Now that is what you call corrosion.

Leaks are the most common reason we at Brenneco Fire Protection get calls for repairs. You can’t always prevent them from happening, but often you can work and act smarter to keep them to a minimum in your facility. Here are the top 5 reasons you may be getting leaks in your sprinkler system piping.

1. Bad batch of pipe. When moisture and metal mix, corrosion happens. Every case is a little different due to water quality, temperature differences and other factors, but rusty pipes that corrode are a very common source of leaks. Chemical injection systems are available to treat systems and minimize the chances of leaks. Talk to your fire protection service provider about the effectiveness of these if you seem to have more leaks than usual.

2. Fork trucks. People seem to lose their brains when they are behind the wheel of a fork truck. We often get calls about sprinkler heads being knocked off and sprinkler risers being damaged due to poor fork truck driving. In residential construction, the user error is more often stray nails or screws accidentally pierced into CPVC piping.

3. Loose fittings. If a fitting isn’t tightened well or glued securely, a leak will eventually occur. It might hold for a while without you seeing water, but eventually you will have a leak.

4. Freezing temperatures. When water freezes, it expands. What typically happens in a fire sprinkler system is some areas freeze and when additional water freezes around that area, causing fittings or heads to break, or pipe to splits. Two things can help you prevent freezing issues. If you have a wet system, make sure you’re maintaining 40 degrees around the piping. If you have a dry system, make sure all of the piping slopes properly so any water or condensation can run back to a drain.

5. Lack of maintenance. With dry systems in particular, a lack of maintenance can lead to leaks. Staying on top of your inspections helps you find and fix leaks or replace bad pipe before these things become costly surprises.