FIRE PUMP TESTING USING A FLOW METER

Flow meters are used to measure fluid or gas flows in piping systems as well as to balance such systems. Flow meters have been an accepted method of testing fire pumps since the 1974 edition of NFPA 20, Installation of Centrifugal Fire Pumps. Flow meters also have been tested and approved by Factory Mutual since 1974.

The reason for choosing a flow meter is that it permits the convenience of testing net fire pump performance frequently without the cost of assembling a large group of personnel plus providing fire hoses and nozzles for each test. The test can be conducted any time of the year, and testing with a flow meter limits the amount of water being wasted. If one were to consider the traditional method of testing a 1,500gpm fire pump and flowing various combinations of hose streams in order to get the various points on a pump curve, such as flows related to suction and discharge pressures (net pressure), and each point on the curve is measured over a 10-minute period, more than 50,000 gallons of water would be wasted.

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