Learn how to connect sprinklers to branch lines and utilize detail lines to set up the location of your pipes. This step-by-step guide provides instructions on adjusting pipe lengths and positioning to ensure sprinklers are installed in the exact location they need to be.
Key Insights
- To connect sprinklers to a branch line, extend the section to the sprinkler and draw a one-inch pipe. Make necessary adjustments to the length and position for an accurate fit.
- Using a technique referred to as an over-down configuration allows installers flexibility when positioning sprinklers. This technique includes an adjustable pipe section that can be cut longer or shorter as per the requirements of the sprinkler's location.
- Detail lines can be used to help set up the location of pipes. By marking the center of the sprinkler and dragging the line to the branch line, installers can accurately determine where to position the sprinkler.
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In this video, we'll be wrapping up our mini project area. So let's zoom in to this branch line. You can see this extra run of pipe—we don't need it.
We'll pull it back a few inches past the outlet, and we'll cap it. Okay, so what we need to do next is connect our sprinklers here to this branch line and connect these sprinklers down here to this branch line. So let's take our section and drag it up to here.
Make sure we go to Window Tile. Okay, WT. We will rotate this view 90 degrees. Now, since we have two sprinklers directly across, we're going to have to extend this a bit farther because we're making an offset.
So let's pull it up just a bit there. Okay, let's start with this sprinkler. We'll go to our section, Draw Pipe, one inch.
Let's stop here, zoom in, delete the elbow, and move this about four inches. Okay, zoom in a little more, Right Click > Draw Pipe. Okay, and we can drag this in.
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Okay, zoom over. Now we need to connect this sprinkler, so let's find it in our section. Here we are—Draw Pipe, one inch—over, Trim/Extend. Okay, now I overestimated that a bit, so that's okay. We'll just pull it back a few inches and cap it. All right, now let's go down to here and do the same thing.
So in my section view, Draw Pipe, one inch, and make sure this is at 12 feet. I am, so that's good. Delete the fitting, go back to the plan view. Let's offset it four inches.
Okay, we'll Trim/Extend first. That's connected. Now drag this over to the sprinkler—Draw Pipe. There we are. Zoom back out. Now this sprinkler—go to the section, pan over, and find it. There it is. Let's try that again. Okay, all right—two more of these sprinklers here. Okay, we're at 12 feet. Let's see if this will connect through the section view. It did not. Sometimes it will; sometimes it won't. So let's zoom in, find it, come back out, and do a Trim/Extend—see if it works.
Okay, zoom back out to find where we are, and let's go down to the next sprinkler. Now let's work on this area here. This set of sprinklers and this set of sprinklers will be connected to one arm-over. We'll use a one-and-a-quarter-inch pipe and connect those to one-inch arm-overs. Now, another thing you can use to help set up the location of your pipes is detail lines. So let's try that out.
Let's type DL. We'll zoom in to the middle of this sprinkler here. Make sure you find the very center. Okay, zoom back out to find our branch line. We'll drag it to about there. And let's take this and pan over—a little past our sprinkler is okay. Now, we don't want to do a drop straight down, and the reason we do our over-down configuration is this piece allows the installers some flexibility. They can either cut this pipe longer or shorter to get the sprinkler in the exact location it needs to go. If it were to just drop straight down, it would be very difficult to find exactly in the ceiling tile where the sprinkler would need to go.
So again, we use this to help offset the locations so we can drop the sprinklers right where they need to be.
