Interesting, never knew fire-lite had such a hand in Notifier.
I saw the ability to network and the their graphic annunciators and realize you could make an expansive system if designed right, but each of those panels listed individually on their site specifically call it out as small or mid sized applications. It’s one of those things that even if it’s possible, it doesn’t seem to be their main focus.
Maybe not anyone, but they certainty don’t seem to regulate it in a lot of areas like the other companies do. We have something like 9 notifier distributors here, which means on a given job multiple notifier dealers will be bidding against each other. No one wants to bid against someone with the identical product line. With the others they usually limit it to 2 distributors in any given area and often those two distributors have different focus’s (ie: one might be big into the education market and the other into federal.). Sure they might run into each other now and then, but for the most part they don’t.
I never knew they went that route. Is the VeriFire tools licensed to individual distributors then? A factory trained technician from another company couldn’t get in and make changes?
Like I said, I don’t know much about the technical abilities of Notifier, I’ve just seen what their business strategy is in the areas I’ve worked and they seem to aim for that simple straight forward smaller system market like schools and small office buildings.
16 floors. Wow. :shock: I don’t often end up in high rises much taller but they come around every now and then. :lol:
Your administration isn’t doing their job checking for NICET certs of the installers. An electrician installs the system, often hangs the panel and might even put in the cards and wire it up (especially if you’re in a union state). A factory trained technician doesn’t install anything, they program and commission the system. Chase down troubles, etc. This means if a strobe is installed upside down… well, could just be a crappy electrician, or more than likely an electrician who’s used to installing lights and outlets getting stuck doing fire alarm for the first time.
Now that doesn’t mean the technician doesn’t work for the electrical that’s doing the installs, and depending on the size of the electrical the technician might actually be hanging devices, but this usually isn’t the case in something the size of a school. Maybe a retail store.
I would guess between 10-50 TrueAlert strobes were installed sideways. BTW, all the alarms at my school are installed normal. I have never saw an alarm installed sideways or upside down in person.
I have seen a Simplex 4903 series device upside-down in a movie theater. It was too close to a corner of the walls, so if it would have been mounted normally, it appeared like the strobe would not fit into the corner. They flipped it around and covered up the ‘FIRE’ marking with white electrical tape, and re-wrote over it with red Sharpie.
National Fire Protection Code requires that fire alarms should not be taped over, or painted over. So, it would not be a great idea at all. They better remove the tape so the alarm will be up to code requirements.
I don’t know their thought processes and I can’t speculate because who knows what the circumstances were during installation. All I know is that, for whatever reason, the upside-down device was the end result.
Here. Quickly drew this up in Sketch-up to show you. Photo credit on the 4903 to weatherdan882002.
The photo on the left is how it is installed in real life. Photo on the right is how it would be if it were mounted correctly. Notice how the strobe doesn’t fit.
Forgive my lack of detail in the model and the spelling error. Was in a hurry.
That is REALLY close to the corner of the wall – looks like it was a case of a miscommunication between the system designer and the architect or the result of a last minute floor plan change and the system designer was not warned so he/she could move the device.
With the others they usually limit it to 2 distributors in any given area and often those two distributors have different focus’s (ie: one might be big into the education market and the other into federal.). Sure they might run into each other now and then, but for the most part they don’t.