Articles

by Joan Leedy, Technical Director

NFPA 11 The Standard for Low-, Medium- and High-Expansion Foam recommends that foam proportioning systems be tested when installed and yearly thereafter.

NFPA 11 Section 12.6.5 states “The foam concentrate induction rate of a proportioner, expressed as a percentage of the foam solution flow (water plus foam concentrate), shall be within minus 0 percent to plus 30 percent of the manufacturer’s listed concentrations, or plus 1 percentage point, whichever is less.”

by Grant Lobdell, General Manager

Whether it be due to corrosion or loading, sprinkler performance often degrades over time.  For this reason, the current 2020 edition of NFPA 25 Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems states that sprinklers shall be initially tested or replaced after 50 years in service.  However, a few notable exceptions exist in the standard.  Dry sprinklers, which have had a high failure rate for many years due to the prevalence of the O-ring design, and fast response sprinklers, which are a newer technology compared to standard response sprinklers, shall be initially tested or replaced just 15 years (previously 10 years in prior editions of NFPA 25) or 20 years after install, respectively.  Furthermore, any sprinklers exposed to a harsh environment require testing or replacement every 5 years unless it is specifically listed as corrosion resistant in which case the testing or replacement frequency is decreased to every 10 years.

by Grant Lobdell, General Manager

Freezing temperatures can wreak havoc on installations not designed to handle such conditions.  Beyond inspecting the equipment for damage and proper operation, the performance of the foam concentrate itself is often questioned after freezing temperatures.

by Joan Leedy, Technical Director

Dyne Fire Protection Labs offers testing of foam solutions to determine the concentration of the foam concentrate in the system water. Customers use this service by running a foam system in the field, collecting a sample of the discharge, and sending it to Dyne along with a sample of the foam concentrate and the system water. Using the foam concentrate and system water, Dyne technicians make up known foam solutions and then compare the refractive index of the known solutions to the solution provided by the customer. By using a bench-top analytical refractometer capable of reading refractive indexes accurately to the 5^th decimal point, Dyne can provide an accurate result.

by Joan Leedy, Technical Director

At Dyne Fire Protection Labs, we make every effort to provide you with accurate and precise test results to ensure your fire protection systems operate properly. And this is no easy task. Take a look at the following items we have incorporated into our laboratory processes ̶ to ensure quality.

by Joan Leedy, Technical Director

There are two types of class-B firefighting foam available on the market today – foams containing per or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and foams that are fluorine free, meaning they are not formulated to contain PFAS. Some states have mandated the use of synthetic fluorine free foam (SFFF) for certain applications. But if your application is not covered by such a mandate, you have to choose whether to purchase a SFFF or a PFAS containing foam. Let’s take a look at how these two types of foam differ.