#Water heater overflow pipe installation full#
#Water heater overflow pipe installation code#

Not be directly connected to the drainage system.

Never connect it directly to the drain with watertight fittings, otherwise if it vents, it will send pressurized water into the drain, which is not rated for pressure so pipes will break, and you'll still have a spill, but it'll be brown water.The discharge piping serving a pressure relief valve, temperature relief valve or combination thereof shall: and if you put a drain under it, make sure to leave some space. If the drain can take the flow, it will go into the drain, but if not, it's better to have a spill than an exploding water heater. If the thermostat welds itself close and the heater heats non-stop until the water boils, then the valve opens and has to vent all the water quickly. So in normal use, a little bit of water drips into the drain when it heats.

#Water heater overflow pipe installation full#

The part with the hole is integrated with the valve and cannot be removed, because its purpose is to make sure no-one will screw a small pipe there, or anything else that couldn't handle the full flow in case a failure happens and the valve has to vent quickly. The important thing is the large hole between the drain and the overpressure valve. When the water is heated, pressure increases, so the valve releases a little bit of water which drips down along the tip in the center, into the white plastic drain (this is also a u-bend so it doesn't smell). That's an overpressure valve on a French water heater, it's in a different place but it's basically the same stuff. To provide a bit of an international perspective. A plumber can address this by installing an expansion tank in the system. There is something (backflow preventer, pressure regulator valve) in the cold water supply line preventing expansion back into the city water supply and causing the hot water tank to over-pressurize as a result.hotter than your normal hot water supply - water is coming out of the downpipe, CALL A PLUMBER IMMEDIATELY. The control valve or thermostat has failed in the open position/short-circuit - this is a serious problem in that your heater is now producing utterly scalding hot water in addition to being possibly damaged further on the inside.The valve itself won't seat properly because of crud (sediment/CaCO3) deposits in it - it's not terribly hard for a plumber to replace, although they will have to turn off and partially drain the heater to do so.If water is coming out of it, call a plumber, as that indicates one of three possibilities: It's really not an 'overflow' - but the outlet from a Temperature and Pressure relief valve that keeps your water heater from rocketing its way through your roof and into your neighbor's yard should the control valve or thermostat fail. This air gap keeps your drains from backing up and proceeding to contaminate your water supply with nasty stuff. This goes to the same place as all the other drains, but can't be plumbed 'hard' due to the need to provide an air gap. That 'overflow' pipe is supposed to go into a drained overflow pan, or barring that, to a drained floor. If there is you may have a defective TP Valve (or worse, a malfunctioning boiler). P.S.- there should not be water coming from that drain pipe.

#Water heater overflow pipe installation code#

Check with your local building code authority office. Appliances outside of the home (as yours appears to be) may not be subject to the same requirement. Some (if not all) localities require that they be plumbed to the exterior of the building or to a floor drain if the appliance is located in the home. The pipe is a great idea whether or not it is plumbed to a drain or alternative location because if the valve activates it is less of a hazard to humans when scalding steam and water are directed downward and away from hapless victims. B- It is not connected to an 'overflow' valve.Ĭ- It is a drain pipe connected to a Temperature & Pressure Relief Valve which is not only a legal requirement, but a critical safety device to prevent an over-pressure event (boiler explosion- google it)įor years and years, it was common to see no pipe at all.