NFPA standard

A question about regulation . It is about control of Jockey and Main fire pumps in industrial areas . Does the NFPA standards allow to place the sensing pressure switch inside the switchgear panel ?

 

[DRWeig]

Hi Lojidyn,

I don't have the reference with me, but I recently had a discussion about the requirement to keep the power and control systems dry in the event of pump and/or piping failure in fire pump controllers (from the NEC). If you're bringing a water line into the controller, I think you'll have to take extraordinary precautions to prevent spraying down the interior of the controller. My local inspector wouldn't allow it I'm pretty sure....

Good luck!

Old Dave

 

I appreciate you reply david . I am dealing with some contractual issues here . On what basis (rule or regulation) that the inspector refused ?

 

[DRWeig]

Hi again,

I'm in my office now so I could look it up -- it's NEC (NFPA 70) 695-12(E), which states (and I'm looking in the 1999 edition) "Fire pump controllers and power transfer switches shall be located or protected so that they will not be damaged by water escaping from pumps or pump connections."

Your pressure sensing line would be a pump connection in my opinion, so if you run it into the fire pump controller you'll need to do everything else in there with watertight protection. Here in Memphis, they won't let you do it at all -- the inspectors won't allow water into the control panel no matter how well you protect it.

Best of luck with your dilemma!

Old Dave

 

I am currently working in a rejunevation platform project. The firewater pumps are 20 years old!! Is there anything in the code in regard to the age of equipment for insurance, reliability etc.?

 

[DRWeig]

Hi Steamgen,

To my knowledge, there are no references in the code to age of equipment. As far as condition, though, there are operational requirements for testing by a qualified company on a periodic (annual) basis for certification, and a qualified company should be able to point out things that might need replacing as the equipment ages. Most pumps are renewable, as long as the case is intact -- bearings, couplings, seals, etc..., might need service periodically but the prime mover usually is a long-term animal. I have worked with pumps over 50 years old that were in fine shape. You might need to have the controls upgraded to meet the latest codes too, though.

I would recommend having the pumps inspected and tested by a manufacturer-certified technician. Since they don't run that often, I would bet that they give them a thumbs up for use.

Let's see if anyone else has an opinion too --

Good luck with your project, sounds fun!

Old Dave

 

what is the the definition of a control panel under NFPA-20 .

 

[DeltaCascade]

Did you check the glossary of definitions in the code?
Good luck