Can you point to the place you were hurt?
Wow dude, who hurt you?
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TPR Valves and Discharge Piping - InterNACHI®.
But there are some smarter asses on here that will always argue that their knowledge is greater… 
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And this time it was. No matter how much you tried to convince the new guy that he was wrong you were the one that was wrong the whole time. You’re such a dumb ass.
You have no idea you’re looking at a 3/4” male adapter to 3/4” copper pipe. The vinyl tube is wrong but that was the obvious. You drew arrows pointing to the 3/4” male adapter and 3/4” copper pipe 
Hey Nicolas,
Here are the things i see wrong in your picture.
- the vinyl coupler with the hose clamps is not an approved material for use on the TPRV discharge pipe.
- it must discharge through a visible air gap in the same room as the water heater.
- it must first be piped to an indirect waste receptor such as a bucket through an air gap located in a heated area when discharging to the outdoors in areas subject to freezing, since freezing water could block the pipe. (i don’t know where you live, Nicolas, so ignore this one if you live in Florida or southern California or a warm climate like that).
there may be other violations but I can’t see the termination point, which may or may not be ok.
here is the complete list of things to check for on your TPRV discharge pipe. TPR Valves and Discharge Piping - InterNACHI®
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Thanks Bert,
It’s a home in SoCal so no freeze issues here. The pipe also has about 4 elbows (90) that I can see. In addition it’s located in a laundry room that isn’t big enough and the dryer is probably fighting with the unit for combustion air along with lint problems.
Some say you are allowed up to four 90 degree elbows , but if there are more beyond that wall then 5 or more is not allowed. I think there is some disagreement on this though.
its maybe not a code, but in manufacturer’s wording somewhere. I’ll look that up.
It’s on the yellow tag of a watts TPRV. Local codes will usually reference “install according to manufacturer installation instructions”.
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This does not represent GA—and probably other states.
Therefore, I attempt to keep it simple and reasonable by looking for issues most likely to cause harm or damage.
Based on the image, the nylon tubing would get a mention and I stop there.
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Not ideal, or professionally installed by a licensed plumber, but it may actually may work in an emergency at preventing someone from being scolded, and certainly better than no discharge pipe. I would still call it out, and suggest a licensed plumber review for correct installation.
Something tells me that this is the 3rd water heater exchange and installation by the same plumber. The discharge tube collars and discharge orientation and tells it all. Lol.
According to the tenant, it was installed by the landlord so I will definitely recommend that it is looked at by an actual plumber.
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- be constructed of an approved material, such as CPVC, copper, polyethylene, galvanized steel, polypropylene, or stainless steel. PVC and other non-approved plastics should not be used since they can easily melt.
- not be smaller than the diameter of the outlet of the valve it serves (usually no smaller than 3/4").
- not reduce in size from the valve to the air gap (point of discharge).
- be as short and as straight as possible so as to avoid undue stress on the valve.
- be installed so as to drain by flow of gravity.
- not be trapped, since standing water may become contaminated and backflow into the potable water.
- discharge to a floor drain, to an indirect waste receptor, or to the outdoors.
- not be directly connected to the drainage system to prevent backflow of potentially contaminating the potable water.
- discharge through a visible air gap in the same room as the water-heating appliance.
- be first piped to an indirect waste receptor such as a bucket through an air gap located in a heated area when discharging to the outdoors in areas subject to freezing, since freezing water could block the pipe.
- not terminate more than 6 inches (152 mm) above the floor or waste receptor.
- discharge in a manner that could not cause scalding. (???)
- discharge in a manner that could not cause structural or property damage.
- discharge to a termination point that is readily observable by occupants, because discharge indicates that something is wrong, and to prevent unobserved termination capping.(???)
- be piped independently of other equipment drains, water heater pans, or relief valve discharge piping to the point of discharge.
- not have valves anywhere.
- not have tee fittings.
- not have a threaded connection at the end of the pipe so as to avoid capping.
Not in California, where it must discharge outside, generally!
It’s acceptable for it to drain upward, if there’s a means to dry the pipe out after an event.
Discharge from a relief valve into a water heater pan shall be prohibited. (2010 CPC 508.5)
Relief valves located inside a building shall be provided with a drain, not smaller than the relief valve outlet, of galvanized steel, hard drawn copper piping and fittings, CPVC or listed relief valve drain tube with fittings that will not reduce the internal bore of the pipe or tubing (straight lengths as opposed to coils) and shall extend from the valve to the outside of the building, with the end of the pipe not more than two feet nor less than six inches above ground or the flood level of the area receiving the discharge and pointing downward. Such drains shall be permitted to terminate at other approved locations. Relief valve drains shall not terminate in a building’s crawl space.
No part of such drain pipe shall be trapped or subject to freezing. The terminal end of the drain pipe shall not be threaded.(CPC 608.5)
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Agreed!
This is a technical foul.
In a real event the pipe flaws are very unlikely to have any effect. Real TPR events are steamy and dribbly.
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Technical foul is a good term for it. It’s similar to double tapped neutrals, which just like minor TPRV discharge piping violations, I have to explain to my clients that a plumber/electrician called to make the repair may say “don’t worry about it, it’s fine as-is.”
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That is because it’s very likely those same Sparkies and Plumbers perform installations in the same manner!
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