18.

PRE-COMMISSIONING AND ACCEPTANCE TESTS

18.1 INSTALLATION PIPEWORK.

18.1.1 All installation pipework shall be pressure tested in accordance

with rule 10.1.6 which reads as under:

"The installation piping (from the pump house up to the

installation valve and also the installation piping with sprinklers)
shall be capable of withstanding for two hours a pressure
equivalent to 150% of the maximum working pressure."

Note: - In water sensitive areas, it is advisable to test the pipes

pneumatically before carrying out any hydraulic testing.

18.1.2 The coating and wrapping of the underground wrought or mild

steel pipes shall be carried out and also subjected to "Haliday"
tests as per IS-10221.

18.2 INITIAL TESTING TO REGULAR TESTING PROCEDURES.

The system shall be tested as specified in rules 17.6.2, 17.6.3 and

17.6.4 i.e. making the initial tests which shall become routine
tests later as a part of upkeep of the system.

18.3 WATER SUPPLIES

18.3.1 The entire piping system shall be thoroughly flushed before

commissioning in order to remove foreign materials which might
have entered or be present in the system piping during the course
of installation or which may have been present in existing piping
at maximum flow rate available to the system consideration shall
be given to the disposal of water discharged during the flushing.

18.3.2 In case of large installations [where the number of sprinklers in a

single building and those in the buildings communicating
therewith exceed 500], it is necessary to ascertain the hydraulic
balance to check the performance of the pump when working at
most favourable and un-favourable locations. Pressure at the
outlets of the orifice plates shall be measured at all locations to
check the correctness of the size of orifice plates selected.

18.3.3 Each installation valve shall be tested separately. The pump shall
start automatically and the supply pressure at the appropriate
flow rate shall not be less than the appropriate value specified in
rules 8.2 and 8.3 for all types of hazards.

18.3.4 The drain valves fitted above the installation valve shall be
opened and the time taken for the alarm gong to operate be
noted. There shall not be a significant variation in the timing
between the 15mm and 50mm drain valves fitted above the
installation valve to drain the water from the installation.

18.4 PUMP OUTPUT

1
 A running pressure test shall be carried out at the delivery of the
pump at full load conditions (Q max). The pressure obtained in the
test can be used to correct the pressure available at the "C"
gauge of the installation valve.

18.5 AUTO START OF DIESEL PUMPS

When commissioning the installation the automatic starting

system of the diesel engine driven pump set shall be activated
with the fuel supply isolated for six cycles each of not less than 15
seconds cranking and at not more than 15 seconds rest. After
completion of six starting cycles "the fail to start alarm" shall
operate. The fuel supply shall then be restored and the pump set
shall start when the manual start button is operated.

18.6 INSTALLATION VALVES

18.6.1 All the valves shall be physically checked for proper installation
and leakage if any. The reading of the pressure gauges shall be
checked to see whether they match after a few drain tests.

18.6.2 The proper functions of the alarm gong associated with the
installation valve and its level of audibility shall be checked. An
audibility level of 85 db above the background noise level is
required.

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