The BreakAway Hanger is an engineered release mechanism for the Fireloop®/seismic expansion joint. It releases the seismic joint to move through its full rated motion during a seismic event.

The BreakAway Hanger is designed to support the Fireloop® seismic expansion joint during its service life and “break-apart” at a preset load. The ball plunger design precisely sets the load for release and can be reset after activation. The preset load is typically 1.4-1.5 times the static weight of the Fireloop® seismic expansion joint. You can watch a video demonstrating the BreakAway Hanger.

Both UL and FM have stated there is currently no test protocol for this innovative new product. Currently the BreakAway Hanger falls under 2013 NFPA 13 section 1.7 “New Technology”. The BreakAway Hanger supports the seismic joint and only releases during an earthquake.

A hanger is designed to support the dead weight of the water filled pipe. The BreakAway Hanger is designed to support the Fireloop^® seismic expansion joint and “release” during a seismic event, to allow the Fireloop^® to move during an earthquake. After the event, the BreakAway Hanger can be reset and support the Fireloop^® until the next seismic event.

Metraflex still recommends using the threaded rod as support where the installation has enough clearance for a minimum 12″ rod, which is the required length for +/- 4″ movement seismic joint. For Fireloop^® seismic expansion joints with larger rated movements you are required to install a longer rod.

Use the BreakAway Hanger. The BreakAway Hanger has a very short dimension to allow for very tight installations. During a seismic event it will activate to allow the full-rated movement.

We recommend retrofitting a BreakAway Hanger only where the threaded rod is too short to allow full-rated movement of the seismic expansion joint.

Seismic joint installations should allow the joint to have its full-rated movement. The greater the rated movement, the longer the hangers and threaded rod need to be to get this amount of movement. The BreakAway Hanger should be used when there is insufficient room for support(s) to be long enough and give the seismic joint its full-rated movement. The BreakAway Hanger will allow an installation to achieve the full-rated movement even if hangers are too short. The BreakAway Hanger eliminates the need for a long threaded rod.

Metraflex offers support saddles to keep the long, flexible legs of a seismic expansion joint from sagging, eliminating the need to design costly custom supports.

BreakAway Hangers are sized based on Metraflex Fireloop^® seismic expansion joint sizes/weights. Simply tell us your Fireloop^® joint’s size and movement and we’ll provide the correct BreakAway Hanger. A sizing chart is also available, along with a video showing how the BreakAway Hanger works. BreakAway Hangers can be designed for Fireloop^® seismic expansion joints with larger movements.

An optional cable tether is available which supports Fireloop^® seismic expansion joint after the BreakAway Hanger has been activated. The cable tether allows full-rated movement while at the same time supporting the large seismic joint.