Am I wrong to think water supply lines running across a basement should be slightly sloped toward the source, and the branches should also slighlty rise to the fixtures?
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That is a new one by me. I do like to put a capped line in the wall to act as a hammer arrester. Also 3/4 inch for the main cold line in as far as practical.
Have a good day
Cliffy
Thank-you cliffy, Your input is greatly appreciated.
The reason (that I can think of) to maintain slope on supply lines is when you need to drain them. So if there is a choice, I try to have the slope going up from the main valve. I also put a boiler drain right abo ve my main shutoff to drain the whole thing.Certainly not a critical need.
why would you have to drain them?. 2+3=7
Vacation homes in cold climates are often set up with draining in mind. I think it's a good idea any time it's practical, but then again I like cutoffs on each run also.
They dont let us do that anymore (at least in michigan). We now have to use the mechanical (fluid/airfilled & sealed). They only need to be by solenoid type valves like, washing machines, and dishwashers.
Slope is important for DWV. Supply lines can go whatever direction you need to get them there. There should be 50 - 70 PSI to keep the water moving.
-- J.S.
Slope can be important or at least handy for supply lines in vacation homes. Nice to be able to easily drain them for the winter.
Am an electrician and electrons don't care about slope but I have seen a cases or two where sloping the supply line makes sense.
Helped wire a cabin in the woods. Nice project. Essentially a compact house that covers all the bases. As I remember it it was only about 500 sf. I could comfortable live in it with a girlfriend.
Plumber came out and ran the plumbing. He sloped the main runs toward a hose bib, hidden behind an insulated cover. The plumber pointed out that the cabin is twenty miles from anywhere and even though we are in Florida it could still freeze.
The lines were sloped so they could be drained easily. Eliminating the danger of freezing.
While this would be inconvenient when the house was occupied having the option to drain the lines if you were away for a couple of weeks may make some sense. Also with the water off and lines drained there is little danger of damage from leaks, burst washer hoses, etcetera.
Running all the main lines on a large project sloped might be more than it is worth but the lines need to be run and in many cases laying in some slope could be easy. As I understand it it doesn't need to be a whole lot of slope as the water is clear, free running, not lumpy.
If you really have to drain a system for the freezing problem, provide yourself a way to do it with compressed air. It shouldn't have to get completely dry, just to where there isn't enough water to fill the full diameter for a long enough distance to rupture the pipe.
-- J.S.
Your right. Compressed air could be used. Sort of along the lines of the inert gas systems the carriers use to clear their fuel lines. I have heard of it being done, nothing as elaborate as the Navy version, with tank of compressed air. Simple enough if you have a compressor handy and don't mind shaking out the hoses.Of course the ability to turn off the water heater and power, close the main supply valve, open the hose bib and a couple of faucets inside letting gravity do its thing while you toss the luggage in the truck and drive off is also an attractive option.I like simple and reliable. Hard to get more simple and reliable than gravity.If this could be had at minimal cost or free by simply requesting it from the plumber I think it might be a worthy design change.
Omly my opinion, but,
You may just be a fine home plumber if you plan to drain the feed lines.
I am not a plumber in the strict sense of the word, but I have done it a few times. The last new home I plumbed, every inch of feed line was sloped for drainage, including the expansion loop in the middle of the longest straight hot side run.
I put a crossover valve at the far end of the hot side so it could drain because there wasn't enough elevation to slope it backwards.
In this case it was fairly straight forward since the builder used truss joists for the floors and I just preripped a bunch of standoffs in 1/4" increments of depth.
I used 1/16" per foot slope and I wanted a support every 4'.
The cost of the value added was, IIRC, 5 minutes support material preperation, 15 minutes additional support placement, 1/2 hour thought, 1 ball valve w/installation. Call it =< $150 on a $350K-$500K home in rural MO.
SamT
I recently read that if water sits in copper pipes for too long, anaerobic bacteria develop that will eat the pipe from the inside out. Advised to drain the pipes after initial pressure test and while waiting for everything to go on-line.Found out *after* I installed water pipes with a long section unsloped (over header and under joist....).
> I recently read that if water sits in copper pipes for too long, anaerobic bacteria develop that will eat the pipe from the inside out.
Do you have a source for this? It would be real bad news for NFPA 13D sprinkler systems if it's true.
-- J.S.
I can't find the original reference but I did find this about sprinkler systems:http://www.pmengineer.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/features/BNP__Features__Item/0,2732,24897,00.html
I don't think it has anything to do with bacteria. Some waters are corrosive. And you can have problems with dissimalar metals.
Ok got it: http://www.fwr.org/copper.pdf See pages 12-13 and 22-23.
Thanks. It looks like the hardness and pH of our water here in Los Angeles should keep us safe from this problem.
-- J.S.
We prefer not to trap lines, not to wooried about slope.
Main reason is for drain down for service , remodel & maintenence etc.........