TPR drain to outside/ code violation??

[Jerry Lozier]

Water heater in basement, (center of floor plan) on concrete slab ( no carpet in basement.) TPR did not have drainline. Evidently someone (plumber)told them it MUST be drained to exterior. I told them that may be best practice however I knew of no manditory code to exterior. Just that it needs to be approved TPR drain pipe (size and) material, terminate 6" of floor, no threads on end of drain pipe, and in a visible location.

Quote for sump pump setup (from plumber) several hundred $$$

comments??

[Erby]

Wouldn't happen around here: See (2)©. (Yeah, Kentucky Plumbing Code has its very own quirks. Note the 2 inch and 4 inch requirements.)

Section 14. Temperature and Pressure Relief Devices for Water Heaters.

(1) A temperature and pressure relief device shall:

(a) Be installed on each water heater on the hot water side not more than three (3) inches from the top of the heater;

(b) If a marked opening is provided on the water heater by the manufacturer for the temperature and pressure relief device, be installed according to the manufacturer's recommendation; and

© Be of a type approved by the department in accordance with this administrative regulation and 815 KAR 20:020.

(2)(a) If a water heater is installed in a location that has a floor drain, the discharge from the relief device shall be piped to within two (2) inches of the floor.

(b) If a water heater is installed in a location that does not have a floor drain, the discharge from the relief device shall be piped to the outside of the building with an ell turned down and piped to within four (4) inches of the surface of the ground.

© The relief device may discharge through an air gap to a sump basin, service sink, open receptacle or other point of discharge in which equivalent safety shall be provided as approved by the Division of Plumbing.

(3) A relief device shall be installed on a pneumatic water system.

[hausdok]

Hi Jerry,

What juridiction was it in? It might have been a requirement of that municipality. Most of the time when I see those the plumbers have added a second TPR high on the discharge side under the floors or above the basement wall that opens at 125lbs and have run a drain line outside. Essentially you then have two TPR's and two discharge lines. The plumber's intent is obvious, to ensure that if there is a buildup of pressure that it vents to the outside via the 125lb TPR before it ever gets near to forcing the one on the water heater open. Makes sense, I'd only question it if there was a 150pound TPR on the upper pipe; then I think it would be anyone's quess whether the one next to the tank will open first, the one high on the line will open first, or they'll both open at exactly the same time (which they should if the spring pressure is consistent).

Times must be tough for that plumber. he can probably sweat in a TPR and line up high for less than it's going to cost to install a sump pump.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Jerry Lozier]

Hi Jerry,

What juridiction was it in? It might have been a requirement of that municipality. Most of the time when I see those the plumbers have added a second TPR high on the discharge side under the floors or above the basement wall that opens at 125lbs and have run a drain line outside. Essentially you then have two TPR's and two discharge lines. The plumber's intent is obvious, to ensure that if there is a buildup of pressure that it vents to the outside via the 125lb TPR before it ever gets near to forcing the one on the water heater open. Makes sense, I'd only question it if there was a 150pound TPR on the upper pipe; then I think it would be anyone's quess whether the one next to the tank will open first, the one high on the line will open first, or they'll both open at exactly the same time (which they should if the spring pressure is consistent).

Times must be tough for that plumber. he can probably sweat in a TPR and line up high for less than it's going to cost to install a sump pump.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

Have not seen the setup you mentioned above, however see how it could work. I would be concerned however about proper slope to drain on upper line without retaining water in the line?

[Steven Hockstein]

A few weeks ago my son was in the basement playing his guitar and he called me down to tell me that there was some water on the floor near the water heater. I checked the heater and found a dripping TPR valve. To make a long story short, my pressure reducing valve near the meter was bad and I had 160 pounds of water pressure in my house that caused the TPR to drip.

I replaced the reducing valve and all is fine.

I wonder if the TPR had been discharged outside, or into a sink, how long the pressure problem would have gone unnoticed and what other damage the high pressure could have caused to the 50 year old pipes in my home? Maybe a little water on the floor of my basement was actually a good thing.

Of course if the water heater was on an upper floor my opinion would be different!