Sprinkler System Design

[RFreund]

I'm sure this is a hard question to answer but...

I'm curious to know how difficult it would be to learn how to design sprinkler systems. I do structural work but get asked to stamp fire protection / sprinkler pipe designs from time to time as I know a couple contractors in the industry. I don't ever do it as I am not trained in this area. However I am wondering if there are any manuals / books / seminars that could help me become competent in this area. Maybe I try to sub out a few jobs and review the calcs. I have designed supports for piping systems and have a basic understanding of fluid mechanics but I'm wondering how big the jump is. Again probably hard to quantify but any feedback would be helpful.

Thanks!

EIT

http://www.HowToEngineer.com

 

[DRWeig]

You might get a broader perspective in the NFPA (fire) Code Issues forum:

http://eng-tips.com/threadminder.cfm?pid=184

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

 

[tygerdawg]

Given the very busy, very rich yahoos that I have encountered in my career who are working for a "fire protection system" contractor, I would guess it ain't that difficult.

I'm going to simplify here, so stow the flamethrowers. But it has always seemed like it was like this:
[ul]
[li]get a floor plan from the client[/li]
[li]determine from <whatever source> was the required gallons per minute volume of water deposited on a particular area for the client's situation[/li]
[li]figure out the piping layouts to deposit said water gpm on said area sq ft[/li]
[li]figure out what diameter pipe must be installed at what location(s) to deposit said volume of water on said area[/li]
[li]spec all of the standard fire protection gizmos[/li]
[li]hire a bunch of pipe monkeys and a couple of scissor lifts for installation[/li]
[li]git'r done[/li]
[li]invoice the company and contact the real estate agent about that beach house[/li]
[/ul]

Like I said: simplify.

The ones that I found that were successful did this:
[ul]
[li]showed up on time[/li]
[li]finished on time[/li]
[li]invoiced a fair price[/li]
[/ul]

Everyone else struggled or failed outright.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[RFreund]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Given the very busy, very rich yahoos that I have encountered

haha, thats actually what made me seriously consider getting into it.

EIT

http://www.HowToEngineer.com