.
Test The Alarm
If your sprinkler system comes with an alarm bell that sounds when the sprinklers are set off, it is important to make sure that it works properly. You should check this at least a couple times per year. It is important to make sure that you are giving your fire department notice that you are going to be setting off your alarm so they will not waste time and resources responding to a false alarm. To test the alarm, you will want to slowly open the alarm's test valve and allow the water to come out in a slow trickle. You will want to allow the water to run and the alarm to sound for a couple of minutes to make sure that it is indeed working properly.
Wrap Water Pipes For Winter
If you are in a region that gets very cold during the winter months, you will want to protect the pipes from freezing. To do this, you need to purchase some pipe insulation covers and place them over all of the water pipes that lead to the sprinklers. You also have the option of using heat tape instead of the insulation covers, but the heat tape will run off of electricity so you may notice an increase in your electric bill. Just make sure that you are unplugging the heat tape once winter is over to cut down on the cost of your utility bill.
You should now be more prepared to maintain your fire sprinkler system. If you need help maintaining your sprinkler system, you will want to hire a sprinkler expert for the best results. Click for more information on fire sprinkler maintenance.
