Fire dampers are an essential part of a building or facility's passive fire fighting system and need to kept in top shape at all times. They play one of the most crucial roles in preventing the spread of fires and have the potential to save a countless number of lives in case of an event of a fire emergency. A motorized smoke fire damper is considered part of a building or home's HVAC system and has been proven to be an essential asset in controlling and fighting fires, which prevent the loss of life and property. However, due to the complex nature of a motorized smoke fire damper, it can be quite hard to make sure that it is in great shape and performing at an optimum level. If care is taken to diligently schedule maintenance and testing procedures, not to mention regular inspection, this will help in assuring long term optimal performance from the motorized smoke and fire damper. There are a large number of reasons why a motorized fire damper could fail an inspection. These problems are actually quite common, but the potential damage caused by them can also be mitigated fairly easily most of the time. The 3 most commonly found issues that cause an inspection to fail are elaborated upon as follows: 1. Alignment :
The first thing that a fire damper inspection will look for is if all the required components of the device are properly aligned. The smaller parts that make up the whole damper must be inspected in order to ensure that the damper can work reliably. A lot of components have to be aligned in a motorized smoke fire damper just so in order to work at its best. If these components are not properly lined up, they can cause the basic functioning of the damper to fail its purpose. The damper will probably not be able to close completely, which is a serious obstacle to the containment of the fire.
2. Rusted or Corroded Parts :
This is an obvious problem for the fire and smoke damper. The rust can build up from prolonged exposure to moisture in the air ducts. Rust is one of the more serious problems for a fire damper, as any small amount of damage to the object can have the effect of causing a malfunction - which definitely must not happen in the event of a fire. Combatting this problem will require that any built up rust is immediately removed from the damper, but if the extent of rust damage is too much, the damper will have to be replaced in its entirety.
3. Unreliable Fusible Links :
The fusible link is one of the most crucial elements of the damper, since it needs to work for the damper to respond. The fusible link has a certain predetermined range of temperatures that it can withstand, and melts if the temperature exceeds that threshold. When the fusible link melts, the damper slams shut. The damper will only open again when a new fusible link is placed. Although most of these fixes are easy, many building managers are not prudent with their fire damper and door inspections. A trained and qualified professional needs to have a look at the dampers in your pre-insulated ducts before you can determine them to be safe. Building code authorities usually require a signed report that attests to the working condition of your passive fire fighting system for both the owner and residents' safety.
Source : articlesbase.com
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