Diesel Fire Pump Package: Why you need a Jockey Pump

When a fire sprinkler system gets activated, there is often a sudden drop in water pressure in the system. This may create serious water pressure problems, but jockey pumps can be installed to overcome such situations. These are small pumps connected to a fire sprinkler system to maintain pressure in the sprinkler pipes by sensing the fire pump automatic controller.

The main components of a diesel fire pump package include:

• Jockey Pump: It prevents the fire pump and system from any potential short cycling during non-emergency situations.

• Jockey Pump Controller: This is an automatic pump controller that controls the jockey pump system.

• Check Valve: It prevents water from flowing back into the fire pump and is installed on the discharge side of the pump.

• Control Valve: It allows the jockey pump to be isolated for maintenance purposes. This valve may be a butterfly type or an OS&Y.

The Role of a Jockey Pump in Fire Sprinkler Systems

Also known as a pressure maintenance pump, the role of a jockey pump is to maintain the pressure in the sprinkler system to avoid any non-emergency starting of the fire pump. It is built to start before the fire pump and return the fire protection system to its minimum static pressure.

The jockey pump saves the fire pump from short cycling, which can shorten its life span in the long run. It is a low-cost component of a fire pump sprinkler system and is sized to 1% of the fire pump’s rated flow. However, it doesn’t keep up with the system demand in regard to water flow. In this case, the water pressure will continue to reduce until the fire pump starts.

The Operation of a Jockey Pump

Sprinkler systems often use an electric or diesel fire pump package to push the necessary amount of water pressure throughout the system when activated. All the water pressure comes from a large fire pump. However, it’s not good to use this large pump to keep your sprinkler system pressurised. Therefore, you may need a jockey pump to keep your lines at a set pressure limit.

Since proper pressure is critical to safely operate your fire sprinkler, you need a jockey pump, along with a fire pump, to manage required water pressure. This small pump allows the fire pump system to stay charged without overworking your large pump. In fact, in an ideal scenario, your large pump will never get activated, meaning that the jockey pump is doing all the work to ensure your lines are charged and ready to spray water at a fire.

The Maintenance of a Jockey Pump

To keep your sprinkler system fully operational and ready for any fire emergency, you should maintain your jockey pump and diesel fire pump package. Like any other pump, it is a compact unit subject to maintenance issues. The most immediate maintenance signs will show up during weekly tests. Be sure to test the fire pump, not only the jockey pump.

Activate the fire pump with the controller and open the main drain line to test the jockey pump capacity. Watch the pressure drop closely to see if your jockey pump activates to make up for the pressure difference. If not, you need to troubleshoot the pump as soon as you can.

At Callaghan Pump, we supply the highest quality, NFPA-approved diesel fire pumps with appropriate jockey pump sizing for fire protection. If you need more information regarding jockey pump sizing or capacity, please feel free to send us a message today.

Diesel Fire Pumps: Everything You Need to Know About Inspection and Testing

There’s no better protection from fire accidents than proper preparation and maintenance of your diesel fire pumps. Thus, you should protect your business/place of residence with expert fire maintenance and inspection. Let’s learn about them in this blog post!

Fire Pump Inspection and Testing

Since pressure sensing lines in fire pumps help maintain designed pressure on each fire sprinkler system, make sure you know how to take care of them. When your fire pump stops working, the fire sprinkler system won’t get to the desired water pressure during an emergency. Thus, maintaining it would help you diagnose and prevent potential issues before they get worse.

Inspections are visual observations to verify that a fire pump system appears to be in good operating condition. It determines whether the system is free of physical damage. On the other hand, tests include hands-on simulations that mean taking actions on the fire protection system. Below are some key fire pumps tests and inspections:

• Weekly fire pump tests: This includes inspecting the condition of your pump room and the fire pump system.
• Monthly fire pump inspections: This includes checking the pump operation. You should run the test for 10-15 minutes.
• Annual fire pump inspections: Check the pump operation for both diesel and electric pumps. Test the alarm signals and be sure to service hydraulic systems, mechanical transmissions, and motors on an annual basis.

Now that you know the main types of fire pump tests and inspections, it’s time to know what you should keep in mind while inspecting your electric or diesel fire pumps. By practicing the following tips, you can prolong the life of your sensing line for fire pumps.

• Perform weekly fire pump tests that can be carried out by a designated person.
• Inspect the power source of your fire pump, be it an electric or diesel engine.
• Make sure the source can be cycled once or twice a year.
• Maintain lubrication to prevent parts inside the fire pump from locking in place.
• Check the fire pump components inside your fire pump, including the fire pump casing relief valve, the packing, and the casing relief valve.
• Don’t forget to monitor your water pressure gauge. And if it is above/below the normal value, contact your fire protection professional.

According to NFPA 25…

Inspection, testing, and maintenance of water-based fire protection systems, including fire pumps, should comply with industry standards. These standards will help you maximize the system’s integrity and avoid potential pump failures. They establish the minimum requirements for the periodic inspection and maintenance of your sensing line for fire pumps. The key requirements include the changes in occupancy, use, operation, materials, hazard, or water supply that can impact the performance of the fire pump system.

Also, NFPA standards address the operating condition of fire protection systems, such as impairment handling and reporting. They apply to fire protection systems and ensure that the system has been properly installed by generally accepted practices. Keep in mind that these standards do not require the inspector to verify the adequacy of the design of the system. This requirement is not a part of the periodic inspection and maintenance standard.

Since corrective actions are needed to ensure that your fire pump system operates satisfactorily, it should be in accordance with the NFPA standards. In addition to that, if your sprinkler or the pressure sensing lines in fire pumps show any signs of the following, it should be replaced:

• Corrosion
• Leakage in the system
• Sudden loss of water pressure
• Any physical damage like bending and warping

Final Remarks

We offer an array of fire pumps that can be the best solution if your building is equipped with a sprinkler system. It requires constant water pressure regardless of varying demand or fluctuation in the incoming pressure. We supply branded fire pumps for commercial, industrial, and residential applications. From smaller commercial facilities to manufacturing industries, our line of diesel fire pumps can be a good fit for any application.

To find out more about pressure sensing lines in fire pumps, contact us.

Diesel Fire Pump: Keep Your Fire Protection System Ready for Action

 

A fire sprinkler system is an innovation that has been saving properties, assets, households, and lives for over a century. Modern sprinkler systems are more complex and effective than ever. They are commonly used in hospitals, warehouses, offices, schools, and more. However, if the water pressure running through these systems isn’t sufficient, they may become completely useless. This is where an electric or diesel fire pump can help you eliminate water pressure issues.

Let’s discover more about diesel fire pump packages!

Electric vs. Diesel Fire Pumps

Both electric and diesel fire pumps deliver the same results, but their engines operate in different ways and require different protocols for maintenance and testing. For instance, electric engines are more common, cheaper, and require less maintenance.

However, if you don’t have a backup generator, these engines may become useless when the power goes out. That said, diesel engines don’t get affected by power outages, making them more reliable for bigger applications. However, these are more expensive and require more maintenance protocols to keep them in good working condition.

The Complete Functioning of a Diesel Fire Pump

To understand how a diesel fire pump works, you need to understand what a fire pump is made of. A fire pump is made up of the motor, driver, and controller. It receives water from either a water tank, underground water supply, or a city reservoir. The pump boosts the water and supplies it through the sprinkler system and hose standpipes.

The main types of diesel fire pumps are the horizontal split-case, vertical split-case, vertical in-line, and vertical turbine. The most common one is the horizontal split-case, which is also the most economical one for higher flow applications. They have long lifespans that make them a popular choice. Another popular option is the vertical split-case, which is similar to horizontal split-case fire pumps, except they take up less space. This is because of their vertical design, which protects the pump from potential flooding damage.

Diesel Fire Pump Inspection and Testing

All fire pumps require testing and inspection, but diesel fire pumps require extra care to ensure that all the valves are in the open position. They must be no-flow or dry tested, and this should be done weekly. Both the weekly visual inspection and the dry test are performed by professionals. In the case of electric fire pumps, they generally require dry-testing only once a month. Diesel fire pumps must undergo comprehensive annual testing, which puts the whole pump through its paces. During the test, measure the water pressure and then compare the measurements to the original design specifications. The point is to make sure it’s operating effectively.

Diesel fire pumps should be serviced annually in addition to the inspections and tests. This service includes replacing fuel filters, testing batteries, fluid levels, etc. Make sure the maintenance is carried out by someone certified, not just by any regular technician. Use a fire pump sensing line to take care of the temperature effect.

Installing Diesel Fire Pumps

As with the decision on what type of diesel fire pump and system to use, the installation of the pump should be handled by fire safety professionals. There is an array of considerations as per the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) that need to be followed.

Though weekly inspections can be done by any personnel on-site, annual and monthly inspections should be performed by qualified personnel, such as factory-trained and certified personnel.

What Does a Fire Pump Sensing Line Do?

A sensing line or impulse line is used to enable the location of pressure transmitters away from the process being measured. It is used to reduce the temperature effects on the transmitter’s performance. Generally speaking, each pump has its own individual controller, and each controller contains its own individual sensing line. The fire pump controller is connected to the fire protection system with the help of piping known as a sensing line. It is connected to the fire protection system between its discharge control valve pump and discharge check valve.

One end of the fire pump sensing line installation is connected to the pressure sensor within the controller and the other end to the fire pump piping between the discharge check valve and discharge control valve. This actually provides the controller the ability to sense any water pressure change occurring in the fire protection system when the fire pump is functioning. This also allows testing of the pressure settings even when the discharge control valve is off.

Keep in mind that…

·         The sensing line should be non-corrosive and its size must be a minimum of ½-inch.

·         Install two check valves in each sensing line to absorb pressure surges and avoid the controller pressure switch from getting damaged.

·         Also, these check valves should be at least five feet apart.

·         No-flow testing is required weekly for diesel fire pump packages unless there’s a risk analysis indicating a different frequency is acceptable.

·         The pump engine should be run at the rated speed for at least 30 minutes to allow all its components to warm up.

Let Us Take Care of Your Fire Pump Needs

With more than 14 years in the business, Callaghan Pump is a leader in the fire protection industry. We supply branded fire pumps that are equipped with a fire pump sensing line and jockey pump. Enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your fire protection system is compliant 24/7.

Let us know if you need any help!