fire sprinkler question

Well, my unit is on the 3rd floor, with presumably some attic space above. I'm not tasting it. :)
 
Oh no... don't taste it. Smell, maybe.

There may be a water pipe or maybe a water heater in the attic which is leaking resulting in rot in some wood and this thick, brown stuff that is then running along the sprinkler pipe and coming out in your room. Something like that. I'm just speculating here. But I do think this is abnormal and should be investigates to root-cause.
 
Hey Joe,

Showed my dad the pics and this was his reply.

Jason, that’s a Viking rapid response sprinkler head looks like its for residental use, it is rare anything would leak from them the glass bulb is the fusable link in the event of a fire heat boils the liquid in the glass tube until it breaks releasing the cap holding the water back. It doesn’t appear to have anything wrong with it.
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I noticed there are quite a few opinions floating around as to what the oily substance could have been. If you're looking for a fire suppression expert that knows the equipment and can answer the question for you quickly, and for free, give these people an email or a call. I know they've been around for quite a while and I'm sure they can give definitive answers to your questions. www.conceptfire-uk.com
 
PStephens said:
I noticed there are quite a few opinions floating around as to what the oily substance could have been. If you're looking for a fire suppression expert that knows the equipment and can answer the question for you quickly, and for free, give these people an email or a call. I know they've been around for quite a while and I'm sure they can give definitive answers to your questions. www.conceptfire-uk.com
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Welcome to BF :)

Joe sent me some pictures that I showed my father who gave the above quoted response. My father is a retired fire chief with 35 years of experience in the fire service.
 
I actually spent 3 years installing fire sprinkling systems. If it is a "black pipe" (steel pipe)system, the water could contain actual cutting oil use in the installation of the system when the threads are cut into the pipe. If the system has been flushed recently then condensation from the outside of the pipe (cold water used to refill the system) could be the culprit.
 
dalee100 said:
Hi,

Same water you drink, so adding things to a sprinkler system could get back into the general water supply.

dalee
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FYI, every sprinkler system installed in the USA which is fed from the municipal water supply is fitted with a backflow prevention device to keep this very occurrence from happening. In large installations, the fire suppression systems will have a different water entrance from the street, and in shared water supplies the domestic water will tee off before the sprinkler backflow preventer. Just thought you ought to know.

Also in response to those below you, there are sometime glycol-adjacent antifreeze compounds in a sprinkler system, however the antifreeze loop is isolated using a similar scheme to prevent ingress of antifreeze into the broader system. The sticker here is that the antifreeze needs to be UL listed, and until recently there were no UL listed antifreezes. Tyco just came out with one this year which is approved in systems up to 40 gallons.
 
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