AGF Manufacturing announced that a patent for its innovative Purge and Vent valve was granted Aug. 27, 2019. The patent covers the company's PURGENVENT sprinkler air vent product line, which was designed to reduce corrosion in wet pipe fire sprinkler systems by releasing trapped air.

 

The AGF engineering team designed the PURGENVENT product line to be a simple and flexible solution to fulfill new NFPA 13 (2016 Edition) requirements. The new code requires that all wet fire sprinkler systems with metallic pipe include an air vent near the high point of the system to release trapped air, thus reducing pipe corrosion.

 

The main features of the PURGENVENT Model 7900 automatic air venting valve is its integral isolation valve, barrel strainer, purge valve with conical air release valve, purposely designed to prevent water discharge, eliminating the need for redundancy or drip pans. The unique-to-the-category purge valve can speed up the system filling process, act as a vacuum break to expedite draining for service and allows easy access for strainer flushing to fulfill NFPA 25 requirements. PURGENVENT has been reviewed and maintains the standard UL Listings and FM Approvals, plus it has been approved by the California State Fire Marshal.

 

Model 7950ILV is designed for in line installation downstream of the typical floor control assembly or when the high point of the system is at the beginning; it includes an expansion chamber to aid in the separation of air and water as the sprinkler pipe fills. The expansion chamber has an increased diameter that allows the water to sink to the bottom and air to rise into the high point and exit through the air scoop to be vented through the air release valve. As the water leaves the chamber, the smaller diameter forces the air back, where it rises through the patented quick vent channel in the air scoop.

 

With increasing concerns regarding the damage done by failing system infrastructure and as many jurisdictions adopt the 2016 edition of NFPA 2013, AGF’s PURGENVENT products are a simple solution to meet code while providing reliable automatic venting to eliminate trapped air in a fire sprinkler system to reduce pipe corrosion and extend the life of a system.