25 yearly sprinkler service and testing, Newcastle to the Hunter
When a sprinkler system reaches 25 years, AS 1851-2012 calls for a sample of its sprinklers to be removed and sent to a registered testing authority.
What the 25 year service involves
At least 14 sprinklers are taken out as a representative sample. They come from across the different parts of the building, such as offices, plant rooms, car parks and warehouses.
A registered testing authority then checks each sample sprinkler for:
- Release temperature: does it go off at its rated temperature?
- Operation: does it work the way it should?
- Leak resistance: does it stay sealed at the system's maximum design pressure?
The leak test is on the sample, not the pipework
The leak resistance test is a pressure test of the sample sprinklers only. It is not a hydrostatic pressure test of the whole sprinkler pipework, and the AS 1851-2012 25 year schedule doesn't list one. If a wider system pressure test is being considered, the requirement and test method for that system should be confirmed first.
If a sample fails, and what comes next
If any sample sprinkler fails, more sprinklers are sampled and tested. That shows whether the result reflects the whole system, and whether sprinklers need replacing.
After the 25 year test, the sample testing is repeated every 10 years.