TPR valve and discharge pipe

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#1

Originally Posted By: rray
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Virtually every jurisdiction out here wants the discharge pipe to terminate outside, so I regularly find them about three inches from the ground. Found one the other day with seven 90? elbows. Every HI book I’ve read states something similar to the attached photo. Does anyone alter their reporting procedures specifically for the local AHJ? Do you think I should simply quit reporting exterior terminations, all them thar elbows, and a termination point a few hundred feet from the water heater?



![](upload://yZYLPHbiSdRBeT8RAXcuolJjAq8.jpeg)

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#2

Originally Posted By: rray
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I think I need help posting images.

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#3

Originally Posted By: rray
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Thanks for everyone’s help, but posting pictures still isn’t working.

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#4

Originally Posted By: gbeaumont
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Hi Russel, i was trying to upload a picture on this topic, and could not get it to up load I think my problem was with the image size ( it was over 100kb) I can upload smaller images This is not the one I wanted but for demonstration purposes…


![](upload://aFjQHoYNJVML58KIcSZfyTrS5n5.jpeg)
this one is 11.4kb

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#5

Originally Posted By: jmyers
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Russel,


Wow...discharging them outside of the house. That is a little extreme. Hell....why don't they just require them to have seven elbows and allow them to discharge on the inside. It would never make it through that many elbows anyway! ![icon_biggrin.gif](upload://iKNGSw3qcRIEmXySa8gItY6Gczg.gif)

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA!!

Joe Myers

#6

Originally Posted By: ismetaniuk
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This membership was a big waste of my time!

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Igor


Top To Bottom Inspections


Glen Spey, NY

#7

Originally Posted By: jmyers
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Russel,


I should have just asked you from the beggining. Why do they require them to discharge outside? It seems rather strange to me. Are a lot of people getting burned or something?

Igor,

If you place beans in the pipe, throw a shut off valve on the end once a week you can have an expresso. ![icon_biggrin.gif](upload://iKNGSw3qcRIEmXySa8gItY6Gczg.gif)

Joe Myers

#8

Originally Posted By: rray
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The way I was taught from my early youth was that you put a pail under the termination point to catch any discharge. That way you know that something is wrong–pressure too high or water too hot or defective valve. Have it looked at by a plumber or wait for the steam boiler to explode.


Out here, along with finished garages, people forget to put a pail under the termination point, inside or in the garage, so when there's a problem, water gets all over the carpet, wood flooring, and garage floor. That's when people cap them off or have the plumber terminate it outside so that the next time it "leaks" it won't cause any damage. The plumbers here don't seem to care one way or another and don't bother explaining to anyone the whole theory behind the set-up. (The whole service industry in Southern California pretty well bites; MHO.)

Now considering that dripping water from a faulty valve is more common than an explosion, I guess always terminating outside kind of makes sense. Until the explosion kills someone.

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#9

Originally Posted By: jmyers
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Russel,


Kinda makes you wonder how they will ever know if something is wrong since it terminates outside where they can not see it! ![icon_question.gif](upload://t2zemjDOQRADd4xSC3xOot86t0m.gif)

Joe Myers

#10

Originally Posted By: jfarsetta
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Outside termination is very common around here in condo setups. Some condos have electric baseboard heat and a small electric water heater (40 gal) in the bedroom closet. Pressure relief valve connects to copper pipe which disappears in interior wall and discharges down and out. AHJ approves it, and see it all the time. Not crazy about this arrangement, but little I can do.

#11

Originally Posted By: rray
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Yeah, I never could do anything about condos, but I’m thinking of not trying to do anything about SFRs also. I really can’t fight the AHJ, can I?


I'm perplex by Joe's comment about "small electric water heaters" of 40 gallons. I consider that big. Most of our water heaters, electric or gas, are 30 gallons, although 40 is becoming more common in the newer construction. The rich folks have 50 gallons, and I even ran into a 100 gallon electric the other day. I wonder what the recovery rate on a 100-gallon electric water heater is.

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#12

Originally Posted By: mpatton
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This was a unique situation but it made for a good laugh later. A friend of mine had the occurrence during the winter to be outside and see what she fist thought was smoke coming from the roof, but then discovered that it was steam. Keeping in mind that it was well below freezing. This prompted the local neighbors to come to her assistance thinking she had a major problem.


The problem was a leaking TPR valve on the water heater, the unique part is that the down tube was copper and had been fitted to the waste line under the house (on slab). The steam was rising through the vent stack on the roof.

She had been complaining of high electric bills, plumbed this way she did not have the first clue it was leaking.

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Michael Patton
AA Home Inspection
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#13

Originally Posted By: phughes
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Does anyone have a International Plumbing code manual?


I can not believe that using a pipe rated at 180 degrees in an acceptable practice on a T&P valve that discharges water in excess of 200 degress.

I got this reply from the building code department in a city around here.

************* Email follows ******************

The discharge piping for the T&P relief valve is addressed in the 2000 International Plumbing Code, Section 504.6.2.
Section 504.6.2 states the discharge piping shall be of materials listed in Section 605.5. Section 605.5 refers to Table 605.5 for water distribution pipe. CPVC is an approved material for both the T&P discharge piping and the safety pan drain.

*********************************************************

#14

Originally Posted By: jmyers
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Peter,


I believer you may be mistaken PVC for CPVC. The rating temperature for CPVC is 200 degrees. PVC if I am not mistaken is rated for 140 degrees.

Joe Myers

#15

Originally Posted By: phughes
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Joe,


The pipe I saw says 180 degrees on the pipe. It is a sort of off white / yellowish color, and has a yellow band that runs the length of the pipe, and the letters appear to be CPVC. They were hard to read.

Now my understanding is that a T&P is rated at 150 lbs and 210 degrees and of course this is like a pressure cooker inside. So when the water would escape it could expand up 1600 time it's normal volume. Don't hold me too that, I just heard that.

So I'm curious about this.

What ever you can share will help me be a better inspector.

Thanks,
Pete

#16

Originally Posted By: jmyers
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Peter,


I know the charlotte pipe company rates their cpvc at 200 degrees. This would be a continuous rating and not temporary as with the T&P valve.

The pressure rating would be a different story. Given the information on their web site the pressure rating on their 1/2 inch schedule 80 cpvc after factoring for temperature would be 170 psi, the schedule 40 would fall short at 120 psi at 200 degrees. Again, I do believe they are giving continuous ratings which would make a difference.

Good post. Lets see if we can find the correct answer!

Joe Myers

#17

Originally Posted By: rray
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make a good termination device for a TPR discharge pipe, but this was on the cold water line on the non-water heater side of the shutoff valve. The discharge pipe was pretty ugly.


![](upload://hz87dkDWbSuS14yZh1Mq1ojxzA1.jpeg)

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#18

Originally Posted By: mpatton
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No ideas but I love the ?Sky Hooks?! icon_lol.gif

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Michael Patton


AA Home Inspection


Serving Northern KY & Greater Cincinnati OH


AA@AAHomeInspection.net
www.AAHomeInspection.net
#19

Originally Posted By: ismetaniuk
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This membership was a big waste of my time!

–
Igor


Top To Bottom Inspections


Glen Spey, NY

#20

Originally Posted By: rray
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.


I’ve come across expansion tanks in various locations also. However, none of them said “Water Heater Safety Tank” on them.

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