Wet riser servicing and testing in Kettering
Wet riser servicing applies to any building over 50 metres, and to any wet riser nobody has proved in a while.
- Four years of active trading, 100+ projects completed
- ISO 9001, the certification insurers look for
- Free survey, fixed price in writing, no travel charge
Our own jobs. Swipe, or tap to enlarge.
A wet riser is permanently charged and pressurised, fed by its own pump and break tank, so BS 9990 servicing covers the plant as well as the pipework: six-monthly inspection, annual pressure test, the pump proved under flow, duty and standby changeover, break tank level and low-water alarms, and every landing valve tested. Sentry Sprinkler Protection carries out wet riser servicing across England from its base in Kettering, ISO 9001 certified.
Wet risers, on our jobs
One photograph of this exact work, from the owner's own sites. Tap any of them.
- SurveyFree, and we walk the building
- Fixed priceIn writing, with the standard named
- First visitDone, recorded and certificated
From first call to certificate
Four steps, the same on every job.
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01Free survey
We look at the building and its records, and tell you what it is due.
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02Fixed price in writing
Every item priced line by line. No survey fee, nothing added afterwards.
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03The work, on your dates
Isolation agreed before anyone arrives, kept as short as the job takes.
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04Certificate and record
A certificate and a photographed defect list, ready for your insurer.
- Start
Book the free survey
Tell us the building. We will tell you what it is due.
Book a free survey
Covered on every visit
BS 9990
- Six-monthly and annual testing to BS 9990
- Wet riser pump testing, including duty and standby changeover
- Break tank, level and low-water alarm checks
- Installation, repair and pump replacement
When it is due
- Six-monthly inspection
- Annual pressure test
- Pump performance test
The duty sits with whoever controls the premises under the Fire Safety Order 2005. It can be delegated as work, not as responsibility, which is why the certificate matters as much as the visit. How compliance works
What actually goes wrong with a wet riser
A wet riser is a riser, a pump, a tank and an alarm path, and it is only working when all four are. Testing them one at a time proves almost nothing.
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The pump starts but will not make its duty
A start test proves the set turns over. It says nothing about whether it delivers the pressure and flow the riser was designed around. Only a test under flow answers that, and it is the test most often quietly replaced by a start.
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The break tank does not refill, and nothing says so
The tank feeds the pump, the inlet refills the tank, and the low level alarm is what tells anybody the balance has failed. A stuck float valve or an unproved level alarm means the riser has water until it suddenly does not.
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Pressure at the landing valves is wrong
A wet riser is permanently charged, so the pressure at a low level landing valve has to be controlled or it is dangerous to use. Pressure reducing valves drift out of adjustment and are rarely checked against what they are supposed to deliver.
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The alarms are not routed anywhere
Pump running, pump failed, low tank level. Each of those is only useful if it arrives somewhere a person sees it. On buildings that have changed managing agent, the signal frequently terminates at a panel nobody now monitors.
Free survey · fixed price in writing
Tell us what you need. We will tell you what it takes.
Four quick taps and your details. A free survey and a fixed price in writing, with no survey fee and no obligation.
Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pm. Emergencies any hour.
Request received
We’ve got it from here.
Step 1 of 5 is done. Here is how the rest goes.
- Request sent Done
- 2 We call you Next
- 3 Free survey
- 4 Fixed price
- 5 Work done
Questions we get asked
How is a wet riser different from a dry riser?
A dry riser is empty until the brigade connects to it. A wet riser is always full and pressurised, fed by its own pump and tank. Buildings above roughly 50 metres need a wet riser, because a brigade pump cannot reach that height.
What does wet riser maintenance include?
Six-monthly and annual testing to BS 9990, the pump run and proved under flow, duty and standby changeover, break tank level and low-water alarm checks, and every landing valve tested.
Can wet riser testing be done out of hours?
Usually we have to. Testing a wet riser means running water through an occupied building, so most of this work happens in the evening or at a weekend.
How is the pump proved on a wet riser?
Under flow, not by watching it start. The test measures whether the set can deliver the pressure and flow the system was designed for at the highest outlet, which is the only thing that proves it will work in a fire. A pump that starts and runs can still fail that test.
What happens to the water in the system during servicing?
As little as possible. A wet riser is permanently charged, so where a valve or a section has to come out we isolate the smallest part we can and drain that alone. You get told beforehand what will be out of service and for how long.
Do the tanks and level alarms get checked too?
The level alarms yes, on every visit, because a wet riser is only as good as the water behind it. The tanks themselves run on a separate cycle at three, five and ten years and are quoted separately, which is a distinction people miss until an inspection asks for the tank record.
Read more about this
We also cover
Wet risers for your kind of building
The standard is the same. What changes is the hazard, the design and what an insurer asks to see.
- Blocks of flats Above 11 metres a new block needs them. Everything after that is the maintenance record, and it is what a managing agent gets asked for. Sprinkler systems for blocks of flats
- Offices Multi-let buildings where the landlord holds the common parts and the tenant holds the demise. Most of the trouble is the line between them. Office sprinkler systems in multi-let blocks
All our services The standards we work to Questions and answers
Wet and dry riser servicing, town by town
The towns where this is the work we are asked for most. Each page covers the buildings there and what the journey means for a visit.
The published documents behind this page
Every interval and threshold on this page comes from one of these. Links go to the publisher, not to a copy of the document.
- BS 9990Non-automatic fire-fighting systems in buildings. Code of practice
Dry and wet risers, and private fire mains. The source of the six-monthly inspection and the annual pressure test.
BSI
- Approved Document BFire safety: Approved Document B
Statutory guidance to Part B of the Building Regulations. Volume 1 covers dwellings, Volume 2 everything else, and it is where the height thresholds that trigger sprinklers and risers actually live.
UK Government
British Standards are copyright documents and most are bought rather than read free. We hold the ones we work to. If you need to know what one of them says about your building, ask us rather than buying it.
See a wet riser at work, in 3D
A wet riser is always full, fed by its own pump and break tank. Start a fire and watch the brigade connect on the fire floor.
Illustration only. Not a design.
- The bulb over the fire bursts at 68°C. Only that head opens.
- Water moves through the valve set: the gong rings and the flow switch raises the alarm.
- The pressure drops and the fire pump starts.
- Water reaches the open head and the spray holds the fire back.
- The fire is held in check until the brigade arrives.
- The brigade connects to the riser and takes water to the fire floor.
- With no sprinklers, nothing acts on the fire until the brigade arrives.
Drag to turn it. Ctrl + scroll to zoom. Click any part to see what it is.
Your system
What it needs
- Weekly tank level check, pump start test, alarm motor test, system checks
- Quarterly flow switch and alarm test
- Six-monthly riser inspection
- Annual tank inspection and clean, pump performance test under flow, valve set strip, clean and rebuild, full service, riser pressure test
- At each service Riser pump proved under flow
Illustration only. This model shows how a fire sprinkler system works. It is not a design for any real building, and the layout, pipe sizes, head spacing, water supply and riser positions in it are not the ones your building would need. Every real system is designed for its building after a survey, to BS EN 12845, BS 9251 or BS 9990.
Certified, and audited on a schedule.
ISO 9001, certified by BRE Global and accredited by UKAS. Somebody independent audits how every job is planned, recorded and signed off, on a schedule.
ISO 9001:2015
Certified by BRE Global, accredited by UKAS
An audited quality management system. It means the way a job is planned, recorded and signed off is itself inspected by somebody independent, on a schedule.
Working to BS EN 12845, BS 9251 and BS 9990. If your insurer or fire risk assessor wants the certificates themselves, ring us and we will send them over.
5.0 on Google
3 reviews, and every one of them five stars.
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Mike C. Weekly maintenance, testing and repair Sentry Sprinkler Protection have recently taken over the weekly maintenance, testing and repair of the […] sprinkler equipment. They are providing a excellent service, good value and they are also very helpful when on site.
5 stars on Google
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Lewis W. Sprinkler installation, warehouse Had them install a full sprinkler system across one of our warehouses, and couldn't be happier. They were professional from start to finish and the on-site team were genuinely friendly to work with. […] Highly recommend if you would need your building or warehouse properly fire-protected.
5 stars on Google
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Sam E. Sprinkler pipework installation Couldn't recommend [Sentry] enough. Their work ethic, consistent efficient install of the pipework and overall approach to a project should be something every sub-contractor strives to mirror. Marius is incredibly approachable and methodical in his work with laydown areas kept very neat and tidy and all work carried out in a safe manner.
5 stars on Google
Tell us the building. We will tell you what it is due.
No survey fee to find out where you stand. Describe the site and we will tell you which intervals apply and what the visit involves.
Request received
We’ve got it from here.
Step 1 of 5 is done. Here is how the rest goes.
- Request sent Done
- 2 We call you Next
- 3 Free survey
- 4 Fixed price
- 5 Work done