Sprinkler head paint cap

[Mike Picarello]

Hey fellas,
Ran into a new one for me, 3 story slab on grade townhouse built in 2005.
Ground flrro and mid level have what appear to be paint caps on them. If you get close enough you can see the word "paint" embossed on them (it did not show up in the picture).
The heads on the upper level were normal.
Do these caps stay on or do they need to be removed.

[Arthur Gould]

Hey fellas,
Ran into a new one for me, 3 story slab on grade townhouse built in 2005.
Ground flrro and mid level have what appear to be paint caps on them. If you get close enough you can see the word "paint" embossed on them (it did not show up in the picture).
The heads on the upper level were normal.
Do these caps stay on or do they need to be removed.
They stay on, they are decorative.

The full lettering was "Do Not Paint". If painted they must be replaced. Cleaning paint from sprinkler cover plates or heads is prohibited.

Painting of cover plates or sprinkler heads can only be done by the factory. In the event of a fire the cover plates are designed so they drop off (135 deg) before the sprinkler head actuates (155 deg) and paint will mess up the thermal sensitivity. Cover plates and sprinkler heads come in varying temperature ratings.

I suspect it is a Viking freedom® residential concealed pendent Sprinkler vk466 (K5.2)

See photo upper right first page of product literature

http://www.vikinggroupinc.com/databook/sprinklers/residential/091606.pdf

But it could be a Tyco (See Page 8 http://www.tyco-fire.com/TD_TFP/TFP/TFP408_05_2008.pdf

FYI protective cover plates to be removed after installation are a very distinctive orange color.

[Mike Picarello]

That's them, thanks abunch.

[Don Horn]

Every day (almost) I learn something new and useful from y'all. This site is great.