You may have heard of fire pumps and how these devices are used to increase the water pressure in a fire sprinkler system. They help ensure that water is delivered at a consistent water pressure to areas far away from the main water supply, such as the upper floors of a high-rise building or remote areas of a property. But do you know what submersible jockey pumps are?
In this blog post, we will discuss the purpose of a jockey pump, how it works, and its types. So, let’s get started!
What are Submersible Jockey Pumps?
A jockey pump is a small pump device used to maintain the water pressure in a fire sprinkler system. Its primary role is to ensure that the fire sprinkler system is always pressurized and ready to respond to a fire accident. These pumps operate continuously to maintain stable pressure in the fire sprinkler system. This is done by monitoring the pressure in the system and adjusting it when necessary.
Whenever the water pressure in the sprinkler system drops, submersible jockey pumps will kick in and increase the pressure to the required level. Without a jockey pump, the water pressure in the fire sprinkler system could drop over time due to leaks or other issues. This could prevent the system from functioning correctly in a fire.
Types of Submersible Jockey Pumps
There are two main types of jockey pumps. The most preferable type is a centrifugal pump. The other one is a positive displacement turbine pump. While a turbine pump can generate high pressure at low flow rates with low horsepower, it operates on very close tolerances. When these tolerances wear out, the ability to generate enough water pressure gets lost.
This type of jockey pump can exceed rated system pressures and burst pipes. A straightforward solution to this issue is to install a water pressure relief valve on the jockey pump’s discharge pipe. The valve will open at a pre-set level and dump excess water pressure before it causes any damage to the sprinkler system.
However, the fact is that most water pressure relief valves are regulated by a spring. It is exposed to the water in the system. The valves require regular exercise to keep them from getting stuck closed. On the other hand, centrifugal jockey pumps do not depend on tight tolerances.
Flow and Water Pressure of Submersible Jockey Pumps
Whether you use a centrifugal or turbine-type jockey pump, it should be adequately sized. There are some simple design conditions to make the performance selection easy. For instance, the flow should not exceed the capacity of a single sprinkler head.
Otherwise, the jockey pump would be unable to maintain the fire jockey pump pressure when a head opens up to fight a fire. The jockey pump should be able to generate the same water pressure as the fire pump at no flow. So, you should avoid investing in a jockey pump that can generate more than that.
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