Water Heater Drain Pipes - PVC?

[jason]

I recently had a house inspection conducted on a house I intend to purchas. The inspection showed that PVC (not CPVC) was being used as the T&P drain. The inspector stated that this may not have been against code when it was built (8 years ago), but was not considered acceptable according to his standards.

Is it truly a concern that the hot water drained would cause problems with potential melting of the PVC joints?

There is access in the attic to replace a portion of the PVC up to where it goes into the wall. If I had the accessible PVC replaced with copper into a holding tank that subsequently connects to the PVC, would it be sufficient to cool the water enough?

Is there a flexible hose option - similar to hot water hoses that connect to washing machines?

I want to avoid any interior work where the lines go through the wall and drain outside.

Any thoughts?

[Harry K]

The PVC should be fine. As to the inspector he is inserting his personal belief into a matter of code. If it isn't allowed 'now' fine, but it was when it was installed and thus is grandfathered in. He might not like it but that's just tough. This being an inspector he has no enforcement powers, were it a code enforcer of some type refusing to clear it, I would be at his supervisor's office immediately.

Harry K

[Clark W. Griswold, Jr.]

Furthermore, home inspectors are supposed to be pointing out visual defects only. Codes are always evolving and a home built years ago will have multiple things that don't meet current code. Pointing out things that don't meet current code may make the inspector feel good, but are irrelevant.

[stevie]

i had the same situation when i installed a new hot water heater.

i had to do some re-routing of the pvc from the t&p valve, so i used cpvc coming out of the t&p, then used an adapter (cpvc to pvc)just before the pvc went into the wall.

Is it truly a concern that the hot water drained would cause problems with potential melting of the PVC joints?

There is access in the attic to replace a portion of the PVC up to where it goes into the wall. If I had the accessible PVC replaced with copper into a holding tank that subsequently connects to the PVC, would it be sufficient to cool the water enough?

Is there a flexible hose option - similar to hot water hoses that connect to washing machines?

I want to avoid any interior work where the lines go through the wall and drain outside.

Any thoughts?

[ds549]

can you run it thru the floor and out of the foundation wall..

[Speedy Jim]

No longer permitted. Should you worry? Nah.

There are probably MUCH bigger things wrong that the inspector did *not* find! THOSE are the ones that should keep you awake...

Jim

[Edwin Pawlowski]

It has been oK for the 8 years though, right?

How often do you drain the tank and for how long? Flush the sediment once or twice a year for three minutes? If yo are draining the tank to replace it, the water is probably not hot anyway.

Yes, but why bother?

PEX would owrk

My only thought is that you should just ignore it. Hot water under pressure for extended periods of time is a problem, IMO, but this is hardly a real use, has no pressure and probably not much temperature in reality. I'd just forget about it. Ed

[MrC1]

You mean like GFCIs? Inspectors always note the non-existance of these buggers in older homes. I think it's these details that the person that hired the inspector likes to hear about. What a pain in the butt for the seller though! Many buyers won't rest until everything is up to code, no matter how insignificant the item is. Simply ignorance.

[Joseph Meehan]

I would not worry at all. PVC is fine for that use. It is not fine for full time pressure hot water use, but the T&P drain is not going to have pressure and will only have hot water in it on rare occasions. Maybe CPVC would be better, but I sure would not worry about it. I would prefer PVC to a flexible hose.

Also note: "The inspector stated that this may not have been against code when it was built (8 years ago), but was not considered acceptable according to his standards." I suggest his standards are just that. I don't believe (I could be wrong) that is generally a part of any building standard.

[David Martel]

Jason,

This is hardly a deal breaker. The inspector admits that it was (and may still be) acceptable practice to use PVC. He would prefer that it be another material but that's just a personal opinion. The T&P valve is a fail-safe and is not normally used. It is more than likely that no action on your part is needed until the water heater is replaced. My advice is leave it alone and don't worry about it. This is not a big deal.

Dave M.

[Don Phillipson]

Standards are what national and local authorities say are standards, enforced by legislation. The inspector's preferences may be based on professional experience but that does not make them standards.

[spam]

It's something my inspector cited on my home as a general safety item. I guess the safety issue is that if that overpressure valve goes, and the drain tube from it is made of PVC, it can melt and suddenly instead of hot water or steam or whatever on teh floor, you now would have it spraying everywhere.

Get off the inspectors' ass folks. It is a safety issue. How important... I dunno. I've never seen the overpressure valve activated on a water heater, and I'd know to turn off the water at the main shutoff before going into that room. As such, I'd probalby make the calculated risk of the "do nothing" option.

When flagged on my existing home, the seller said they weren't going to do anything about that, and I bought anyway, and haven't had the inclination to fix it either.

[gfretwell]

There are as many opinions as there are home inspectors. Most home inspectors come to the trade with very little training and virtually NONE of them are qualified to rule on code issues. In most states you only need an occupational license to be a home inspector. There are some "certification" organizations but the test is trivial, it is basically just a way to collect dues. There is more supervision of hot dog vendors.

[maradcliff]

I think you are getting all excited over nothing. Those things rarely ever get used and when they do, all they do is discharge a little water. Find something more important to worry about, such as your wife. I heard a rumor she's sleeping with the building inspector.

[Dan]

The inspector is right by code, as a real safety issue, not likely! If the buyer cares, it's an easy fix. As a home inspector, I'd mention it but also point out that it was not likely to be a hazard, that's just due diligence and I don't like getting sued by an unhappy buyer!

Dan

[Clark W. Griswold, Jr.]

Crap. Now I have to clean my keyboard up....

[Don Young]

[Harry K]

Yes. I think it is part of the installation instructions and also code in some jurisdictions. One time that the valve relieves pressure then fails to seat fully would pay for whatever the charge is to properly vent it, i.e., into a drain.

Harry K

[Colbyt]

Around here it has not been legal to use anything other metal pipe for the T & P for at least the last 20 years. The pipe must be the same size as the cold water line entering the water heater. The line must discharge to the outside and must not terminate more than 4" above the finished grade.

Other than doing it to code, yours may be different, I can't suggest any anything.

Colbyt