Can anyone think of a practical use for gluing a copper tube into the intake vent for a direct-vent on-demand water heater?
service tech wanted somewhere to hang his hat while he worked on the unit ??? 
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Drain port?
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It appears to be a drain for any moisture that may enter the intake. Obviously a poor installation all around.
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That’s about all I could come up with also. A weird configuration of the tubing for a drain. I don’t think it would require the trap, lol. 
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And if it does drip, it is probably going to drip on something that should be dry.
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Just another thing contractors do to screw with home inspectors.
“Hey Earl, watch this…let’s see how they call this one out. Hahaha!”
Coulda been the homeowner in this case. This guy was a tinkerer. Take a look at his homemade sump pump alarm. And it worked too!
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Guess “Earl” was the home owner… 
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Improperly executed/incomplete condensate trap, plumber/HVAC tech needs to determine if needed and reinstall properly:
condensation rust.pdf (428.0 KB)
If it is to drain condensation, it should not be of the corrosive type since this is on the intake.
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Water/moisture entering the cabinet via the air intake opening will corrode/damage internal components not designed to get wet. Did you read the file 
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Not yet, but I will.
I was just noting that it is not “combustion” condensation.
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The equipment is designed to have both pipes drain back to the furnace where it is designed to handle it.
I have never seen anything like this. Guess it is Harry the Home Owner…
Made some nice bends in the copper though! 
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That’s worth underlining. These pipe systems are indeed meant to have a continuous slope with no low spots (or intermediate drains).
Nice one Simon. Interesting, the mfg recommends a trap…which I do not see in the diagram, unless they are speaking of a trap on the DWV system.
IMO, the installer got it right in Ryan’s photo, except it does not drain to a suitable location.
The trap is on the intake, right before the elbow going into the unit. Yes, it it needs to go somewhere… not on the floor.
It is improperly done. You don’t drill a hole and stick a piece of copper tubing in it, that won’t collect it properly. You need a trap… and there are a few ways of doing it. My other file in this thread above shows how it’s done. These units are not designed to leak water back into the unit, it will end up damaging it. It’s just a hole in the cabinet with a screen. Electrical components and such will get wet.
This is the install manual for the exact model in question…
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