How Often Should You Test Your Fire

Pump?
If you are a building owner or facilities manager and you have a sprinkler
system being supplied by a fire pump, it is your legal responsibility to
maintain your equipment and keep it in proper working order. If you don’t
have the expertise or time to do this, you need to hire someone qualified
who can. But putting legal responsibility aside — it is a good thing to do
anyway, considering the undeniable importance of the equipment. In the
disastrous and unfortunate event of a fire, your sprinkler system can save
property and lives — assuming, of course, that it is in working order!

In past articles we have discussed pump testing as far as flowing water is

concerned — which is mainly done yearly, and involves measuring flow at
specific points on a pump’s performance curve. This is intended to keep a
check on the pump’s hydraulic performance, as well as the adequacy of the
existing water supply feeding the pump. But you don’t need to always flow
water to keep an eye on things.

In between yearly tests, your equipment sits in the ‘off’ position. Many
problems are invisible when pumps and controllers are sitting in a
mechanical room and not running. Through simply running your equipment
as part of a weekly test, many of the potentially serious problems can be
discovered and addressed immediately.

The specific testing requirements and frequencies are thoroughly covered in

NFPA 25, and we will not go into detail of what is covered there, but we will
discuss in general the reasons we recommend performing proper testing and
maintenance on your equipment. As with the operation of any industrial
equipment please follow all safety precautions, follow manufacturer
operating instructions, and make sure you wear protective gear.

Most fire pumps are either electric motor-driven, or diesel engine-driven,

and the type and frequency of testing will vary depending on what you have
in your building. For electric motor-driven fire pumps, we recommend at
least running your equipment once a week for at least ten (10) minutes for a
visual inspection. You do not need to flow and measure water during this
test — just witness the equipment running and have someone qualified
present to address any problems that may arise. Some may point out that
NFPA 25 allows for monthly testing in some circumstances, but we will
always recommend a simple weekly test due to the importance of the
equipment. When running your pump weekly, keep an eye out for the
following:

1. Make sure the fire pump starts automatically by simulating a pressure

drop in the system. If your pressure switch or transducer is not working
properly, now is the time to know about it.
2. Keep the packing drip under control. While running, you can expect
water flow through the packing boxes of the pump, but not a large
splash of water. Control as necessary by adjusting the packing glands a
quarter turn to keep the water flow low but constant. Once the
equipment is stopped, packing leakage should be approximately one (1)
drip per second. Do not tighten to the point of zero drip! Doing so will
dry out the packing and make it less effective, which will then require
more tightening, cause damage to the shaft sleeve and shorten packing
life.
3. Make sure the casing relief valve (also known as a circulation relief
valve) is flowing enough water to keep the casing from overheating, and
is shutting off when the pump is turned off. The water flow should be
warm to the touch, but not too hot. Some adjustment may be
necessary.
4. Verify that the packing drip drains are working properly and are not
clogged with sediment or debris.
5. Record your test in a log as a record of your test. This will keep you on
schedule and provide some very useful information for your insurance
company if required.
For diesel-driven fire pumps (we are assuming standard water-cooled
engines here), you are required to run the equipment weekly, mainly to
keep the engine’s running more smoothly by heating up the engine block,
and to use some of its fuel. Diesel fuel can begin to degrade over time, and
it’s best to avoid the situation where your diesel-driven engine is being fed
by old fuel. Ideally, you want to use the fuel before it reaches more than
two years of age.

Like the electric pump, the above items need to be checked, but for #3
above, the casing relief valve on a diesel is replaced by a water cooling
loop. It is important to make sure that water is passing through this loop,
because not only is this water keeping the pump casing cool, but it is also
keeping the internal engine cooling loop cool. Keep the flows within the
range recommended by the engine and pump manufacturer. Here are some
additional points to watch:

1. With diesel fire pumps, you are required to run them for at least 30
minutes each week.
2. Keep the strainers clean on the water cooling loop. After running the
engine, visually inspect the strainer on the cooling loop and keep
clean. A dirty strainer affects water flow!
3. Make sure the engine exhaust and room ventilation are working properly.
4. Verify that the batteries are working properly.
5. Verify that an “engine running” signal is sent to a monitoring point if the
fire pump is in a room that is not constantly attended. If the engine
ever starts, you want someone to know about it immediately.
By running this equipment weekly and recording the results in a written log,
you are preventing a hidden deficiency from becoming a tragic
catastrophe. Most other machinery in our world is operated constantly, and
any problems are noticed more quickly. With fire pumps, however, the
equipment has the disadvantage of sitting alone in a distant room and being
in the ‘off’ position. The only way to keep up on the condition of your fire
pump equipment is by turning it on and witnessing its operation in a
regularly scheduled timeframe. That is precisely the reasoning behind NFPA
25.