Elements of Plumbing Part 17

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 77.--Gas-meter dials.]

The reading of the dials on a gas meter comes in the province of the plumber and he should be able to read them. The sketch shows the dial plate of a meter. The ordinary house meter has only three recording dials. Large meters have five or more. To read the amount of gas consumed according to the meter we will read the dials as they are indicated on Fig. 77. We will call the four dials No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4. In each of these dials a complete revolution of the index hand denotes 1,000, 10,000, 100,000 and 1,000,000, cubic feet respectively. The index hands on No. 1 and No. 3 revolve in the same direction, while No. 2 and No. 4 revolve in the opposite direction. Two ciphers are added to the figures that are indicated on the dials and the statement of the meter will be had. To tell just how much gas has been consumed in a given time, the statement of the meter is taken at the beginning of this given time and at the end of the time. The difference in the figures indicates the number of cubic feet of gas that have been consumed. A gas c.o.c.k should be placed on the house side of the meter. The dials of meter read 658,800 cubic feet. The dial having the highest number is read first No. 4 dial points to 6, this indicates that No. 3 dial has revolved 6 times. Dial No. 3 reads 5, therefore the reading of dial No. 3 and No. 4 is 65. Dial No. 2 reads 8 making the readings of the three dials 658. Dial No. 1 reads 8 making the readings of the four dials 6588 add two ciphers to this figure and 658,800 is the correct reading.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 78.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 79.]

PIPE AND FITTINGS.--The pipe used in gas fitting is wrought iron or steel. In special places, rubber hose is used. Bra.s.s pipe is occasionally used to advantage. The fittings used in iron pipe gas work should be galvanized. No plain fittings should be allowed. The plain fittings very often have sand holes in them and a leak will result. Sometimes this leak does not appear until after the piping has been in use some time and the expense of replacing the fitting can only be guessed at. By using galvanized fittings, this trouble will be eliminated. All fittings used should be of the beaded type.

The fitting and measurement of this work is practically the same as described under iron pipe work. To have the beginner get a clearer idea of gas-piping a building, the piping of the small building sketched will be gone over in detail and studied. One of the first important steps that a gas fitter is confronted with is the locating of the various lights and openings. With these located as shown on the plan, Figs. 78, 79 and 80, we will proceed to work out the piping. The first floor rise will be 1-inch, the second floor will be 1-inch. The horizontal pipe supplying the first floor outlets will be 3/4-inch pipe. The horizontal pipe on the second floor will be 3/4-inch. The balance of the pipe will be 3/8- or 1/2-inch. At this point your attention is called to the sketch of piping, sizes, and measurements. This sketch should be studied and understood in detail. The good mechanic will employ a sketch of this kind when installing any piping. The poor mechanic will take two or three measurements and get them out, put them in, and then get some more. This method is extremely costly and unworkmanlike.

There is no reason, except the ability of the workman, why he cannot take a building like the sketch and get all the piping measurements for the job, then get them out, go to the job and put them in. The amount of time saved in this way is so great that a workman should not consider himself a full-fledged mechanic until he can get the measurements this way, and get them accurately. With a tape line, gimlet, and plumb-bob, a mechanic is fully equipped with tools to get his measurements. If the measurements are taken with a tape line, the same tape line should be used when measuring the pipe and cutting it. When laying out the piping, never allow a joist to be cut except within 6 inches of its bearing. It is good policy never to cut timber unless absolutely necessary and then only after consulting with the carpenter. When joists have to be notched they should be cut only on the top side. The pipe as it is put in place should be braced rigidly. Wherever there is an outlet pipe extending through the wall, the pipe should be braced from all sides so that when the fixture is screwed in it will be perfectly rigid.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 80.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 81.--Pipe sketch.]

The measurements on the piping sketch, Fig. 81, are taken from the accompanying sketch of a dwelling, and if they were to be actually put in, they would fit. The reader would do well to copy this sketch and follow the piping and check the measurements according to the plan, and note how the different risers, drops, etc., are drawn. It is not necessary in a sketch of this kind to draw to a scale. After the different measurements are the letters _C.C._, _E.C._, _E.E._, _C.B._ and _E.B._, meaning center to center, end to center, end to end, center to back, and end to back, respectively.

Offsetting pipe is a very convenient way of getting the pipe or fittings back to the wall for support. To offset pipe properly and with little trouble, take a piece of scantling 2 by 4 and brace it between the floor and ceiling. Bore a few different-sized holes through it and you will have a very handy device for offsetting pipe. There is a little trick in offsetting pipe that one will have to practice to obtain. The pipe must be held firmly in the place where the pipe is to be bent. Large offsets and bends should not be made; 2 to 4 inches is as large as should be used. Larger offsets that are required should be made with fittings. Always make the offsets true and have the ends perfectly straight. Before putting a piece of pipe permanently in place, always look or blow through it, to ascertain if its bore is obstructed or not. Sometimes dirt or slag will collect and cause stoppage.

READING THE PIPE SKETCH.--Vertical lines represent vertical pipes (see Fig. 81). Horizontal lines represent horizontal pipes running parallel to the front. Diagonal lines represent horizontal pipes running from back to front. Any line that is drawn perpendicular to any other line stands for a horizontal pipe. A diagonal line separating a vertical line or horizontal line or set of lines represents a different horizontal plane. With this explanation the sketch will be made clear to one after drawing it. The reader should now take each measurement and check it on the plan. This is easily done by using a scale rule. The height of the ceiling is 8-1/2 feet on the first floor, the second floor is 8 feet. The first floor joists are 10 inches, the second floor joists are 9 inches. An outlet is indicated by a small circle. In the piping sketch, this circle is connected with the riser or drop by a horizontal line. At the junction of these two lines a short perpendicular line is drawn, and indicates the direction of the outlet.

Let me again emphasize the need to understand thoroughly this piping sketch, and to become so familiar with it that it can readily be put to use. The value of a mechanic is determined by the quality and the quant.i.ty of work that he can turn out; and a mechanic who can lay out his work and see it completed before he starts, and then proceeds to install his work, is by far of more value to his employer than the man who can see only far enough ahead to cut out two or three measurements and spends most of his time walking between the vise and place of installing the pipe.

TESTING.--The system of gas piping must be tested before the pipes have been covered by the advance of building operations. If the job is of considerable size, the job can be tested in sections, and if found tight the sections can be covered. The necessity of having the piping rigidily secured can be appropriately explained here. If the test has been made and the system found tight and some pipe that is not securely anch.o.r.ed is accidentally or otherwise pushed out of place and bent by some of the mechanics working about the building, a leak may be caused and yet not discovered until the final test is made after the plastering is finished. The expense and trouble thus caused is considerable and could have been avoided by simply putting in the proper supports for the pipe.

To test the piping, an air pump and a gage connected with the pipes are placed in a convenient position. The job should now be thoroughly gone over, making sure that all plugs and caps are on and that no outlet is open, also that all pipe that is to be put in has been installed. After this has been attended to, the pump is operated until 10 pounds is registered on the gage. The connection leading to the pump and the piping is now shut off. If the gage drops rapidly, there is a bad leak in the system. This leak should be found without difficulty and repaired. If the gage drops slowly, it denotes a very small leak, such as a sand hole or a bad thread.

This kind of leak is more troublesome to find. When it has been found, the pipe or fitting causing the leak should be taken out and replaced. If black caps have been used to cap the outlets, the chances are that a sand hole will be found in one of them. Nothing but galvanized fittings should be used. In case the small leak mentioned above cannot be found by going over the pipe once, there are other means of locating the leak. Two of the methods used, I will explain. If the job is small, each fitting is painted with soap suds until the fitting is found that causes the leak. If the leak is not in the fittings, then the pipe can be gone over in the same way. As soon as the soap suds strikes the leak, a large bubble is made and the leak discovered. It is possible that there are more leaks, so the gage is noted and if it still drops, the search should be continued. The pump should be operated to keep the pressure up to 10 pounds while the search is being made for the leak. When the gage stands at 10 pounds without dropping, the job is then tight. The pump and gage fitting should be gone over first to ascertain if they leak. The other method employed to discover leaks is to force a little ether or oil of peppermint (not essence) into the system by means of the pump. A leak can readily be noted by the odor. To make this method successful, the ether or peppermint should not be handled by the men who are to hunt for the leak. The bottle containing the fluid should not be opened in the building except to pour some into the piping, otherwise the odor will get into the building and as the odor comes out of the leak it will not be noted. For the benefit of the gas fitter, the piping should be tested again after the plastering is completed. The next test is made when the fixtures are put on, and as the piping is tight any leak that develops in this test indicates that the fixtures leak. There are in common use various methods to stop leaks in gas pipe when they are found. If a piece of piping or a fitting is defective, it should be taken out and replaced. This should be remembered so that while the piping is being installed any defects should be noted and the defective fitting or pipe thrown out. Before the gas job is accepted, the gas company will inspect it and look for traps and sags in the pipe. Therefore, the piping should be installed without any traps and it should be arranged to pitch toward the meter, or toward a convenient place from which any condensation can be taken out. If provision is not made for this condensation, it will acc.u.mulate and stop the flow of gas.

SHOWER-BATH CONNECTIONS

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 82.--Shower stall with lead pan extending outside of stall.]

The sketches show clearly the methods employed to make a shower-bath waste and stall water-tight. The shower bath, as a separate fixture, is in use and the demand for it as a separate fixture is increasing rapidly. This demand comes from the owners of private houses. The plumber must therefore devise some way to make these connections tight and prevent any leak from showing in the room below. This fixture is so constructed that all waste pipes and trap come under the floor level with no way of getting to them from below. Therefore the piping for this fixture must be of a permanent nature. No pipe or trap made of material that is liable to give out in a short time should be allowed under a shower-bath fixture or stall. The two sketches, Figs. 82 and 83 ill.u.s.trate two methods of connecting and making tight a shower stall. A plumber should always consider it his special duty to make his work complete and free from all objections. He should always prepare for any emergency that may occur in the future. This is rather a big task, yet the plumber when accepting all of his responsibilities has a big task. I state this to the beginner and emphasize the all-important fact that he must learn to perform and think deeply of the elements of plumbing to be able later on to handle successfully the problems that present themselves in the plumbing trade.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 83.--Shower stall with lead pan extending six inches beyond strainer.]

The heavy bra.s.s trap shown in the sketch has proved itself very satisfactory and can be made to fit almost any condition of piping or building construction. A flas.h.i.+ng of sheet lead is soldered on the trap and carried out to the outside edge of the stall where it is turned up 1 inch, or to the floor level. When the flas.h.i.+ng is carried out for only a foot on each side of the trap, the possibilities of a leak are greater.

CHAPTER XVIII

PLUMBING CODES

The work of plumbing has a direct result on the health of the occupants of buildings; therefore in order that the plumbing may not be installed improperly and impair the health of the occupants, it is necessary to provide a code governing the installation of plumbing. Naturally these laws at first were under the control of the health department of cities, but of late years the building departments have a.s.sumed control of the codes with the result that cooperation with the building codes is now the practice rather than the exception.

To make certain the carrying out of the plumbing codes, it is required that a plan indicating the run, size, and length of pipes, location and number of fixtures of the prospective job be filed in the building department of the city, before the work is started. If the plan is approved by the plumbing inspector and acceptance is sent, then the work can be started. After a job is completed a test is made and the job is inspected by the plumbing inspector, and if found to meet requirements a written acceptance of the work is given by the building department. An effort is being made throughout the country to have the plumbing codes under State control rather than have a number of different codes in as many different cities and towns. The State code can be so arranged that it will apply to either city or town.

The installation of plumbing varies in different States. In the northern part of the United States all pipes which pa.s.s through the roof, if less than 4-inch must be increased to 4-inch. A pipe smaller than 4-inch will be filled with h.o.a.r frost during the winter and render the pipe useless to perform its function as a vent pipe. Pipes laid under ground in the Northern States must be at least 4 feet below the surface to protect them from freezing. In the Southern States the frost does not penetrate the ground to such a distance and the pipes can be laid on the surface.

Following is a State or City plumbing code insofar as it relates to the actual installation of plumbing.

SEC. 1. PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS.--There shall be a separate plan for each building, public or private, or any addition thereto, or alterations thereof, accompanied by specifications showing the location, size and kind of pipe, traps, closets and fixtures to be used, which plans and specifications shall be filed with the board or bureau of buildings. The said plans and specifications shall be furnished by the architect, plumber or owner, and filed by the plumber. All applications for change in plans must be made in writing.

SEC. 2. FILING PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS.--Plumbers before commencing the construction of plumbing work in any building (except in case of repairs, which are here defined to relate to the mending of leaks in soil, vent, or waste pipes, faucets, valves and water-supply pipes, and shall not be construed to admit of the replacing of any fixture, such as water closets, bath tubs, lavatories, sinks, etc., or the respective traps for such fixtures) shall submit to the bureau plans and specifications, legibly drawn in ink, on blanks to be furnished by said board or bureau. Where two or more buildings are located together and on the same street, and the plumbing work is identical in each, one plan will be sufficient. Plans will be approved or rejected within 24 hours after their receipt.

SEC. 3. MATERIAL OF HOUSE DRAIN AND SEWER.--House drains or soil pipes laid beneath floor must be extra heavy cast-iron pipe, with leaded and caulked joints, and carried 5 feet outside cellar wall. All drains and soil pipes connected with main drain where it is above the cellar floor shall be extra heavy cast-iron pipe with leaded joints properly secured or of heavy wrought-iron pipe with screw joints properly secured and carried 5 feet outside cellar wall and all arrangements for soil and waste pipes shall be run as direct as possible.

Changes of direction on pipes shall be made with "Y"-branches, both above and below the ground, and where such pipes pa.s.s through a new foundation-wall a relieving arch shall be built over it, with a 2-inch s.p.a.ce on either side of the pipe.

SEC. 4.--The size of main house drain shall be determined by the total area of the buildings and paved surfaces to be drained, according to the following table, if iron pipe is used. If the pipe is terra-cotta the pipe shall be one size larger than for the same amount of area drainage.

----------+-----------------------------+--------------------------------- Diameter | Fall 1/4 inch per foot | Fall 1/2 inch per foot ----------+-----------------------------+--------------------------------- 4 inches | 1,800 square feet drainage | 2,500 square feet drainage area 5 inches | 3,000 square feet drainage | 4,500 square feet drainage area 6 inches | 5,000 square feet drainage | 7,500 square feet drainage area 8 inches | 9,100 square feet drainage | 13,600 square feet drainage area 10 inches | 14,000 square feet drainage | 20,000 square feet drainage area ----------+-----------------------------+---------------------------------

The main house drains may be decreased in diameter beyond the rain-water conductor or surface inlet by permission of the bureau, when the plans show that the conditions are such as to warrant such decrease, but in no case shall the main house drain be less than 4 inches in diameter.

SEC. 5. MAIN TRAP.--An iron running trap with two clean-outs must be placed in the house drain near the front wall of the house, and on the sewer side of all connections. If placed outside the house or below the cellar floor the clean-outs must extend to surface with bra.s.s screw cap ferrules caulked in. If outside the house, it must never be placed less than 4 feet below the surface of the ground.

SEC. 6. FRESH-AIR INLET.--A fresh-air inlet pipe must be connected with the house drain just inside of the house trap and extended to the outer air, terminating with a return bend, or a vent cap or a grating with an open end 1 foot above grade at the most available point to be determined by the building department.

The fresh-air inlet pipe must be 4 inches in diameter for house drains of 6 inches or less and as much larger as the building department may direct for house drains more than 6 inches in diameter.

SEC. 7. LAYING OF HOUSE SEWERS AND DRAINS.--House sewers and house drains must, where possible, be given an even grade to the main sewer of not less than 1/4 inch to the foot.

Full-sized "Y"- and "T"-branch fittings for handhole clean-outs must be provided where required on house drain and its branches. No clean-out need be larger than 6 inches.

SEC. 8. FLOOR DRAINS.--Floor or other drains will only be permitted when it can be shown to the satisfaction of the department of building that their use is absolutely necessary, and arrangements made to maintain a permanent water seal, and be provided with check or back-water valves.

SEC. 9. WEIGHT AND THICKNESS OF CAST-IRON PIPE.--All cast-iron pipes must be uncoated excepting all laid under ground, which shall be thoroughly tarred, sound, cylindrical and smooth, free from cracks, sand holes and other defects, and of uniform thickness and of grade known to commerce as extra heavy.

Cast-iron pipe including the hub shall weigh not less than the following weights per linear foot:

2-inch pipe 5-1/2 pounds per foot.

3-inch pipe 9-1/2 pounds per foot.

4-inch pipe 13 pounds per foot.

5-inch pipe 17 pounds per foot.

6-inch pipe 20 pounds per foot.

7-inch pipe 27 pounds per foot.

8-inch pipe 33-1/2 pounds per foot.

10-inch pipe 45 pounds per foot.

12-inch pipe 54 pounds per foot.

All cast-iron pipe must be tested to 50 pounds and marked with the maker's name.

All joints in cast-iron pipe must be made with picked oak.u.m and molten lead and caulked gas-tight. Twelve ounces of soft pig lead must be used at each joint for each inch in the diameter of the pipe.

SEC. 10. WROUGHT-IRON AND STEEL PIPE.--All wrought-iron and steel pipe shall be galvanized. Fittings used for drainage must be galvanized and of recess type known as drainage fittings. All fittings used for venting shall be galvanized and of the style known as steam pattern. No plain black pipe or fittings will be permitted.

SEC. 11. SUB-SOIL DRAINS.--Sub-soil drains must be discharged into a sump or receiving tank, the contents of which must be lifted and discharged into the drainage system above the cellar floor by some approved method. Where directly sewer-connected, they must be cut off from the rest of the building and plumbing system by a bra.s.s flap valve on the inlet to the catch basin and the trap on the drain from the catch basin must be water-supplied.