What’s the difference between a wet and dry sprinkler system?
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GeorginaHobbs
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Seeing as most people expect all fire sprinkler systems to dispense water, the term dry and wet systems is usually confusing. It is worth mentioning, though, that while both systems do indeed use water to extinguish fire, the distinction is not whether or not water is used, but how it is dispensed.
You see, in a wet system, pipes are filled directly with pressurized water so that immediately a fire occurs and it is detected by the system, the sprinkler discharges water to extinguish the fire.
In a dry system, however, things are a bit different. Instead of water, the pipes here are filled with pressurized nitrogen or air. It is this component that keeps water at bay until it’s needed.
Once the system detects a fire, the pressure in the pipe drops significantly to ensure that the valve opens and water can then flow through, thus extinguishing the fire.
So in short, while pipes are directly filled with water in a dry system, pipes in wet systems are filled with pressurized air or pressurized nitrogen that give way for water when it’s needed.