Globe RCW User Manual
4077 Airpark Dr. Standish, MI 48658 • 989-846-4583 • www.globesprinkler.com
Technical Support • 989-414-2600 • techservice@globesprinkler.com
MODEL RCW DRY SYSTEM VALVE
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Globe Model RCW* dry valve is a hydraulically operated external resetting differential latching style valve. The
Model RCW dry valve is used as an automatic water control
valve in dry applications. The Model RCW dry valve serves
as the primary water control valve installed in the water
supply to a dry sprinkler system incorporating automatic
(closed) sprinklers with compressed air or nitrogen within
the system piping.
Setting of the Model RCW dry valve requires water pressure
in the pressure chamber being maintained on the plunger
rod. The pressure on the plunger rod forces the lever arm/
roller assembly against the clapper which in turn keeps
the supply water from entering the sprinkler system piping. Water pressure is provided to the pressure chamber
through a connection to the main water supply at a point
upstream of the system main control valve. This connection
also supplies water pressure up to the dry pilot actuator.
The dry pilot actuator is held closed when in the normal set
condition by air pressure in the system piping. When system
air pressure is relieved via one or more operated sprinklers,
the dry pilot actuator will open, allowing the pressurized
water to be evacuated from the pressure chamber.
In the standby condition, the valve is normally closed and
will automatically activate (trip) upon the activation of an au-
tomatic sprinkler, as a result of a re condition. The RCW
valve may also be operated by means of a manual release,
which is provided in the trim, to override the normal activation sequence described above.
When heat from a re opens an automatic sprinkler, water
pressure in the pressure chamber decays resulting in the
movement of the push rod assembly, releasing the lever
arm/roller assembly from the clapper. The system water
supply pressure forces the valve clapper open resulting in
water ow into the system piping. Upon system activation,
re alarm signaling is provided by means of owing water
through the alarm port/intermediate chamber and associ-
ated alarm line trim. The ow of water activates a pressure
switch which in turn noties local alarms and/or an alarm
signaling monitoring service. After the main control valve
has been shut, the system drained, and any operated
sprinklers replaced, the RCW dry valve is easily set/reset by
means of pushing the reset knob. The system is now ready
for the introduction of compressed air back into the system
piping.
If the speed of operation of the dry valve needs to be increased, an optional accelerator can be utilized to decrease
the trip time of the valve from the operation of a sprinkler or
the inspectors test connection.
MODEL RCW DRY SYSTEM VALVE
TECHNICAL DATA
Approvals
• cULus
• FM
Maximum System Working Pressure
• 300 psi (20.6 Bar)
End Connections
• Groove x Groove
Materials of Construction
• See Technical Datasheet H-1 for materials of
construction for the Model RCW Valve
*Patents Pending
MAR 2018 GFV-305 (Formerly H-3) Page 1 of 11
MODEL RCW DRY SYSTEM
The dry system trim is one optional trim arrangement for
the Globe Model RCW valve. This arrangement is typically
utilized when the system is subject to areas exposed to
freezing or close to freezing temperatures. With this conguration, the detection system consists of automatic sprinklers spaced throughout the protection area. System air
pressure is used to ensure the integrity of the system piping
and used as the activation method for the valve.
Water pressure is maintained in the valve pressure chamber
up to the dry pilot actuator through a restricted connection
from the main water supply which is taken upstream of the
system main control valve (The pressure chamber supply
valve must remain in the open position at all times when the
system is in service). The dry pilot actuator is normally held
in the closed position by the system air pressure supplied
through the automatic air or nitrogen maintenance device.
When an automatic sprinkler operates, the air ow rate
through the open sprinkler is at a ow rate greater than that
which can be supplied through the automatic air or nitrogen
maintenance device. This causes a pressure drop in the
system and the upper chamber of the dry pilot actuator. An
optional accelerator can increase the rate at which the air
decays on the dry pilot actuator, if a faster time to trip the
Model RCW valve is required.
Once the pressure in the upper chamber of the dry pilot
actuator drops sufciently, the upper chamber can no longer hold the diaphragm in the closed position. The dry pilot
actuator opens and allows water to ow from the pressure
chamber to the drain at a ow rate greater than that which
can be supplied through the restriction in the pressure
chamber supply line. The opening of the dry pilot actuator
results in a drop in pressure in the pressure chamber and
the Model RCW valve operates (trips) allowing water to ow
into the system piping. The automatic actuation of the feature of the valve can be bypassed by manually rotating the
handle on the "Manual Control/ Emergency Release" valve
located on the Model RCW trim to activate the Model RCW
valve.
Note:
See recommended system air/nitrogen pressure and expected trip range below
for the Model GDPA. More detailed information can be found about the Dry
Pilot Actuator in Technical Data Sheet GFV550.
GDPA VS GDPA-LP
When choosing the dry pilot actuator for your system
there are many factors which inuence the uid delivery time. These factors range from system geometry,
riser location, sprinkler orice size, supply pressure,
pump ramping time and more. In certain systems,
higher system air pressure can be advantageous over
lower system air pressure and the opposite can also
be true. Some things to consider when choosing the
GDPA vs the GDPA-LP are discussed below.
The initial air pressure in a system may vary. For example in one system the initial air pressure may be set
for 15 psi (1 Bar) and 45 psi (3.1 Bar) for the other. The
system air pressure will decay at a faster rate with the
higher initial system pressure. For a xed pressure
drop (i.e. 5 psi drop) will be reached more quickly with
the higher initial air pressure than lower initial air pressure.
Unfortunately uid delivery time is not just dependent
on tripping the control valve but also dependent on
the uid moving through the system. As the water lls
the system piping it can create a high pressure pocket
of air at the inspectors test connection. This higher
air pressure can slow the progress of the water progressing towards the inspectors test connection. This
phenomenon typically happens with smaller K-factor
sprinklers. This scenario may lend itself to choosing
to utilize lower system air pressure and the GDPA-LP
actuator.
In other circumstances, systems are center fed, mean-
ing roughly half of the volume of piping is on one side
of the riser and half on the other. In these scenarios,
higher system air pressure can be benecial to system
delivery time as the higher air pressure will actually impede or stop the propagation of water in the direction
opposite the inspectors test connection (ITC) and force
the majority of the available water ow towards the ITC.
It would be impossible to run through every scenario
possible but there are a few generalities which can
be used as guidance. Generally end fed systems will
achieve faster uid delivery times with lower air pressure. Generally center fed systems with moderate to
better than moderate water supplies will have faster
Recommended Air/Nitrogen Pressure
GDPA Trip Range
Recommended Air/Nitrogen Pressure
GDPA-LP Trip Range
FIGURE 1:MODEL GDPA DRY PILOT
TRIP RANGE
MAR 2018 GFV-305 (Formerly H-3) Page 2 of 11
FIGURE 2:MODEL GDPA-LP DRY
PILOT TRIP RANGE
uid delivery times with higher air pressure. This is
meant to be general guidance, and should be in no
way taken as a guarantee of uid delivery time. All
systems and congurations are different and there are
always exceptions to the rule.
GDPA-LP
The Model GDPA-LP is only recommended for system
supply pressures up to 250 psi (17.2 Bar). The GDPA-
LP is factory painted green to identify the low pressure
version. The Model GDPA is the standard pressure actuator, while the GDPA-LP can be utilized for low system air pressures. The types of systems where the
use of the GDPA-LP has the potential to be benecial
to system performance are: Dry Systems, and Double
Interlock Electric/Pneumatic Systems. There is little to
no advantage to utilizing the GDPA-LP in Single Interlock Dry Pilot, or Deluge Dry Pilot Systems, as the pilot
lines generally have a very small volume and the valve
trips very quickly no matter the pilot line pressure.
If you have any questions on the application of the
GDPA vs the GDPA-LP contact Globe Sprinkler Technical Services.
Valve
Size
A
END TO END
TOP VIEW
FRONT VIEW RIGHT SIDE
Nominal Installation Dimensions Inches (mm)
B C D E F G H J K L M N P
4"
(DN100)
6"
(DN150)
17.6
(447.7)
19.75
(501.6)
11
(279)
10
(254)
13.25
(336.5)
14.5
(368.3)
12
(304)
13
(330)
9.0
(228.6)
9.0
(228.6)
11.0
(279.4)
12
(304)
12.0
(304.8)5 (127)
13
(330)
4.4
(111 )
16
(406)
16
(406)
7.125
(181)
8.5
(216)
8
(203)
8
(203)
8.625
(219)
9.75
(247.6)
11.0
(279.4)
11.0
(279.4)
12
(304)
13
(330)
FIGURE 3:DRY ACTUATION TRIM DIMENSIONS
MAR 2018 GFV-305 (Formerly H-3) Page 3 of 11
2 1
SYSTEM PIPING WITH AUTOMATIC SPRINKLERS
2 1
LOW AIR PRESSURE
SYSTEM
ALARM SWITCH
PRESSURE
GAUGE
DRY PILOT
DRAIN
ACTUATOR
MANUAL CONTROL/
EMERGENCY
RELEASE STATION
(NORMALLY
CLOSED)
MAIN DRAIN VALVE
(NORMALLY CLOSED)
PRESSURE CHAMBER
SUPPLY CONTROL VALVE
(NORMALLY OPEN)
PRESSURE
CHAMBER
RESTRICTION
GAUGE
MAIN
CONTROL VALVE
(NORMALLY OPEN)
WATER
SUPPLY
AIR SUPPLY
CONTOL VALVE
(NORMALLY OPEN)
WATERFLOW
ALARM SWITCH
ALARM TEST VALVE
(NORMALLY CLOSED)
WATER
SUPPLY
PRESSURE
GAUGE
AUTOMATIC
AIR/NITROGEN
MAINTENANCE
DEVICE
FIGURE 4:DRY SCHEMATIC (NO ACCELERATOR)
SYSTEM PIPING WITH AUTOMATIC SPRINKLERS
LOW AIR PRESSURE
DRY PILOT
ACTUATOR
ALARM SWITCH
PRESSURE
CHAMBER
GAUGE
RESTRICTION
MAIN DRAIN VALVE
(NORMALLY CLOSED)
SYSTEM
PRESSURE
GAUGE
DRAIN
MANUAL CONTROL/
EMERGENCY
RELEASE STATION
(NORMALLY
CLOSED)
PRESSURE CHAMBER
SUPPLY CONTROL VALVE
(NORMALLY OPEN)
ACCELERATOR
ATMOSPHERE
ACCELERATOR
ISOLATION VALVE
(NORMALLY OPEN)
ANTIFLOOD
DEVICE
CONTOL VALVE
(NORMALLY OPEN)
WATERFLOW
ALARM SWITCH
ALARM TEST VALVE
(NORMALLY CLOSED)
MAIN
CONTROL VALVE
(NORMALLY OPEN)
MODEL C
TO
AIR SUPPLY
AUTOMATIC
AIR/NITROGEN
MAINTENANCE
DEVICE
WATER
SUPPLY
PRESSURE
GAUGE
WATER
SUPPLY
FIGURE 5:DRY SCHEMATIC WITH ACCELERATOR
MAR 2018 GFV-305 (Formerly H-3) Page 4 of 11
Loading...