Pendent Sprinklers (Pendant Sprinkler Heads) in Bhopal

A pendent head screws into a drop from the pipe above the ceiling, with only the head and its deflector showing below. The deflector at the bottom faces down and breaks the water into a round, umbrella shaped spray over the floor. Heads are usually finished with an escutcheon plate, or recessed into a cup so less of the head shows.

Most pendent heads open with a glass bulb that breaks at its rated temperature, 68°C (red) as standard. Quick response heads use a thinner 3 mm bulb and open sooner, which is why they go in offices, hotels and hospitals; standard response heads use a 5 mm bulb.

The K factor says how much water a head gives at a given pressure. K 5.6 (K80 in metric) is the common light hazard head, while K 8.0 (K115) and larger heads give more water for ordinary hazard rooms and storage. A pendent head must only be fitted facing down, because its deflector is shaped for that position.

The everyday pendent head for false ceilings. HD Fire and New Age heads are UL Listed, several HD Fire heads also FM Approved, Kartar K908.I and Savemax heads are ISI marked, and Tyco TY-B, TY-FRB, TY-L and TY-FRL heads carry UL, FM and LPCB approvals as listed, in K 4.2 to K 8.0.

A cover plate hides the head flush with the ceiling and drops away in a fire. The concealed sprinkler page compares every concealed model, including extended coverage, sidewall and residential heads.

Extended coverage heads throw water further, so each covers a larger area and fewer heads are needed: Tyco EC-5 and EC-8 for light hazard, EC-11 and EC-14 for light and ordinary hazard, EC-8C and RFII-C for corridors, and concealed versions of several.

For warehouses with high racked or piled storage. ESFR (early suppression, fast response) heads from K14.0 to K33.6 are made to put a fire out in the rack rather than only control it, and for listed goods and heights they avoid in-rack sprinklers. Storage and intermediate level heads protect racks from above and within.

Dry-type heads have a sealed barrel so no water stands in the drop. They are used in cold stores and freezers fed from a heated area, and on dry pipe and pre-action systems. Tyco offers them from K5.6 to K25.2, including dry ESFR heads.

Residential heads are made to keep a room survivable long enough for people to get out, for flats, hostels and homes, and are listed to NFPA 13D, 13R and 13. Tyco LFII heads come in K3.0 to K6.9.

Institutional heads that resist tampering, for prisons and secure wards; stainless steel heads for corrosive areas; Quartzoid heads for high temperatures; flush heads for concrete ceilings; and flat spray heads.

Check the ceiling first. A pendent head goes under a false ceiling, or on drops below an open ceiling. Where the pipes are exposed with no false ceiling, an upright head is normally used, and on a wall a sidewall head.

Then match the design: the K factor and spacing come from the hazard class and the hydraulic design, the response from the use of the room, and the temperature from the hottest the ceiling gets in normal use. Heads in one room should be of the same type and rating.

Finally choose the finish and the approval the consultant or insurer asks for: chrome or white in show areas, brass in plant rooms, UL Listed, FM Approved or ISI marked. Keep spare heads and the head wrench in a spare sprinkler cabinet.