# Flex heads



## wyrickmech (Mar 16, 2013)

Where is the best place to find these? What brand is the best?


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## PlungerJockey (Feb 19, 2010)

wyrickmech said:


> Where is the best place to find these? What brand is the best?


Flex head what?


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## wyrickmech (Mar 16, 2013)

PlungerJockey said:


> Flex head what?


Sorry that is what we call them around here it is a flex connection for fire sprinkler. It is 1 in on one end and 1/2 in on the sprinkler head end it has a bracket that locks to the grid ceiling. I just don't have a supplier local need to call somebody just don't no who.


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## plumbing ninja (Jan 15, 2012)

Only brands I know of are....
Swagelok
Titeflex
Generant (Bilok)
These are top of the line brands that are US made that I've work with down here


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## PlungerJockey (Feb 19, 2010)

I had to google it. Sorry, I've poked my head up in alot of tile ceilings and I have never seen one of those before. Everyone here still uses the iron pipe drops. It looks like the cats meow for running drops, especially if your are running over a sloped floor with a ceiling that is slightly sloped.


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## wyrickmech (Mar 16, 2013)

PlungerJockey said:


> I had to google it. Sorry, I've poked my head up in alot of tile ceilings and I have never seen one of those before. Everyone here still uses the iron pipe drops. It looks like the cats meow for running drops, especially if your are running over a sloped floor with a ceiling that is slightly sloped.


It is real nice when you can put the head in on the Ruffin do a 200 pound test and when the grid goes up just put it in place. They cut your labor and make it a lot easier to hit the center of a tile. The hospital crews love them because you can move them for better access to equipment above the ceiling.


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## wyrickmech (Mar 16, 2013)

plumbing ninja said:


> Only brands I know of are....
> Swagelok
> Titeflex
> Generant (Bilok)
> These are top of the line brands that are US made that I've work with down here


Where is a outlet for them? That is the problem everyone around me seems to know nothing about where to get them. Victalic has one aqua-flex is its name but that's all I can find in English at least.


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## plumbing ninja (Jan 15, 2012)

wyrickmech said:


> Where is a outlet for them? That is the problem everyone around me seems to know nothing about where to get them. Victalic has one aqua-flex is its name but that's all I can find in English at least.


I know where to get them from, but only from down this end of the planet! (fat lot of good that is to you?) Swagelok is a franchise and so they may known in a state as Florida valve & fitting or Texas valve & fitting etc? 
The other will have distributors too but I wouldn't know who they are

Down here we can have them made to order by specialist hose companies who fabricate ss flex or convoluted hoses to the ends and lengths you want! 

Sorry, wish I could be of more help...


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## todd31277 (Aug 16, 2013)

where are you located. The company i work for is a Vic. dist. could have them drop shipped even. We are located in Ohio.


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## wyrickmech (Mar 16, 2013)

todd31277 said:


> where are you located. The company i work for is a Vic. dist. could have them drop shipped even. We are located in Ohio.


Central MO is my location I have found one brand threw ferguson but send me some info it would be greatly appreciated.


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## newyorkcity (Nov 25, 2010)

Flex Head Industries. I used several hundred, 24" with no problems.
I purchased them direct from Reliable Sprinkler Co.
PM me and I'll give you all the info you want.
Prices vary by a large amount from supplier to supplier.


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## Maison (Nov 7, 2013)

I would say go with Aqua Flex brand flex heads. I really like Aqua Flex's brackets for mounting in the grid. Some other brands make you actually screw the bracket to the grid but Aqua Flex has ones that have a clamp so that you can clamp it down first to get it center of tile before you commit to screwing it to the grid.


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## sprinklertech (Oct 24, 2010)

wyrickmech said:


> Where is the best place to find these? What brand is the best?


I prefer *Flex Heads by Flex Head Industries*.

They cost a little more than Aqua Flex but more than cost or the brackets used what I guy like me looks for is equivalent pipe/fitting lengths so my hydraulic calculations work out.

On some of the corrugate flex heads I've seen equivalent fitting lengths of 33' of 1" pipe and that just kills me.

Flowing 20 gpm I will lose 5 psi through a flex head and 1" tee that is on the branch line. Actually 4.94 psi but we'll call it 5. On some jobs where pressure is good this wouldn't be a factor but if I am trying to work with a 45 psi available pressure in a 12' ceiling building on an Ordinary Hazard II occupancy the difference could cause me to increase all the pipe in the building by one size. What good is it to save $4 per head if I have to increase the everything costing $8 per head?


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## wyrickmech (Mar 16, 2013)

sprinklertech said:


> I prefer Flex Heads by Flex Head Industries. They cost a little more than Aqua Flex but more than cost or the brackets used what I guy like me looks for is equivalent pipe/fitting lengths so my hydraulic calculations work out. On some of the corrugate flex heads I've seen equivalent fitting lengths of 33' of 1" pipe and that just kills me. Flowing 20 gpm I will lose 5 psi through a flex head and 1" tee that is on the branch line. Actually 4.94 psi but we'll call it 5. On some jobs where pressure is good this wouldn't be a factor but if I am trying to work with a 45 psi available pressure in a 12' ceiling building on an Ordinary Hazard II occupancy the difference could cause me to increase all the pipe in the building by one size. What good is it to save $4 per head if I have to increase the everything costing $8 per head?


i have found an outlet for flexhead brand . They do seem to be the better product. The cost was quite a it lower once I got ahold of the right people to.


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## sprinklertech (Oct 24, 2010)

wyrickmech said:


> i have found an outlet for flexhead brand . They do seem to be the better product. The cost was quite a it lower once I got ahold of the right people to.


A good price would be $25 to $30 for a 24" Flex Head and $28 to $34 for a 36" 1/2" outlet Flex Head. I get them a little better than that but I typically purchase several hundred at a time.

If you get the paradise flex head you can expect to pay around $4 less but that 33' equivalent fitting loss just kills me more often than not.

Also about Flex Heads is there's no question about approval because they are UL listed, Factory Mutual Approved, City of New York approved and State of California approved.


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## wyrickmech (Mar 16, 2013)

sprinklertech said:


> A good price would be $25 to $30 for a 24" Flex Head and $28 to $34 for a 36" 1/2" outlet Flex Head. I get them a little better than that but I typically purchase several hundred at a time. If you get the paradise flex head you can expect to pay around $4 less but that 33' equivalent fitting loss just kills me more often than not. Also about Flex Heads is there's no question about approval because they are UL listed, Factory Mutual Approved, City of New York approved and State of California approved.


 I used to work for a company that said flexheads cost more than the labor and material to old school it. I had one job I told them if they would let me try them we would see. After that they told me that they always used flexheads because they had figured out it was a lot more efficient.lol


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## sprinklertech (Oct 24, 2010)

wyrickmech said:


> I used to work for a company that said flexheads cost more than the labor and material to old school it. I had one job I told them if they would let me try them we would see. After that they told me that they always used flexheads because they had figured out it was a lot more efficient.lol


Exactly!

And material is not really that much more when you factor in the flex head will replace 2 or 3 feet of 1" pipe, two elbows and a 1"x1/2" reducing coupling.

That's $3 for pipe, $1 for a reducing coupling and $2 for elbows puts you at $6 or one fourth of the cost of a flex head.

But the real savings come in labor. Let's face it, architects want sprinklers centered in tiles and that can be a real pain. First we pipe overhead and then come back after the ceiling grid is dropped to cut our heads in and then we test. You can easily spend 30 minutes a head centering the drops... 

By using a flex head we install the overhead pipe, put on our flex head, use a wire tie to tie it to the overhead pipe and test all in the same operation. When the ceiling tile is put up we don't have anything to cut and we don't even have to turn the water off to center our heads. On a job finished up last month one man was able to center 75 sprinklers by himself in one 8 hour day. No way could you do that much by yourself doing it the old fashioned way.

I wrestle with this all the time; all the time I am thinking "boy this material costs so much" but every time I go back to the old fashioned way I am reminded why flex heads are better when I get the time sheets at the end of the week.


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## wyrickmech (Mar 16, 2013)

sprinklertech said:


> Exactly! And material is not really that much more when you factor in the flex head will replace 2 or 3 feet of 1" pipe, two elbows and a 1"x1/2" reducing coupling. That's $3 for pipe, $1 for a reducing coupling and $2 for elbows puts you at $6 or one fourth of the cost of a flex head. But the real savings come in labor. Let's face it, architects want sprinklers centered in tiles and that can be a real pain. First we pipe overhead and then come back after the ceiling grid is dropped to cut our heads in and then we test. You can easily spend 30 minutes a head centering the drops... By using a flex head we install the overhead pipe, put on our flex head, use a wire tie to tie it to the overhead pipe and test all in the same operation. When the ceiling tile is put up we don't have anything to cut and we don't even have to turn the water off to center our heads. On a job finished up last month one man was able to center 75 sprinklers by himself in one 8 hour day. No way could you do that much by yourself doing it the old fashioned way. I wrestle with this all the time; all the time I am thinking "boy this material costs so much" but every time I go back to the old fashioned way I am reminded why flex heads are better when I get the time sheets at the end of the week.


the ability to cut one shutdown completely out saves money and time. The 200 psi test that is required around here can be done signed off and complete without waiting. Then fire chief just does a walk threw ate completion for occupancy.


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