Water heater to code?

Has this water heater been installed to code? What is the check valves purpose on the one line?

I'll study the picture a little more, but that is a trap primer, not a check valve going into the stand pipe next to the furnace.

I would be more concerned with the electrical work.

John

Here's what I see. Codes may differ in your area.
The flex connector to the hot water tank is not coated and protected. It should have a dirt leg to keep particulates from entering the control valve.
There is no valve on the cold supply. Fixtures and appliances should have a control stop on supplies. Check the gas line for a valve/stop also.
The trap primer should also have a stop for servicing so that the house doesn't need to be shut down to repair or replace. That type of trap primer doesn't require a special design of the piping to operate like some others, but note: every time somebody uses any hot water in the house the primer will add water to the trap. Seems wasteful to me to have it on a frequently used water line...overkill for a trap.
The gas connector for the furnace is also a flex line and enters the compartment of the furnace. This should be hard piped with steel and also have a dirt leg. The gray coating also leads me to believe that it is an old brass flex line and has been recalled due to leak hazards. The brass flexies crack and if it is one, going directly into the furnace is a combustion/explosion hazard.
The 2" stand pipe hopefully is also trapped. Can't tell from the picture.
The make-shift trap for the condensate line from the furnace is deep and not a smooth one-piece construction and will get all boogered up inside.
If there is a backflow device and/or a pressure regulator there should also be a thermal expansion tank installed close to the water heater. An expansion tank anywhere on the cold water piping will help, but is most effective close to the tank. And, yes, even with a regulator that has a thermal expansion bypass, the tank is necessary. The 'bypass' feature is unreliable.
That's all I can see for now. More pictures of the flu pipe and surrounding area may reveal more.

Good call, John. I didn't recognize that as electrical. I thought the photo was from an Italian restaurant and some fettuccine alfredo got tossed around.

The furnace or water heater would not pass any good inspection. If you post more pics as stated above , we could give you advice to pass an inspection or bring things up to code.

Thank you for the replies. I'm an electrician and I'm studying plumbing on the side. The friends I have that are plumbers are busy year round while the electrical trade in my area is not enough to keep me busy 40 hours a week. I have been studying the UPC and some other plumbing books. I may apply at some plumbing shops next month.

Without a trap prime would the methane gas be explosive if it contacted the gas furnace? What if that was an electric heater, would you still need a trap primer? Also where in the UPC is a trap primer required ?

Well it would not be explosive, but it would stink up the place and be a health hazard. The trap primmer is required for floor drains and drains which receive intermittent use. Don't have the code in front of me for the section, but look under the floor drain section.

Some inspectors will want one on the condensate standpipe. It should have a valve before the trap primer for servicing as someone else mentioned. The cold water branch to the trap primer should also come off the top of a water line so that deposits don't clog the small orifice in the trap primer.

It looks like the cold water flex connection connects to a copper nipple on the water heater and not a galvanic isolator like is installed on the hot water side. Though it could just be the photo. Looks copper too me and should be a dielectric isolator, a galvanized nipple lined on the inside with plastic.

Also the PVC pipe turned up on the AC evap coil is the overflow drain. I would remove that and pipe the overflow to the floor. That way if the primary condensate drain clogs you'll know it before the condensate back ups into the furnace.

From what I can see from a Plumbers prospective is several violations. The tank should have an earthquake strap, the tank should have a 2gal thermal expansion tank installed on the hot side. The biggest danger is your vent. Unless it is a direct vent system with a power vent, your vent pipe can not ever be horizontal. It can be 90deg and no more then 45deg vertical. Reason is carbon monoxide can leak into the room. You should install a sensor by the tank to make sure this isn't or doesn't happen.

Kinda funny you should mention the TE tank on the hot side, AQ. I understand that some tanks used to have a ball-type or rubber check on the cold inlet, but haven't seen any in years. I've heard of plumbers putting TE tanks on the hot side. This seems contrary to manufacturer's instructions and some warranties. Since the TE tanks are not insulated, the expanded water in a no flow condition will cool. This creates a situation that the manufacture has addressed by recommending the cold side installation. I typically do my thermal expansion tests on hose bibs and get a positive reading when TE is present, so the check on the inlet reasoning that I've heard is moot in that circumstance.
I have also heard about recirc systems needing them on the hot side because of a check valve on the cold inlet. I have never installed a recirc line to the cold supply from the hot, only into the boiler drain and that''s where I put the check valve (after the pump).
Anyways, maybe you can enlighten me about the hot water side TE tanks. Nobody I know has any info.

Beni said:

Also the PVC pipe turned up on the AC evap coil is the overflow drain. I would remove that and pipe the overflow to the floor. That way if the primary condensate drain clogs you'll know it before the condensate back ups into the furnace.

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He should leave that port capped, That port is for horizontal installation draining. The overflow is the plug/port to the left of the drain that is in place now. Not sure why a trap is used on a vertical furnace installation, unless it's code in that area. Traps are usually installed on horizontal furnace installation or air handler where the blower is above the evaporate coil.

TravisTea said:

Without a trap prime would the methane gas be explosive if it contacted the gas furnace? What if that was an electric heater, would you still need a trap primer? Also where in the UPC is a trap primer required ?

Click to expand...

I would be more concern with the flex line at the furnace as Caduceus stated in post #4 than methane gas , you have a trap primer in place. What is the drain stand pipe connected to ?

IFIXH20 said:

He should leave that port capped, That port is for horizontal installation draining. The overflow is the plug/port to the left of the drain that is in place now. Not sure why a trap is used on a vertical furnace installation, unless it's code in that area. Traps are usually installed on horizontal furnace installation or air handler where the blower is above the evaporate coil.

Click to expand...

Ah, Missed the other drain plug.

The condensate trap generally should be installed regardless of weather the unit is vertical or horizontal. It's designed to limit air flow in or out of the unit.
See http://webmanuals.lennoxeurope.com/out of production/rooftop/Service Archive/condensate traps.pdf