What is the flow rate of a fire sprinkler head?

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Most residential sprinkler heads are designed to flow between 10 and Page 3 13 gallons per minute. Generally, a fire hose will flow an average of 100 gallons per minute.



Similarly one may ask, what is the flow rate of a sprinkler head?

At different pressures, the sprinkler head and nozzle will consume different amounts of water. For example, at 35 pounds per square inch (PSI) the 5000 Series Rotor using the 3.0 nozzle will use 3.11 gallons per minute (GPM). If your home's water capacity was 10 GPM, you could place 3 heads per zone.

Additionally, how many gpm does a fire sprinkler head use? A sprinkler system should be designed so that water flow is at least 15 gallons per minute (gpm) and up to a maximum of 40 gpm. Regardless of the type, the standard requires that the water supply for a home fire sprinkler system accommodate one or two operating sprinklers for a period of seven to 10 minutes.

Also Know, how do you calculate fire sprinkler flow rate?

If, for instance, you have a fire sprinkler with a discharge coefficient of 6.2: 3.87 x 6.2 = 24 gallons per minute. Multiply this individual flow rate by the total number of sprinklers. If your system has, for instance, 15 sprinklers: 24 x 15 = 360 gallons per minute.

What is the K factor of a sprinkler head?

1.1. K-factor is a mathematical constant established by the sprinkler manufacturer that relates the flow of water that is discharged from the sprinkler at a given pressure.

35 Related Question Answers Found

How many sprinklers can I run on one line?

The resulting number will equal how many zones you need. If, for example, each sprinkler head will require a flow rate of 1.31 GPM and you have 20 of them, then you will need 26.2 GPM total. If your system can only handle 16.67, you will need to use two zones to cover that same area of your yard.

How many fire sprinklers can I run on one line?

Sprinkler per Branch line limit. main. necessary, lines shall be permitted to be increased to nine sprinklers by making the two end lengths 1 in.

What is the minimum pressure for a fire sprinkler system?

The pressure needed just depends on how the sprinkler designer lays out the system and the water supply available, but would typically be between 50 and 150 psi.

How many pop up sprinklers can I run?

Different sprinklers will consume different flow rates. Large impulse or rotor sprinklers can consume as much as 6 GPM or more while standard nozzles used on pop-up spray bodies can be 2 GPM or less.

How much water does a sprinkler use per minute?


In the table below it is estimated that each sprinkler zone uses 15 gallons of water per minute. For one watering cycle a total of 750 gallons of water are used. There are 748 gallons per 100 cubic feet (cf), so 100 cf of water is being used for one watering cycle.

How do you calculate sprinkler heads per zone?

Divide the GPM flow through your water system by the GPM flow through the sprinklers at your available pressure. Round down the nearest whole number. This is the maximum number of sprinklers you can use per zone.

What water pressure is needed for sprinklers?

The average water pressure for most homes and businesses is between 30 psi and 50 psi; most sprinkler systems are designed to use pressures of around 30 psi. You can measure the water pressure at your site with a flow meter or water gauge attached to an outdoor faucet.

What is the K factor in flow measurement?

Meter K-Factor is defined as the number of pulses per unit mass or volume at a particular flow rate. Every meter in each turbine contains a K-Factor or a ratio of the pulses per unit of flow. Every time a turbine rotates within a flow rate, the turbine blade passes a face of magnet that creates an electronic pulse.

What is the standard pressure for fire sprinkler?

Re: sprinkler system pressure
150 psi to 175 psi is common for fire sprinkler systems, and they are tested at 200 psi to 250 psi. Depends on the system.

What is a fire sprinkler K factor?


The k-factor for a fire sprinkler is the discharge coefficient, or in normal human terms just relates to the amount of water that is permitted through the sprinkler. The k-factor is dependent upon the orifice diameter of the sprinkler - a low k-factor (such as K2.

What is the minimum distance between sprinkler heads?

Minimum Distance Between Sprinklers: typically 6'-0". Distance from Ceiling: minimum 1", maximum 12" for unobstructed construction. The minimum 1" is typical; however, concealed, recessed, and flush sprinklers may be mounted less than 1" from the ceiling and shall be installed based on their listing.

How do you size a fire sprinkler pump?

For example, if you have a 40,000-square-foot building that is all ordinary group 1, the calculation would be 1,500 x 0.15 (density) = 225 + 250 (hose demand) = 475 gpm total for the fire pump. If the structure has multiple hazards, the hazard with the highest gpm calculation dictates the pump size.

What is sprinkler density?

Sprinkler density is a measurement of the volume of water that is released in a certain amount of time over a specific area. Being able to calculate sprinkler density is important in matters of safety, as a sprinkler system must be able to amply douse an area in order to help control a potential fire.

What is hydraulic calculation in fire fighting?

Hydraulic calculations provide a verifiable analysis of the 3 primary components of a fire suppression system: 1) The water delivery requirements to suppress a possible fire. 2) The available water supply. 3) The network of piping that will deliver this water in the event of a fire.

How do you size a sprinkler system?


That number is flow rate in terms of gallons per minute, or GPM. For schedule 40 PVC, use 1/2-inch pipe for a 4 GPM system, 3/4-inch pipe for 8 GPMs, 1-inch pipe for 13 GPMs, 1 1/4-inch pipe for 22 GPMs, 1 1/2-inch pipe for 30 GPMs, and 2-inch pipe for 50 GPMs.

How much area does a fire sprinkler cover?

For example for storage applications the standard sprinklers used in CMDA, ESFR, and CMSA range between 100-130 square feet of coverage per sprinkler head. In the case of the extended coverage heads the square footage can range between 144-196 square feet per sprinkler head.

How do I calculate GPM?

The formula to find GPM is 60 divided by the seconds it takes to fill a one gallon container (60 / seconds = GPM). Example: The one gallon container fills in 5 seconds. 60 / 5 = 12 GPM. (60 divided by 5 equals 12 gallons per minute.)