In this IFSA webinar, Jim McHugh of AGF Manufacturing—a family-owned firefighting components maker outside Philadelphia—walks through practical components for protecting fire sprinkler systems against corrosion and freezing. The session covers two major problem areas: moisture management in dry and pre-action systems, and oxygen-driven corrosion in wet pipe systems.
Jim explains why low-point (auxiliary) drains matter, the NFPA 13 requirement (in code since 2007) to record the quantity and location of every low-point drain, and the surprising mechanics of freeze damage—where the real rupture risk comes from hydraulic pressure between two ice plugs on a re-freeze, not the initial freeze. He reviews AGF's Collect & Drain product line, from simple code-compliant drains to fully autonomous self-draining heated cabinets.
On the wet-pipe side, Jim breaks down the corrosion triangle (water + oxygen + steel) and the case for air vents: Factory Mutual's long-term claims study found that 80–90% of sprinkler corrosion is generalized oxygen-related corrosion rather than microbially influenced (MIC). He traces the evolution of air-vent requirements in NFPA 13—from the 2007 remote inspector's test discussion to the 2016 "shall" language requiring one air vent per system near a high point—and clears up common misconceptions about what the code does not require. The webinar closes with corrosion-monitoring sight glasses and proper installation orientation for wet versus dry systems.
A practical, component-level look at keeping systems reliable across their service life.