American Fire Sprinkler Association
਀ഊ12750 Merit Dr., Suite 350 * Dallas TX 75251
਀ഊPh: (214) 349-5965    Fax: (214) 276-0908
਀ഊ
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਀ഊTECHNICAL UPDATE
਀ഊJANUARY 20, 2010
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਀ഊ
਀ഊDoes the requirement for five times the weight of the water filled pipe plus 250 
਀ഊpounds apply to the ability of the structure to which the listed hanger assembly 
਀ഊis supported from as a point load?
਀ഊ
਀ഊWe have reviewed NFPA 13, 2007 Edition as the applicable standard. Our informal 
਀ഊinterpretation is that the structure does not have to support five times the 
਀ഊweight of the water-filled pipe plus 250 pounds.
਀ഊ
਀ഊThis is supported by Section 9.2.1.3.1 the sprinkler piping shall be 
਀ഊsubstantially supported from the building structure, which must support the 
਀ഊadded load of the water-filled pipe plus a minimum of 250 pounds applied at the 
਀ഊpoint of hanging. There are requirements for hanger components as part of their 
਀ഊlistings to be designed to handle higher loads than what is indicated by the 
਀ഊmanufacturer data sheets (if the load ratings are published). These are known as 
਀ഊsafety factors. We see this in Section 9.1.1.2 that if the hanger is engineered, 
਀ഊthe hangers shall be designed to support five times the weight of the 
਀ഊwater-filled pipe plus 250 pounds at each point of piping support. So, an 
਀ഊengineered support has safety factor of five. Note that there is no mention in 
਀ഊChapter 9 that the structure at the point of attachment has to support five 
਀ഊtimes the weight of the water-filled pipe. That only applies to hanger 
਀ഊcomponents. When these requirements were first written, the idea was and still 
਀ഊis that everything else will fail before the fire protection system fails. The 
਀ഊ250-pound load referenced above represents the extra stress imposed by system 
਀ഊinstallation, future construction activities, and physical impact from 
਀ഊequipment. Thus, hangers for sprinklers will continue to be designed for larger 
਀ഊloads than other system's hangers since sprinklers provide life safety and 
਀ഊproperty protection.
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਀ഊTechnical Update is prepared by the Technical Services Dept. of the AFSA: Vice 
਀ഊPresident of Engineering and Technical Services Roland Huggins, a PE registered 
਀ഊin fire protection engineering; Phill Brown, a NICET IV certified automatic 
਀ഊsprinkler technician and NFPA Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS) and 
਀ഊTom Wellen, a degreed fire protection engineering technologist. This is provided 
਀ഊwith the understanding that the AFSA assumes no liability for this opinion or 
਀ഊactions taken on it and they are not to be considered the official position of 
਀ഊthe NFPA or its technical committees. 
਀ഊ
਀ഊ Copyright © 2010, American Fire Sprinkler Association.  All Rights Reserved
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