What is it?

Specific Inspection Topics Plumbing Inspections
1

New Electric Rheem water heater installed in basement of 80 year old home.

TPR discharge tube rises approximately 3 feet and then goes horizontal to outside.

Strange spiraling small diameter copper piping tapped into the TPR discharge tube. looks like the piping for an ice maker in a refrigerator but it is tapped into the TPR discharge tube where there is no water. This small diameter tube is kinked and pinched off at the end.

Only thing I can think of is that this is to allow

      A. overflow of the discharge tube downward? 
      B. draft air in the discharge tube to allowthe water to rise upward? 
      C. just plain wrong

What is your opinion? I’m going with ‘C’ until I hear otherwise.

Thanks!

Jeff

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2

No tpr piping going up, and no other piping tee-ing into the tpr piping.

3

Thanks brian,

I know that TPr piping should not go up…but what is the alternative in a basement in order to get it outside?

Or should it just terminate 6-24 inches from the basement floor like other locations?

4

Terminating within 6" of the concrete floor works around here. No need to take it outside.

Was 6-24 inches a typo for you?

5

No typo…

UPC states 6-24 inches from floor or ground
IPC states less than or equal to 6 inches

I prefer the former because I feel it reduces the possibility of a scalding hazard from splashing up when the termination point is too close to the ground.

6

Thanks for the info. :wink:

…wouldn’t fly around here.