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Every 90 seconds a home fire is reported in the United States. And according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), eight out of 10 fire fatalities occur where Americans feel safest — in their own homes. Industry statistics indicate that installing a smoke alarm in your home cuts your chance of perishing in a fire by 50%. Installing a residential sprinkler system increases your survival rate to 97%.

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Industry statistics indicate that installing a smoke alarm in your home cuts your chance of perishing in a fire by 50%. Installing a residential sprinkler system increases your survival rate to 97%.

Your home needs working smoke detectors to warn you and your family of an impending fire. But an Uponor fire safety system can actually stop a beginning fire in its tracks — often before the smoke detector alarm sounds.

Consider these facts:

• A typical home can be engulfed in flames in five minutes
• If sprinklers are not present, home fires typically burn for an additional 15 minutes until the firefighters arrive.
• A single sprinkler can control, or in many cases, extinguish a fire in seconds

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Answer
The Uponor fire safety system is actually incorporated into your Uponor PEX Plumbing System. It uses the same Wirsbo AQUAPEX® tubing that provides water to the plumbing fixtures in your home so there is always a ready supply of water to the sprinkler heads

A dedicated manifold feeds ½" Wirsbo AQUAPEX tubing directly to a special fitting equipped with four outlets. This fitting is attached to the sprinkler head. The remaining three ports on the fitting are then used to feed other sprinklers or plumbing fixtures.

The result is an interconnected grid of plumbing fixtures and sprinklers. The combination system reduces cost and ensures reliability. The system also eliminates stagnant water because the same lines that are used to feed your sprinklers are used to feed your facets, showers and toilets. As long as you have water supplied to your plumbing fixtures, you know you have water supplied to your sprinklers.

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Barely noticeable, each sprinkler can be recessed or concealed behind a special plate that falls away when activated.

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Probably less than you think. It depends on the size of your home. Typically, this upgrade that can protect lives, homes and possessions adds as little as 1 to 1.5% to the cost of constructing a new home. You could also check with your homeowner's insurance to see if it decreases your premium.

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Leaks are not a concern with Uponor PEX when the system is properly installed. With a life expectancy of more than 100 years, Uponor PEX tubing has withstood the most extensive tests in the industry for over 30 years. What's more, all our PEX tubing is thoroughly inspected before it leaves our manufacturing plant. We also offer a 25-year limited warranty when installed by an Uponor-trained plumbing professional.

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Yes. We are so confident about the quality of an Uponor fire safety system that we offer a 25-year warranty on the tubing when installed by an Uponor-trained plumbing professional.

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Not directly. We manufacture the durable Wirsbo AQUAPEX® tubing and supply all the necessary components that are used in Uponor fire protection and PEX plumbing systems. We support the contractors who install our systems with on-going training and design assistance. And we confidently back our products and Alliance member (Uponor-trained installers) with a 25-year warranty on the tubing. Find an Alliance member online or call (800) 321-4739.

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Uponor PEX carries the following hydrostatic temperature and pressure ratings:

• 200°F at 80 psi
• 180°F at 100 psi
• 120°F at 130 psi (1/2" Wirsbo AQUAPEX tubing only)
• 73.4°F at 160 psi

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PEX (crosslinked polyethylene) tubing is a specially designed plastic tubing with distinctive properties that make it ideal for radiant floor heating and plumbing systems. Uponor produces PEX-a tubing, which is considered the superior type of PEX.

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Currently, three methods for producing crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) tubing exist:

• Engel or peroxide method (PEX-a)
• Silane method (PEX-b)
• E-beam (electron beam) or radiation method (PEX-c)

All three processes generate tubing that is crosslinked to varying degrees, and are acceptable for potable water distribution applications according to ASTM F876 and F877 standards.

Uponor manufactures Engel-method PEX-a tubing. The PEX tubing industry considers this tubing superior because the crosslinking is done during the manufacturing process when polyethylene is in it amorphic state (above the crystalline melting point). Because of this, the degree of crosslinking reaches around 85% (higher than the other methods), resulting in a more uniform product with no weak links in the molecular chain. Learn more about why PEX-a Tubing is better.

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Your plumbing contractor may be Uponor-trained. If not, we can train him/her or help you find one in your area. Find an Alliance member online or call (800) 321-4739.

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No. Uponor is introducing its fire protection systems on a regional basis to ensure that the proper training is implemented for this life-safety system. For regional availability, contact Uponor at 1-800-321-4739 or your local Uponor representative.

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In recent years, ASTM F876 and ASTM F877 have been refined to incorporate benchmarks for chlorine resistance. Under certain conditions, a high concentration of chlorine can contribute to the oxidation of plastics. This, in turn, can affect service life. The upgraded ASTM standards provide an additional level of assurance that PEX tubing manufactured to these standards can withstand the potential oxidative effects of heavily chlorinated water.

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Crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) and chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) are both used for plumbing systems. The PEX manufacturing process chemically joins individual polyethylene molecules through an extrusion process to create a highly flexible tubing product. With CPVC, the manufacturing process starts with PVC resin and adds additional chlorine molecules, which creates a much more rigid tubing product.

While both products are listed to their own respective ASTM standards for use in plumbing systems, PEX provides superior features, installation characteristics and longevity. For example, PEX systems offer:

- Reliable and visual connections

- Flexibility resulting in tighter bend radius

- Quick and simple fitting connections

- Safe air testing

- Fewer fittings

 

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