How to Replace Old

Residential Fire Sprinkler
Heads with Different or
Missing K-Factors
November 8, 2022

The best practices and NFPA guidance

for finding a suitable replacement home
fire sprinkler
 Residential fire sprinkler systems have existed for about 50 years,
prompting the need for many home or building owners to replace old
fire sprinkler heads. Whether it’s because of damage, activation, or
simple age, you must either find an exact replacement — the same
model, brand, and characteristics — or an equivalent fire sprinkler with
features that meet the system’s design requirements.

Among the crucial specs that must closely match is the sprinkler’s K-
Factor, a technical term that describes the size of the orifice and how
much water comes out (how fast) at a given pressure and flow.

Unfortunately, some manufacturers have gone out of business or retired

old models over the years, and the technical specs of home fire
sprinklers have changed with evolving installation standards. This
situation sometimes begs the question:
What if I need to replace residential fire
sprinkler heads, but it has an obsolete
or missing K-Factor?
 This QRFS guide explains what to do, what the K factor of a sprinkler is,
some design calculations explaining the number’s importance, and how
the history of residential fire sprinklers has influenced these issues. We
reference the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) installation
standards to explain specific rules:

 NFPA 13D: Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in

One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes
 NFPA 13R: Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in
Low-Rise Residential Occupancies
 NFPA 13: Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems.
NFPA 13 isn’t a dedicated residential standard, and its
systems aren’t the focus of this piece, but it does include
various rules governing residential sprinklers. People use
NFPA 13 for larger residential buildings or where owners
don’t choose 13R or 13D because they want equal life
safety and property protection.
You can read this entire blog for an in-depth look at this issue. But at a
minimum, check out our summary of steps for replacing a sprinkler
with an old or missing K-Factor:

1. Identify the sprinkler model, including its temperature classification,

and try to find an exact replacement for sale. If you do, buy it!

2. If an exact replacement isn’t available, NFPA 13D, 13R, and 13

permit using an equivalent residential sprinkler with a K-Factor
within +/- 5% of the old K-Factor. For example, an obsolete Viking
Microfast Model M pendent residential sprinkler from 1988 has a 5.5 K-
Factor. So, you might replace it with a modern Viking Freedom
VK466 with a 5.2 K-Factor (-5%) at an equivalent temperature.

3. If you can’t find a replacement sprinkler within +/- 5% of the old

model’s K-Factor, then a fire protection professional must do some
calculations to see if the closest replacement options will work well.
These essential specs include whether the new model accomplishes the
old sprinkler’s intended coverage area at a given pressure and flow and
meets the “minimum discharge density of 0.05 gpm/ft2 (2.0 mm/min)”
that NFPA 13D first specified for all residential systems in 2002.

4. If you don’t know the K-Factor for an old sprinkler, similar but
more detailed calculations are necessary. They include assessing how
far sprinklers are from each other and the walls, the system’s pipe
material and size, the available water pressure, and other factors. Again,
the results can inform choosing a sprinkler that provides different but
sufficient protection.

5.  If necessary and with the calculations from Steps 3 or 4, you and a

fire protection professional can speak to the authority having
jurisdiction (AHJ) about waiving the +/- 5% K-Factor requirement.
Technically, consulting an AHJ is not mandated by standards. But local
rules might require it depending on construction-permitting needs for
modifying an existing structure. Success here depends on making the
case that any new replacement sprinklers provide adequate protection.

6. If the AHJ declines to use their discretion or the numbers just don’t
work out, a significant recalculation and retrofit of the sprinkler
system are needed. This effort, which may involve replacing pipes,
sprinklers, and other steps, isn’t the most likely outcome. After all,
residential sprinkler systems and the NFPA 13D and 13R installation
standards are designed to be affordable and forgiving. But it’s possible!
With that summary complete, let’s get into more detail on why K-factor
is essential and the calculations that inform the design requirements for
sprinklers.

Need replacement fire sprinklers?  Check out QRFS’s wide selection of

residential fire sprinklers  from Tyco, Viking, Senju, and Victaulic.

N
o information — including no K-factor — is engraved on this old
sprinkler’s deflector, making it harder to identify the sprinkler and find a
replacement.
The NFPA 13D, 13R, and 13 rules for
replacing old residential fire sprinkler
heads
While automatic fire sprinkler systems have been around since the late
19th Century, their residential cousins are much younger.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) published the first

edition of NFPA 13D in 1975, and Grinnell Fire
Protection manufactured the first listed residential fire sprinkler in 1981.
At the time, the Grinnell Model F954 was the only model to meet the
listing requirements in UL 1626, The Standard for Residential Sprinklers
for Fire-Protection Service.

Both residential sprinklers and their installation standards have evolved

in the years since. However, standards have maintained their guidance
that the first option for sprinkler replacement is using the exact same
model at the same temperature.

But if your residential sprinkler was manufactured over 20 years ago or

otherwise discontinued, it may be impossible to find an exact
replacement or a different model with the precise characteristics.
Complicating matters is the fact that you might not be able to find the K-
factor for older sprinklers at all; the number might not be apparent on
the frame or deflector.

In addition, NFPA didn’t specify a 0.05 gpm/ft2 minimum discharge

density for residential sprinklers until the 2002 edition of NFPA 13D.
Instead, the old standards just set flow and spacing parameters. Thus,
many sprinklers made and installed before 2003 had discharge densities
ranging from about 0.032 gpm/ft2 to as high as 0.09 gpm/ft2.

Modern editions of NFPA 13D, 13R, and 13 attempt to account for these
old sprinklers and their inconsistencies with the following guidance (the
below references are in the 2022 editions):

12.3.2.1* (NFPA 13D)/5.1.1.2* (NFPA 13R)/19.3.1.4.1 (NFPA 13)

Where replacing residential sprinklers manufactured prior to 2003 that are no
longer available from the manufacturer and are installed using a design density less
than 0.05 gpm/ft2 (2.04 mm/min), a residential sprinkler with an equivalent K-factor
(± 5 percent) shall be permitted to be used provided the currently listed coverage
area for the replacement sprinkler is not exceeded.

A bit of confusion could arise because of how this section is written;

specifically, this condition: “and are installed using a design density less
than 0.05 gpm/ft2 (2.04 mm/min).” Many system owners won’t know
whether their old fire sprinklers hit this density threshold — and it
doesn’t really matter whether or not they do