Sec. 341.302. - Test of drainage and vent system.
(a) Piping of the plumbing system, including interior leaders and downspouts, shall be tested with water or air. After the fixtures have been set and their traps filled with water, the entire drainage system shall be submitted to final tests. The Building Official may require the removal of a cleanout to ascertain if the pressure has reached all parts of the system.
(b) The water test shall be applied to the drainage system either in its entirety or in sections. If applied to the entire system, all openings in the piping shall be tightly closed, except the highest opening, and the system filled with water to the point of overflow. If the system is tested in sections, each opening shall be tightly plugged, except the highest openings of the section under test, and each section shall be filled with water but no section shall be tested with less than a ten-foot head of water. In testing successive sections, at least the upper ten feet of the next preceding section shall be tested so that no joint or pipe in the building (except the uppermost ten feet of the system) shall have been submitted to a test of less than a ten-foot head of water. The water shall be kept in the system or in the portion under test for at least 15 minutes before inspection starts; the system shall then be tight at all points.
(c) The air test shall be made by attaching an air compressor or testing apparatus to a suitable opening and, after closing all other inlets to and outlets from the system, forcing air into the system until there is a uniform gauge pressure of five pounds per square inch or sufficient to balance a column of mercury ten inches in height. This pressure shall be held without introduction of additional air for a period of at least 15 minutes.
(d) The final test of the completed drainage and vent system shall be visual and in sufficient detail to insure that the provisions of this Building Code have been complied with; provided, that for cause the plumber may be required to subject the plumbing to either a smoke or peppermint test. Where the smoke test is prescribed, it shall be made by filling all traps with water and then introducing into the entire system a pungent, thick smoke produced by one or more smoke machines. When the smoke appears at stack openings on the roof, they shall be closed and a pressure equivalent to a one-inch water column shall be built and maintained for 15 minutes before inspection starts. Where the peppermint test is prescribed, two ounces of oil of peppermint shall be introduced for each line or stack.
(Ord. 71-342-174; Ord. 83-591-400, § 1; Ord. 86-58-24, § 3)
