Pressure relief Valve and some flex hose???

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SignGuy

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I replaced my fathers water heater and the copper pipe for the previous pressure relief valve comes out of the wall 3' up and was fine for the previous heater as the relief valve was on the top. The new one is on the side and not close enough to solder in some decent angles to get it hooked up again. I think it's pretty lame and probably not even code but what about putting some threaded ends on both pipes and installing a braided flexible hose?

I currently have a pipe soldered on that goes straight down but don't want water to go all over the wooden floor and would rather have it go in the pipe which leads outside the home. Any help would be appreciated.
 
Hard piped to termination point no flexible hoses
 
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To the plumbers... how about if he soldered on pex adapters to both pipes, and then ran a piece of pex between them?

I am not sure, since I am not a plumber, but I think that would both meet code and solve his problem.
 
As long as the pipe is secured there shouldn't be a problem but you need to use expansion expansion pex. If you use the normal PEX crimp or clamp those fittings are smaller than the ID of the pipe restricting the flow. And the code states that the discharge pipe cannot be smaller then the relief valve size but then people can also say that it's the pipe they're talking about not the fittings I don't know it's a grey area
 
I telling the op that he has enough advice to move on. Edited version. First copy was making sure everyone knew it was t&p discharge pipe and not a leaking pipe. Which do you want elaborated?

Edit. Almost forgot. The box store sell the discharge tubes al ready made up. Straight or bent.
 
Thanks for the help. I was thinking the stainless braided type hose that ya see on race cars except from plumbing department for water.

I'll just plan on sweating off the old joints and figuring a way to get some copper fitting to work. I don't really like to see any 90 degree stuff but that might be what I have to do. The darn thing was so jerry-rig'd with a variety of 90 elbows I'm surprised it passed any kind of inspection and maybe it wasn't even checked.

Thanks again.
 
Way back when inspectors were bribed anything could’ve passed. Yesterday our framing inspector passed a house 8” out of square. He said he doesn’t carry a tape he just observes. So yeah anything could’ve passed. Your new 90 rant is confusing. But yeah get some braided steel hoses and your good to go.
 
I would not run the tube up from the pressure relief valve. Water could run back into the tube and corrode the pressure relief valve and prevent it from opening.

A catastrophic water heater explosion could occur.
 
I would not run the tube up from the pressure relief valve. Water could run back into the tube and corrode the pressure relief valve and prevent it from opening.

A catastrophic water heater explosion could occur.
Corrosion is not a concern when installed properly but gets wet when spitting out water on occasion???
 
T&P line must use gravity only.
It is NOT allowed to go anywhere but down.
If you cannot gravity drain then you have to use a Watts 210 for gas and follow instructions for pressure relief valve elsewhere.
 
First and foremost, confirm your code requirements. They do differ with regard to some of the details.

Raising of the P&T valve would allow for gravity discharge.

To be honest, I can't understand how hard piping to a pipe in the wall meets the spirit of concerns of any of the codes.

Talk to your local inspector and do it legally. That always helps in insurance claims.
 
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A discharge pipe in the wall CAN meet code requirements, but it depends on the prevailing code of the jurisdiction, the location of the ultimate discharge of the pipe, the number of elbows to get there, the height of the discharge above the ground, whether or not the climate is subject to freezing temperatures... a number of different factors.

I've had the same situation... where the discharge pipe was already built into the wall but stubbed out of the wall too high for the new water heater. The original water heater had the T&P on top. That was what the builder had installed in the 1970's. Then, when that water heater was replaced in the 1990's, the T&P was on the side, and somewhat lower than the discharge pipe outlet pre plumbed through the wall. But the installer of that water heater simply soldered up a glob 90 degree fittings and stubs to eventually bring the discharge of the T&P UPWARD toward the pre plumbed discharge pipe in the wall, because this particular jurisdiction PROHIBITS T&P discharge into a pan.

Ironically, the adopted code in this jurisdiction also prohibits uphill drainage and the inherent, even if inadvertent, "P traps" incorporated into the T&P line from the elbows and short lengths of pipe needed to meet the higher stub out of the wall, because hard water deposits can calcify and crust up the P Trap, blocking the discharge path. But the inspector either didn't catch that flaw, or the person installing that replacement water heater didn't call for inspection.

Needless to say, while that second water heater was very well maintained by the homeowner, with new anodes installed every 5 years, recorded in writing right on the side of the water heater, as well as annual flushes and drain downs of the tank... eventually that P trapped T&P discharge did crust up, and became constricted enough to cause the water tank to leak elsewhere. No expansion tank either.

That's when I came in, once the heater sprang a leak. The in house closet location of the water heater tank, significantly away from any exterior walls, sort of dictated the use of the pre plumbed discharge piping already in the wall, routed to the outdoors. I verified that the outdoor discharge was acceptable and safe, and then verified that the plumbing was clear and unobstructed from the heater location to the exit. I used compressed air, as well as full flow water (with a temporary fitting attached to the stub) for the flow verification. There were less than 4 elbows in the 3/4" copper run as well.

However, I did open up the wall, and cut down the discharge pipe, stubbing it out again sufficiently below the average height of 40-50 gallon water heater with side outlet T&P valve so as to eliminate any potential P trap in future water heater hook ups, and maintain gravity drain.

It was significantly more work to cut into the wall, and re install sheetrock, tape, mud, sand, texture, prime, and paint... because once a wall is cut into, then another code kicks in regarding insulating the first 5 feet of hot and cold piping to and from the water heater. So the hole was two stud bays instead of just one, and had to extend down below the fire blocking. But that was the only way to do the job right, because the perimeter grade around the house was higher than what a floor drain could have been plumbed to.

With this recent real world example in mind, I would suggest to the OP to consider cutting into the wall where the discharge piping is plumbed, and cut down a foot or two of the vertical stand of the discharge inside the wall, and stub it out lower. Patch it all up and then a hard pipe downward gravity drain can be accomplished.
 
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