Fire Pump Design & Testing 
TS 300‐1‐1 
Friday 9:00am‐12:00pm 
Greg Trombold 
By: Greg Trombold
 Code books used during presentation
 Terms and definitions
 Water supply
 Selecting a the correct fire pump for the job
 Pressure calculation
 Flow calculation
 E mpl
Examples
 Pump selection
 Code issues
 Avoiding trouble
 Contractors point of view on pump selection
 Questions
 NFPA 20 – Installation of Stationary Pumps for
Fire Protection
 NFPA 13 – Installation of Sprinkler
p Systems
y
 NFPA 14 – Installation of Standpipe and hose
systems
y
 NFPA 22 – Water tanks for Private Fire
Protection
 NPSH – net p positive suction head ((32 feet at sea
level)
 Rotation – direction that a pump shaft spins
 TDH – total dynamic head – this is a combination
of vertical head, friction loss, and other losses due
to heat or elevation
 Brake horse power – actual horse power required
at a specific point on a pump curve
 Locked rotor current – maximum amp draw for a
motor
t if th
the shaft
h ft iis h
held
ld in
i a locked
l k d position
iti
 Service entrance rated – a device that is rated to
handle direct feed from the utility
 Minimum water level – the minimum water
level that a vertical turbine fire pump will
operate to its design parameters
 Static pressure – pressure reading at no flow
 Residual ppressure – p pressure at a specific
p flow
 Churn pressure – pressure that a pump
produces at no flow
 AHJ – Authority having jurisdiction
 High Rise Building – A building greater than
75 feet in height. Where the building is
measured from the lowest level of fire
department vehicle access to the floor of the
highest occupiable story.
 The most important thing you need to consider
when sizing a fire pump is water supply
 The first q
question one needs to ask is “does the
municipal supply provide enough volume to
meet the system demand”
 For example if a city water test is 75 static, 50
residual at 1350 flowing
 Does this provide enough water for a 750 GPM
pump
 Answer: Yes – the maximum y
you test a 750 GPM fire
pump to is 1125 GPM or 150% of rated flow
 Does this same water supply provide enough water
for a 1500 GPM fire pump
 Answer
A : maybe
b – if you plot
l t a fl
flow curve outt you
could have the flow required for the 100% flow point
(1500 GPM) *see curve
 However this can be misleading there is a couple of
rules that I follow when talking about a municipal
water supply.
1. Make sure the test is recent – within a year
2. Make sure the residual flow is at least the 100% flow
rating
g of the p
pumpp
3. Avoid winter tests versus summer tests – flow tests done
in the winter are always better than flow tests done in
the summer
 If the water supply
pp y does not supply
pp y enough
g
volume what are your options
 Gravity feed tank – a ground level storage tank
usually steel providing enough water for the
sprinkler demand
 30 of system demand for light hazard
 60 min for ordinary hazard
 90 min for extra hazard
 Below ground tank – usually limited to 50 k of
supply
 Lake or reservoir – leads to some system
requirements that may be an issue - goosenecks
 Job: warehouse Allentown PA
 City water test 82 static, 45 residual with 1941
flowing
 Test date February 2011
 Main size 8”
 S
System d
demand d 2108 GPM at 110 psii
 Pump size 2500 GPM at 80 psi
 If you plot the water curve out it appears that
you have enough water at 2500 GPM or 100%
of the fire pump
 However there are several red flags that
should have been looked at when engineering
this job
1. The water test was done in the winter
2. The main size is 8” when the main is tapped the
coupon ththatt is
i tapped
t d in
i th
the pipe
i isi roughly
hl 7.3”
7 3”
3. The city water test was only run to 1941 GPM – not
full flow of the fire pump
p p
 Actual flow when pump was tested in August
2011
 Types of pumps
 Horizontal split case pumps
 Inline fire pumps
p p
 End suction pumps
 Vertical turbine fire pumps
 Horizontal split case pumps – this is also called
a double suction fire pump because the water
pathways direct water to both sides of the
impeller. It is also the most common fire pump
on the market partly because of the ratings
available
il bl in
i this
thi style
t l off pump 250 GPM
through 5000 GPM
 This was also the first type of pump used for
fire protection systems
 Inline fire pumps – these pumps have
expanded in use in the last five years for
several reasons
 Space savings
 Increase in ratings allowable by NFPA 20 from max
off 499 GPM,
GPM then
th tot 750 GPM,
GPM to t today
t d whichhi h is
i
unlimited rating. The largest currently available is
1500 GPM
 Cost of installation – these are typically less
expensive to install because there is no base plate
that requires grouting
 End suction fire pumps – not widely used
mostly because they are limited in size per
code
 They are also slightly more expensive than in
line pumps
 The one pump application where it is used is
small diesel driven applications 500 GPM or
less
 Vertical turbine pumps – these are used for
water supplies that are below the suction
flange of a fire pump
 NFPA 20 states that you have to have a positive suction
pressure to a fire pump #
 g we should talk about when
The first thing
discussing pressure is height of the building
 If a building is more than 75 feet tall the building
will have stand pipes. The pressure required at the
top most outlet is required to be 100 psi at a given
flow rate depending on the number of standpipes
 Does this mean that the AHJ will not require 100
PSI on building g less than 75 feet tall that have
standpipes
 The answer is maybe different AHJ’s have different
requirements
i t
 The code (NFPA 14 chapter 5) states that if a
building is not classified as a high rise the
standpipes installed can be classified as manual
dry, or manual wet.
 These types of standpipes do not require 100
psi at the top most outlet.
 If that is the case then you simply need end
h d pressure at the
head h top off the
h structure ffor
standard heads this number is usually around
20 PSI
 The other bit of info we need before we start is
the city flow test. Unless we are using a ground
level storage tank or reservoir.
 Once we have gathered that info most of the
industry would have a form like the one on the
following page to compile the data and come
up with your pressure
 Lets do a couple of examples
 In both examples we will assume that the city
water test is right
g at the 100% rating g of p
pump
p
1. Height of building is 212 feet. City water test is
45 p
psi static, residual is 35 p
psi with 1250 GPM
flowing
2. Height of the building is 70 feet. City water
test is 95 psi static with 30 residual with 750
flowing
 A couple of things to note here about these
examples in example one the pressure is above
175 psi.
 Since you are no longer allowed to use main
relief valves to control system pressure you
have to install pressure reducing valves on
sprinkler lines and pressure restricting valves
on fire department connections until you get
high enough in building where the pressure
will be below 175 psi
 The other thing which some engineers forget is
that the pump will discharge much higher
pressure at churn than at the design point
 Per NFPA 20 fire pumps are allowed to have a
40% rise in pressure from rated flow to churn
 This is almost never the case but different
pumps and speeds affect the churn pressure so
you should
h ld always
l llook
k at a curve to d
determine
i
the shut off pressure. (see attached)
 In the previous curve rated head is 300 feet or
130 psi
 The shut off head is 390 feet or 168 psi
p
 This calculates to 29% rise from rated point to
shut off head
 This pump is a newer design and is 3500 rpm
both contribute to the higher percentage
 Lets look at example one to determine churn
 The static pressure is 45 psi plus the churn pressure
of 211 psi for a total of 255 psi.
 If the floors are 12 feet apart we would need
pressure reducing valves and pressure restricting
valves on the first 16 floors.
floors
 255 psi – 175 psi = 80 psi / 12 = 15.4
 Now I have handed out a copy of the pressure
calculation sheet and I want you all to try the
following example:
 Building height 160 feet
 City water test done 1-5-09, 60 static, 38 residual
with
ith 1000 GPM flowing
fl i
 Lets assume the pump is 10 feet below grade in a
basement
 Assume backflow, water meter, and friction in
suction piping are constant
 There are two main factors in GPM calculations
 Area calculation
 Standpipe
p p calculation
 We will start with the standpipe calculation
 NFPA 14 states that the GPM required
q for the
first standpipe is 500 GPM
 Each additional standpipe
p p requires
q 250 GPM
with a maximum GPM of 1000 GPM
 They have done away with the requirement of
combining GPM with sprinkler system
requirements
 Since most area calculations for building with
standpipes come up to be less than 500 GPM
the Fire pump GPM is generally equal to the
stand calc
 If a building has 2 standpipes the pump GPM
would be 750 GPM
 500 GPM for the first and 250 for the second
 If a building has 3 standpipes the pump GPM
would be 1000 GPM
 500 GPM , 250 for the second, and 250 for the third
 Any building with more standpipes would be
1000 GPM as that is the maximum allowable by
code
 For calculating GPM for areas there are a
number of factors that come into play.
 The first is the type
y of hazard y
you are protecting
g
there are 5
 Light hazard
 Ordinary hazard group1
 Ordinary hazard group 2
 Extra hazard g
group
p1
 Extra hazard group 2
 The density associated with the hazard
  Square
q footage
g of area associated with hazard
 Hose allowance
 We are not g goingg to discuss how to choose a
hazard as that is a different topic
 We are also not going to talk about storage
design approaches. These are for warehouse
type facilities and generally require soft ware
t determine
to d t i pump GPM GPM. ThThese types
t off
systems are better to be left to sprinkler
contractors to design build.
build
 Once you have your hazard classification we
use the chart on the following page from NFPA
13.
 The density is multiplied by 1500 for light and
ordinary and 2500 for extra hazard
 The 1500 and 2500 are the most remote square
footage
 You then add in the hose allowance from the
chart on the next page to get your pump GPM
 Buildingg with multiple
p types
yp of hazards yyou
calculate each area and take the worst of the
two to determine your pump GPM
 Th
There are a b
bunchh off exceptions
i in
i NFPA 13
which we will only talk about so that you
know they are there. We will not use them in
the examples
 Make sure the insurance company is consulted
because they can change the density and
square footage requirement depending on the
job.
job
 Building is 15,000 square feet, light hazard
 Density for light hazard .1
 Hose stream for light
g hazard 100 GPM
 Calculation 1500 x .1 = 150 + 100 = 250
 Pump GPM 250 GPM

 Building is 24,000 square feet, ordinary group 1

 Density for light hazard .15
15
 Hose stream for light hazard is 250 GPM
 Ca
Calculation
cu at o 1500
500 x ..15
5 = 225
5 + 250
50 = 475
5GGPM
M
 For the first two examples you can see why if
either building had standpipes why the
standpipe calculation would be the primary
calculation.
 If standpipes are present there is always at least two
which
hi h makes
k the
th pump GPM 750 which hi h iis far
f greater
t
than the area calculation.
 Example 3, building is 23,000 square feet,
22,200 square feet is light hazard and 800
square feet is extra hazard (group 1)
 We will calculate the two areas separately
 1500 x .1 = 150
 800 x .3
3 = 240
 As you can see the extra hazard is a greater GPM even
though
g the area is much smaller
 Pump GPM would be 240 + 500 (hose) = 740 GPM
 Class example please calculate the following
building on a blank piece of paper
 Buildingg is 35,000 square feet
 All but 500 square feet is light hazard
 Balance is ordinary group 2
 First pick the type of pump for application
 Then select the type of driver
 Electric motor
 Diesel engine
 Why
y would y
you select one over the other
 If you do not have or an electrical feed would be
costly to install to the location
 If the AHJ has deemed that the power in an are is
unreliable
 If you choose electric pick the type of start
 Across the line
 Part winding g
 Primary reactor
 Wye delta open transition
 Wye delta closed transition
 Auto transformer
 Pi
Primary resistance
i t
 Soft start
 Variable speed
 Many people don’tdon t know but the primary
purpose of a reduced voltage start is to save on
the size of your generator
 If a soft start is used the inrush current goes
from 600% to roughly 400% this reduction in
current can be taken off the generator size
 Take the GPM required for job and determine
appropriate
i pump
 NFPA 20 states that you can use up to 150% of the rated GPM
for the system demand but they don’t recommend using more
than 140%
 This makes selecting the pump much more difficult
 For example if you are using a 1250 GPM pump for
1450
50 G
GPM M syste
system de
demand
a d you have
a e to go to the
t e curve
cu e
and pick the GPM and pressure required for the
system and then slide back on the curve to the UL
rated point of 1250 GPM to determine rated pressure.
 See attached
 We will assume system pressure required is 121 PSI or
280 feet
 Go to the catalog or website of choice to the
selection tables (see attached)
 Then thingsg like RPM and horse p power come
into play when selecting the pump
 If you have concerns call the factory rep to help
you select the best pump for the job
 A lot of times they
y will know which p pumpsp
have lower churn pressures and which are
more cost effective
 There are a lot of code requirements on fire
pumps that should factor into selection and
system design
 Horizontal elbows or tees upstream of a fire pump
have to be ten pipe diameters from the suction
flange on a split case fire pump
 Pump rooms require a floor drain
 Pump p rooms have to be two hour fire rated if no
sprinklers are present and a one hour fire rating if
sprinklered
 Pumps have to maintain a positive suction
pressure at the suction flange
 Electrical feeds to fire p
pump
p controllers have to
have a two hour fire rating
 Fire p
pumpsp can’t be used as ppressure
maintenance pumps
 Variable speed pumps are now allowed by the
code
 Make the fire pump room large! This is always
a problem things like horizontal elbows and 4’
of clearance in front of a 480 volt main
controller are things that need to be looked at.
 Make sure the electrical engineer knows what
he is doing and follows NEC article 695. the
majority of field issues stem from electrical
miscues on the prints
 Do your homework with the AHJ and the
insurance representative before you begin
 Special
p requirements
q some jjurisdictions require
q
different things
 New York City requires a manual round rotor fire
pump with every automatic fire pump
 Ohio EPA requires suction control valves on every
fire pump to prevent going below 20 psi in the main
 Insurance companies like FM require things
above and beyond the code
 Diesell fuel
Di f l tanks
t k are to
t bbe d
double
bl wall
ll and
d have
h a
spill basin
 Every pump room has a low pump room temp alarm
 Contractors love to put the maximum amount
of pressure in a system that they can.
 Reason smaller pipe and lower installation costs
 For what ever reason they don’t like packaged
systems they think they can do it cheaper and
don’t like to over pay for things
 Contractors will try to use inline pumps up to
their
h maximum fl flow ratings b
because they
h d don’t
’
have to poor a pad