Fire Sprinkler Testing

Procedures & Replacement

in NFPA 25
November 23, 2022

Samples of old fire sprinklers must pass

laboratory tests or be replaced —
usually (but not always) decades after
installation
Fire sprinklers have been around for a long time, necessitating rules for
ensuring that really old sprinkler heads still work.

The National Fire Protection Association first published NFPA 13:

Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems  in 1896 and most
recently updated it in 2022. The “modern” spray sprinkler arrived on the
scene in 1953, NFPA committees started exploring quick-response
sprinklers in the ‘60s, and Grinnell manufactured the first listed
residential fast-response model in 1981. Over all those years and
evolutions, various fire sprinkler types have proven to be reliable and
effective technology. But think about the first spray sprinkler heads
installed 70 years ago or the relatively newer quick response heads—can
we simply trust that they work?

Despite fire sprinklers’ extensive track record, we must ensure they still
function as they age. Fortunately, the need for testing starts decades
after installation for many fire sprinklers, though this interval varies
significantly for different types.
This article explains:

 Why and when NFPA 25: Standard for the Inspection, Testing,

and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection
Systems  requires age-related testing (or replacement) of
different fire sprinklers
 How sprinkler testing works and what the results mean
 How to pick a sample of sprinklers to send to the lab
Check out our previous blog posts to learn who can replace a fire
sprinkler head and how to find replacements for obsolete sprinkler
heads.

Pass or fail, you’ll need to replace a few sprinklers every time you conduct
sprinkler head testing — or whenever sprinklers get damaged, corroded,
painted, or activate. Check out QRFS’s inventory of  fire sprinkler
heads,  escutcheons,  cover plates, and  installation tools. 

When do you need to do fire sprinkler

testing?
Removing fire sprinklers for a test isn’t convenient; you have to shut
down and potentially drain the system or a portion of it. So, when testing
be done? It depends on what type of sprinkler heads you have and the
environments where they are installed.

Standard response sprinklers—test 50 years after

installation, then every 10 years
Standard response sprinklers have been around much longer than their
newer fast-response cousins, so they have the longest reliability track
record and testing or replacement interval. Required testing starts at 50
years, with subsequent assessments every decade (5.3.1.1.1). However,
once sprinklers manufactured in 1920 or later hit 75 years after
installation, you must increase the testing interval to every five years —
or just replace the heads with new ones to start the clock again
(5.3.1.1.1.4*).

That said, the 50/10-year rule assumes that the sprinklers are installed in
relatively favorable conditions. If they are exposed to harsher
environments, different timelines may be required, as covered below.

Most fast response sprinklers (not ESFR and CMSA)

—test 25 years after installation, then every 10 years
The latest 2023 edition of NFPA 25 stipulates that fast-response
sprinklers should be tested 25 years after installation and retested every
10 years after the first test (5.3.1.1.1.1). “Fast response” refers to the
thinner, more sensitive heat-response elements and quicker activation of
quick response, residential, and some other sprinklers.

The logic for more frequently testing fast response sprinklers is that
they’ve been around less time and have a shorter reliability record—
NFPA simply doesn’t have as much data on how long they last. In
addition, fast-response sprinklers are designed to be more sensitive to
their specific activation temperatures, and testing determines whether
this sensitivity is maintained sufficiently.

That said, the 25-year testing or replacement requirement is up from 20

years in previous editions of NFPA 25, indicating that data has shown
greater reliability of most fast-response sprinklers. There are two
exceptions, however …

ESFR and CMSA sprinklers—test 20 years after

installation, then every 10 years
Early suppression, fast response (ESFR) and control-mode special
application (CMSA) sprinklers, both of which have large K-factors and the
latter of which are sometimes fast response, must be tested (or replaced)
20 years after installation and at 10-year intervals afterward
(5.3.1.1.1.2*).

Th
is Tyco TY7126 ESFR upright sprinkler has an initial testing interval that’s
five years earlier than most other fast-response sprinklers.
Dry sprinklers—test 20 years after installation, then
every 10 years
Dry sprinklers should be tested 20 years after installation and then
retested every 10 years after that (5.3.1.1.1.5).

Why shorter intervals than most non-dry sprinklers? Dry sprinklers and
entire dry systems are more prone to corrosion due to the greater mix of
oxygen with residual water. And while dry sprinkler heads and systems
have features explicitly designed to avoid freeze damage, components
can experience it without proper maintenance due to leftover water.

Nevertheless, the 2023 edition of NFPA 13 marks two consecutive five-

year increases in the latest editions; from 2002 to 2017, the initial testing
or replacement interval was only 10 years. Here’s some context from
NFPA 25 explaining why:

At the time [2002], not all of the conditions that cause failures were well
understood, and the frequency of failures was higher for sprinklers that had been
in service for more than 10 years. Design changes have been made to dry sprinklers
where dynamic O-ring seals are no longer used. As a result, dry sprinklers are
performing quite well and thus the requirement was modified […]

Extra-high, very extra-high, or ultra-high

temperature, solder-type fire sprinklers exposed to
very hot environments—test every 5 years
Some fire sprinkler environments, like industrial facilities, are extremely
hot, and sprinklers with very high, very extra-high, and ultra-
high temperature ratings are used above equipment like ovens, furnaces,
and boilers. The ambient heat can cause the meltable solder to migrate
in fusible-link fire sprinklers (the ones without glass bulbs), affecting their
ability to activate. Where these models are in such environments for at
least five years, fire sprinkler testing must be done every five years:

From the 2023 edition of NFPA 25

5.3.1.1.1.3* Where solder-type sprinklers with a temperature classification of extra

high [325°F (163°C) or greater] are installed and exposed to semi-continuous to
continuous maximum allowable ambient temperature conditions for 5 years, one
of the following shall occur:

(1) The sprinklers shall be replaced.

(2) Representative samples of the sprinklers shall be tested and then retested every
5 years.

As most readers know, fire sprinklers activate at a particular temperature

(the temperature rating). This rating is indicated by:

 The color of the liquid in the glass bulb indicates the

temperature range for bulb-type sprinklers.
 In fusible link sprinklers, a small colored dot on the deflector
and/or a colored finish or paint swipe on the frame indicates
the temperature range.
 The precise activation temperature is usually imprinted on the
deflector.
Each temperature rating also lists a maximum ambient ceiling
temperature—the area around the sprinkler can get that hot without the
risk of unnecessary activation. The below table combines tables 7.2.4.1
(a) and (b) in NFPA 13 (2022) to show the different temperature color
codes for fusible link sprinklers and the bulb colors in bulb-type models.
The relevant colors/temperatures/types that may need five-year testing
are in bold: