EN 12845 Quarterly and Half-Yearly Routines

The weekly check answers "is it dead?" The quarterly and half-yearly visits answer "how healthy is it?" From the hazard review to dry valve exercising, and the risk of opening and closing a valve, these are the demanding items on site.

On a quarterly visit to a food factory the weekly logbook was spotless and the pressure steady. During the hazard review, the manager mentioned that the layout in the adjacent hall had changed the previous month and pallet height had risen to 4 m. The system had been designed for 3.5 m. Neither the sprinklers nor the hydraulics support that. This is exactly the kind of changed condition that never appears in a weekly logbook — and exactly what the quarterly and half-yearly clauses exist to catch.

The quarterly routine (13 weeks)

The following checks are carried out at intervals no greater than 13 weeks, under eight sub-headings.

Review of hazard

This is the most overlooked item in the standard. Structural changes, changes of use, storage configuration, and changes to heating, lighting or equipment are all reviewed. If the hazard class has changed, the system may need re-sizing. This paragraph is the only normative text that answers an insurer's question "why is this system no longer adequate?"

In practice: a short five or six question form, signed by the manager or operator.

• Have any new partitions, mezzanines or intermediate floors been added in the last 13 weeks?
• Has the stock category or storage height changed?
• Has any new process equipment been added — a spray booth, an oven, a wax tank?
• Has the heating method changed, for example from gas burner to electric?
• Has a lighting change, such as an LED retrofit, created a new void at ceiling level?

Sprinklers, multiple controls and sprayers

• Sprinklers with deposits — other than paint — are carefully cleaned.
• Painted or deformed sprinklers are replaced, not cleaned.
• Petrolatum coatings are checked; where degraded, the old coating is removed and two fresh coats applied.
• Sprinklers near spray booths need more frequent inspection.

Pipework and supports

• Corrosion inspected, with paint renewed where necessary.
• Bituminous paint on galvanised threaded ends and hanger connections lasts one to five years; annually in severe environments.
• Tape wrap repairs.
• Pipework must not be used for electrical earthing — where it is, the connection is removed and an alternative arranged. This is one of the most commonly skipped items; in older buildings an electrician may well have used the sprinkler pipe as a convenient earth.

Water supplies and alarm testing

Each water supply is tested through each control valve set. The pump must start automatically, and the supply pressure at the calculated flow must not fall below the design figure. This test is distinct from the annual pump flow test; here it is a functional test — the pump starts and the pressure is recorded.

Electrical supplies

Where a secondary electrical supply from a diesel generator exists, its function is checked.

Stop valve exercising

All sprinkler stop valves — main, above the alarm valve and zone valves — are operated and resealed in the correct position. A valve that is never exercised seizes over time and will not open or close when it matters. The sequence matters:

1. Close one valve fully, then open it fully.
2. Seal the position and check the tamper switch signal.
3. Carry out the alarm test to confirm the system is still open.
4. Move on to the next valve.

Flow alarms

Functional testing of flow switches and pressure switches.

Spare parts inventory

The standard requires spare sprinkler stock of 6 for LH, 24 for OH and 36 for HHP and HHS, plus additional stock for high-temperature, sidewall and other special patterns. The quarterly routine checks the inventory and replenishes what has been used.

The half-yearly routine (6 months)

Dry alarm valve exercising

On dry installations and subsidiary extensions, the moving parts of the alarm valve — including accelerators and exhausters — are exercised per the manufacturer's instructions. In practice: vent the air, let the valve trip, then restore it to the dry condition and repressurise. Trip time and water delivery time are measured against the standard's limits.

Alternate installations switch between wet and dry twice a year in any case, so they do not need a separate test. The six-monthly exercise applies to purely dry and pre-action systems.

Fire service and remote monitoring alarms

The electrical installation and the transmission path are checked. Whether the alarm types defined in the transmission annex actually arrive is tested — in practice, call the monitoring centre and confirm the test signal was received.

Field error — painted sprinklers change the count

During an interior refit at a shopping centre, the decorator painted every ceiling element white, including the concealed sprinkler cover plates. The quarterly maintenance visit found them. The clause is unambiguous: a painted sprinkler is not cleaned, it is replaced. That meant 134 cover plate replacements. The store manager asked why they could not simply be cleaned. Because thermal activation time becomes unpredictable — the head is outside its listing.

Comparison with NFPA 25

NFPA 25's quarterly inspection covers most of the same items in practice. The hazard review appears on the NFPA side as a separate five-yearly hazard evaluation. Dry valve trip testing is a full annual test plus a three-yearly partial trip under NFPA, where EN 12845's six-monthly exercise is more frequent. NFPA 25 exercises control valves annually; EN 12845 does so quarterly, which is stricter.

Link to Turkish regulation

BYKHY refers maintenance intervals to TS EN 12845. Without the quarterly hazard review form and the half-yearly dry valve exercise records, the annual inspection report cannot be completed. From an insurance perspective, systems where stop valves are not exercised show a higher incidence of closed-valve incidents, and claims become contestable.

Quick check list

• Hazard review form signed?
• Sprinklers checked for deposits, paint and deformation, with replacements made?
• Petrolatum coating renewed?
• Pipe and hanger corrosion checked, bituminous paint renewed.
• Any pipe used as an electrical earth removed and re-arranged?
• Every stop valve exercised, resealed and alarm tested.
• Flow and pressure switches tested.
• Spare sprinkler inventory (LH 6, OH 24, HHP/HHS 36).
• Dry valve exercised at six months.
• Monitoring centre and fire service signal test at six months.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the review of hazard?

A quarterly check on whether anything about the building or its use has changed — new partitions, higher storage, new process equipment, a heating change. If the hazard class has moved, the system may need re-sizing.

Can a painted sprinkler be cleaned?

No. A painted or deformed sprinkler is replaced. Paint makes thermal activation time unpredictable, which puts the head outside its listing.

Why exercise stop valves quarterly?

Because an unexercised valve seizes. Each is closed fully, opened fully, resealed, the tamper signal checked and an alarm test carried out before moving to the next.

How often are dry alarm valves exercised?

Every six months for purely dry and pre-action systems. Alternate installations already change over twice a year and need no separate test.

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