Post by voyager9 on Apr 21, 2009 8:55:26 GMT -5
From FirefighterCloseCalls:
From the full report:
There are some good photos of the failure in the report. It looks like this thing literally exploded..
NEW JERSEY MANIFOLD CATASTROPHIC FAILURE UPDATE (SYNOPSIS)
Monday, April 20, 2009
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Snap-tite Hose received notice of a catastrophic failure of a 5 way manifold in New Jersey thru their dealer. Following are some points of note from the email accounts they received. (See entire report info below)
1. A loud noise ‘like a freight train’ was heard before the failure occurred.
2. The gauge on the manifold did not register an increase in pressure (this was mentioned several times).
3. The local water company notified fire department personnel that they had ‘high pressure on the hydrant’ requiring manual control of the pressure at the pump station.
4. The relief valve on the manifold did not relieve.
The fire department also submitted several photos of the failed appliance which are posted.
Snap-tite’s history with these units is very good. They are rarely returned for warranty repairs and there have been no warranty catastrophic failures.
Monday, April 20, 2009
-
Snap-tite Hose received notice of a catastrophic failure of a 5 way manifold in New Jersey thru their dealer. Following are some points of note from the email accounts they received. (See entire report info below)
1. A loud noise ‘like a freight train’ was heard before the failure occurred.
2. The gauge on the manifold did not register an increase in pressure (this was mentioned several times).
3. The local water company notified fire department personnel that they had ‘high pressure on the hydrant’ requiring manual control of the pressure at the pump station.
4. The relief valve on the manifold did not relieve.
The fire department also submitted several photos of the failed appliance which are posted.
Snap-tite’s history with these units is very good. They are rarely returned for warranty repairs and there have been no warranty catastrophic failures.
From the full report:
An extreme failure such as this can only occur by exposing the manifold to a sudden, significant pressure spike well above the rated burst pressure of the casting. As the attached literature indicates, the manifold is rated to 710 psi burst pressure, therefore the unit experienced a pressure substantially higher than this.
Controlled burst tests in the lab never result in the extent of damage caused to this manifold. Typically as a casting reaches it’s burst point, a crack develops which allows the pressure within the casting to dissipate and no further damage is done. We have never experienced a burst on an appliance where the casting actually explodes such as appears to have occurred in this situation.
Controlled burst tests in the lab never result in the extent of damage caused to this manifold. Typically as a casting reaches it’s burst point, a crack develops which allows the pressure within the casting to dissipate and no further damage is done. We have never experienced a burst on an appliance where the casting actually explodes such as appears to have occurred in this situation.
There are some good photos of the failure in the report. It looks like this thing literally exploded..
