TPR Inspection Question

[monty]

We are selling our current home and during the Pre-Sale Home Inspection this came up:

Since the original home had a standard tank hot water heater the temperature pressure relief valve is high up on the wall and goes behind the sheet rock. With the Tankless in place the TPR piping goes uphill a bit - is this a major issue or fine just to leave alone. The inspector (who was wrong on another code issue related to electrical) said he recommends moving the pipe down the wall.

I don't want to open the sheetrock and re-pipe if I don't need to. It seems that the safety issue is a much bigger deal if I had a tank. Since this was installed by a local plumbing contractor is he required to do it correctly or remedy it for me?

 

[Nukeman]

First off, where do you live? What is required for the T&P can vary greatly depending on where you are. Some locations want it only going to the outside and others will allow you to pipe above an indirect waste receptor (floor drain) on on the floor itself (if the water won't damage anything). Seems like most want the piping to drain by gravity, but some locations (especially those who want it going outside) will let the piping go uphill (if WH is in basement). Do you know where it goes now? If it is hard piped into the building DWV, then that could be a problem too (need an air gap/air break).

Where I am at, if the T&P goes off to somewhere else, it first has to go through an air gap in the same room as the T&P. This way, you can clearly see if the T&P is leaking.

There is typically a list of other things that the T&P line has to meet as well (no tees, no reducing the size, no threads on the end of the discharge line, etc.). These seem to be about the same everywhere.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[monty]

Currently the T&P line goes outside. The Utility Room is on a second floor and the pipe is on an exterior wall - the pipe goes down that exterior wall and then the pipe exits the wall, with a little elbow that sits just above the ground over our sidewalk...

We are in Northern California - Home was built in 1985.

 

[Gary Swart]

You are making cutting and patching the drywall out as a major problem which it is not. Cut the wall open, connect to TP line properly, patch the wall, and have a beer.

 

[hj]

The first question would be whether the city even requires a T&P valve. Tankless heaters do not come with them, nor with a place to install one. Because of the way a properly operating tankless works, there is no temperature buildup, nor thermal expansion either. IF a "pressure only" relief valve is required, it can be installed anywhere after the shut off valve which could put it above the opening in the wall.

 

[monty]

The first question would be whether the city even requires a T&P valve. Tankless heaters do not come with them, nor with a place to install one. Because of the way a properly operating tankless works, there is no temperature buildup, nor thermal expansion either. IF a "pressure only" relief valve is required, it can be installed anywhere after the shut off valve which could put it above the opening in the wall.

I think this might be the correct answer - the Takagi Tankless has a Pressure Relief Valve only! So is the inspector wrong on this issue? It seems like it. If it is just a Pressure Relief Valve can it be piped as show?

Thanks for the answers...