Air gaps are required by many plumbing codes (UPC - Uniform Plumbing Code is one) for dishwashers and for water softeners. We offer dishwasher air gaps in a large selection of finishes to help you match your kitchen sink and/or faucet. We also offer an air gap for water softeners. Air gaps have no moving parts and use.

Big discussion at the office today about this. I can't find any I-code that would require it. IPC 608.3 comes close but does not list a softener as needing protection from BOTH backflow and contamination, only from contamination. To my thinking if the softener is protected from contamination then the worst that could happen in a backflow situation is some softened water would get pulled back past the meter, and like CDA said, not much different than a water heater. As far as I know the flush water is separate from the potable water so no waste water.

Not everyone in my office agrees but if I don't have a code to go by then I won't require it. Fatboy, I read the CO rules but didn't find anything on it. If you can point me to the specific rule it would be appreciated. Otherwise I'm putting this one to bed. & * & * & Sifu, Which code & edition are you using?.In reading Section 608.3 [ from the `09 IPC ].how do plan to protect the water supply from contamination before it enters the water softener?

608.3 - Devices, appurtenances, appliances and apparatus: 'All devices, appurtenances, appliances and apparatus intended to serve some special function, such as sterilization, distillation, processing, cooling, or storage of ice or foods, and that connect to the water supply system, shall be provided with protection against backflow and contamination of the water supply system..Water pumps, filters, softeners, tanks and all other appliances and devices that handle or treat potable water shall be protected against contamination. '.Also, see Section 608.12. North Star, your question is the basis for my op. I am questioning whether that protection requirement exists.

My initial belief was that the requirement did exist but in trying to confirm that I am coming up empty. The first part of 608.3 does indicate protection of the water supply system against backflow but the second part of 608.3 requires that the softener be protected against contamination, which is done with an air gap at the discharge, with no mention of protecting the supply from backflow. Seems that section is careful to point out that the softener is required to be protected from contamination only and the other items listed be protected from both. Since they specifically call out softeners for contamination apart from the other items that is how I read it. I am looking at IPC 09 and 15 (we just adopted the 15 so I am in the midst of inspecting permits under both codes) but I don't recall any difference on this subject. The air gap to which I refer is the discharge line draining the brine to the floor drain, or some other location with a suitable air gap between the discharge and the inlet. This is in case the sewer backs up and contaminates the discharge line, just like for a water heater T&P discharge pipe.

And what I know of the softener is that it is a closed system, hard water in, run through the medium and soft water out. The brine/salt is used to clean the softening medium in a separate tank. But not 100% sure about those inner workings. [h=3]Private home water service connected to sewer line![/h] Whenever I get a customer who complains that backflow prevention isn’t needed, I like to pull out stories like this one. Some of us on the inside of the backflow industry (those of us who don’t have a life and think this kind of stuff is cool) knew much of the details of the incident as they were unfolding a couple of years ago.

We were just not able to talk about it. Now that the trial is over, here’s what we knowkinda. Several years ago a Commerce City family had a contractor install a water softener on the main water service to their home. Soon after the install the family noticed taste and odor issues with the drinking water.

One of the family members was diagnosed with Chrone’s disease less than a month later. After several years of investigation and a jury trial, the contractor was found responsible. The following are excerpts of recent news releases from Channel 4 and 7 News in Denver, Colorado: Channel 4 reported on October 26, 2012 that a jury had awarded a Commerce City family “nearly $1 million in damages after drinking water contaminated with raw sewage”.

Channel 7 had reported two days earlier that a jury awarded the family $465,000.00 and $462,000.00 for “negligent infliction of emotional distress and extreme and outrageous conduct”. [h=3]Sowhat happened?[/h] In one sentence, the installer directly connected the water softener drain line to the sewer. Those of us in the backflow industry would immediately identify this as a cross connection that MUST be protected by an air gap (an adequate physical separation between the water softener and the sewer). This isn’t just a good idea; this physical separation is required by both the International Plumbing Code and the Uniform Plumbing Code.

Those of you who have not been trained in cross connection control might wonder how the drinking water became contaminated. There are actually three ways the sewage can get back into the drinking water lines: 1) A siphon may be created by a city water pipe break or high water usage.

The sub-atmospheric pressure within the city pipes would cause the sewage to be sucked into the water softener. 2) Capillary action causes water to move against gravity due to the combination of surface tension of water and adhesive forces between the liquid and container that act to lift the water (Thank you Wikipedia for a simple explanation). If the water has come in contact with sewage then microbiological contaminates can move with the water back into the water softeners. 3) One of the things that cause backflow through backpressure is elevation. If the level of sewage is above the softener then backpressure could fill the drain line of the softener. Sewage backup flooding a basement is not unusual.

Another cause of backpressure would be if the water softener’s drain line was attached to the sewer line that ran along the ceiling of the basement above the softener. It is common for the sewer pipes to be above the basement floor in older houses. Now we have a situation where sewage can move from the sewer line to the softener constantly. How the sewage actually came in contact with the softener’s resin tank is open to question.

Download Parasite Eve 2 Pc Full. Court transcripts may be the only way to find out. We do know that a simple air gap would have prevented the whole problem. This article can be found on Fred Spengler’s new blog at:.

Come join in the conversation and give us your ideas and comments on this story and others. I read 608.3 this way: the first section, referring to the devices and appliances that serve a special function must be protected against contamination from cross connection downstream which would infect the individual appliances AND if they connect to the water supply system then the system must be protected from them by backflow prevention. The second section referring to the softener must only be protected against contamination which would infect the appliance. The two sections seem to be separate and distinct provisions, separated by a period which would seem to make them separate and distinct requirements. I fully admit that when I first read that section I didn't see it that way but after dissecting it that is the conclusion I came to. I see 608.12 is basically a repeat of the second part of 608.3.

I see your point about the potential for contamination within the appliance but am making the assumption (I know, I know) that the mechanism inside prevents that in some way. I also found that same article posted by log cabin but again it is only addressing the contamination of the local system, and if the proper protection against that occurance had been installed then no possibility of contamination of the supply system could occur. If I am reading these section correctly then apparently the code does not recognize any potential of the softener to produce contamination back into the system in the absence of cross contamination downstream of the appliance. The code could certainly be written better. Maybe I will ask ICC when I get time. Here is the response from ICC on this matter.

Basically what I was thinking. Thank you for your inquiry.

Your question is: Q1: Does IPC 608.3 (and P2902.2) require the supply system upstream of a water softener be protected against backflow from the softener by a listed backflow preventer? I have rephrased your question so that I can provide an answer with clarity: Rephrased Q1: Is a backflow preventer required on the potable water supply line to a filter, a water pump, a water softener, a potable water tank or other appliances that handle or treat potable water? The words of the last sentence say “Water pumps, filters, softeners, tanks and other appliances and devices that handle or treat potable water shall be protected against contamination”. Note that the sentence does not say that the potable water system connected to these items must be protected by a backflow preventer. My understanding of this sentence is that the water pumps, softeners, tanks, appliances and devices are all components of a system that supplies potable water to potable water system that has outlets that already incorporate a method of backflow prevention at the outlet. For example, a water closet flush tank has an air gap integral to the fill valve.

A lavatory has an air gap between the faucet outlet and the basin. A hose bibb has a vacuum breaker on the outlet. The sentence is concerned about the contamination that could enter water pumps, softeners, tanks and water treatment devices and water treatment appliances from outside of those components.

For example, a water filter or a pump that was installed in a pit would not be protected against contamination. The pit could fill up with water of unknown quality and under a backflow condition in the potable water system (from either the house side or the supply side), contaminants could be drawn into the filter housing or into the pump. A water softener typically has two discharges (other than the connection supplying the potable water distribution system of the building): the brine tank overflow and the resin bed backwash discharge line. The installation instructions for the water softener requires that those discharges be protected by an air gap. Jab We Met Songs Free Download Djmaza. Providing those air gaps is what is meant by protecting the water softener against contamination. This section does not require “backflow preventers” on the potable water supply connection to a potable water treatment component that supplies potable water to the potable water supply system.

Curious, does this section in the IPC (highlighted in red text) exempt residential dwellings from IPC regulation? Which means you cannot enforce IPC codes on a residential dwelling, correct? Shall comply with the International Residential Code.' [A] 101.2 Scope. The provisions of this code shall apply to the erection, installation, alteration, repairs, relocation, replacement, addition to, use or maintenance of plumbing systems within this jurisdiction. This code shall regulate nonflammable medical gas, inhalation anesthetic, vacuum piping, nonmedical oxygen systems and sanitary and condensate vacuum collection systems.

The installation of fuel gas distribution piping and equipment, fuel-gas-fired water heaters and water heater venting systems shall be regulated by the International Fuel Gas Code. Provisions in the appendices shall not apply unless specifically adopted. Exception: Detached one- and two-family dwellings and multiple single-family dwellings (townhouses) not more than three stories high with separate means of egress and their accessory structures shall comply with the International Residential Code.

The Importance of Air Gap Use. Current Air Gap Rules Keep the Regulators Away 'This article first appeared in the March 1999 issue of Water Conditioning & Purification Magazine. It is reprinted here by permission of WC&P's publisher, Publicom Inc. Of Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A. Any reproduction of this article, in whole or in part, must be with permission of Publicom Inc.'

Importance of Proper Installation. Summary: One of the important components of a proper water conditioning installation is provision for safe drainage by avoiding a possible 'cross connection,' or any point where a water supply pipe or container is joined directly to a sewer pipe. It's at this point that an installation has even a remote chance of introducing danger to a household in a backflow situation. This risk can be drastically reduced, if not eliminated, by using a sufficient 'air gap' system as described here.

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, a sectional committee on minimum requirements for standardization of plumbing equipment realized the need for protection of the purity of a potable water supply in building pipelines. A technical subcommittee on air gap use and backflow preventers was organized. After a number of reports and revisions, a draft was submitted to over one hundred health supervisory officials, plumbing inspectors, state plumbing associations and others involved in the Industry. Once additional recommendations, changes and refinements were complete, a final draft was adopted. The final draft was forwarded to American Standard and was designated an American Standard in January 1942. At the time, this standard dealt with water closets, fountains, sinks, open tanks, vats and manufacturing.

Water conditioning was still in its infancy then, and I doubt anyone knew what was coming in terms of advances in the industry. In 1991, the standard was revised to comply with more current technology and is again under review. Connection Protection An air gap is the vertical distance through the atmosphere between the lowest potable water outlet and the highest level of the source of fluid contamination. In other words, it is the point of separation of potable and non-potable piping. A water treatment system installed with a direct drain connection to a sewer system, a cross connection, has a risk of contamination most anytime.

It can happen when a sewer backs up, which is the most common, or when there is a loss of pressure in the system. One example is a loss of pressure due to a power failure, where a system pump fails to run, that could result in a back siphon causing water flow from the sewage to the house's potable water system. Fire departments have also been known to cause vacuum situations in municipal systems when fighting fires, a situation that can suck water through sewers connected through an illegally cross connected treatment system.

This water could contain any number of pathogens that would be introduced into the potable water supply. Even though every state has some mention of cross connection protection in their plumbing code books, the use of air gap devices in the water conditioning installation is currently on a voluntary basis in many, it seems.

The purchase and use of these devices or the lack of them does not necessarily mean that the water treatment professional isn't using some type of cross connection protection. Cross connection in this case refers to a direct connection, in any building, between a potable water system (fresh water plumbing systems including any connected water treatment devices) and the sewer/waste water system (or, simply put, the drainage system.) System installers will typically dangle the end of the softener drain line above a floor drain, laundry sink or stand pipe for an open air gap without a device.

This can allow over spray and potential water damage. Some construct vacuum break tees out of a tee and a series of fittings, but this method still doesn't allow a plumbing connection with sewer pipe or floor drain, and it's all but impossible to connect vacuum breaker tee to an overhead drain in a basement installation. Some codes allow for an 'approved' double check, 'check valves' for the purpose of this discussion. This is a mechanical device with springs and / or moving parts. Because of these parts, these devices are likely to fail at some point.

Air gaps I've seen have no moving parts and are simply plumbing fittings that are designed or sized to fit in the waste system in a home. Providing Code Compliance The use of air gap devices is becoming more popular because it saves the installer time when providing the minimum one inch protection required in most codes.

Chances are your state or local code enforcement agency subscribes to such a standardizing organizations as Buidling Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA), Conference of American Building Officials (CABO), Universal Plumbing Code (PC), NSSF International, and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO). Code enforcement varies locally and between states. Most local inspectors don't have the opportunity to inspect installation sites, or installs, because many are either replacement installs or performed after the occupancy permit is granted. A few local inspectors require installers to apply for a permit before installations, which is not only expensive but time consuming. In some cases, occupancy permits are withheld until the air gap is installed. It's a good idea to get to know your local inspectors. Make them your allies.

Find out how they prefer to see air gaps and make sure it agrees with the predominant national plumbing code in your area. The procedure for how drains are to be installed properly is better to come from you, than have them calling you on a suspected illegal cross connection. Generally, health or building departments are understaffed and the people doing the inspections don't have a lot of time to go back for a re-inspection. Dealers have said.

Before we started our air gap business, I did a phone survey of dealers in my state. I got the phone numbers from local phone books and Indiana Water Quality Association membership directory.

The responses were not what I expected. Most knew of air gap devices, but because of a few extra dollars in the cost per installation ($15 to $30), or the fact the inspector overlooks the gaps, or they use floor drains or they stick the drain line into stand pipes or washer drains, dealers didn't use them. Some have said they used subcontractors for installations and didn't feel they were liable. It's still the dealer's name on the equipment. Doesn't it seem they would want to protect the very customers they work so hard to attract and retain? When sales representatives are in the home, especially if the call is for a replacement unit, they can point out to the customer if the drain is cross connected. The sales person can then report the fact that your installers take the time to upgrade or install proper drains, as a fixed part of the sales presentation.

If you point out the fact that the competition doesn't mention the air gap drain, this tells the prospective customer you're concerned about their health and safety and you know your stuff. The marketing value of your professionalism will make yours the system of choice, even if you are a higher priced. Additionally, the WQA Certified Installer's Home Study Guide includes a section on safe drains; and, even though this section does not specifically mention the use of air gap devices, it clearly shows the use of air gaps in the illustrations and text. Again, many water treatment professionals install air gaps without purchasing manufactured devices; however, devices like these are time savers and professional sales tools for the water conditioning dealer. Conclusion The use of a safe drain is covered in the Water Quality Association's Code of Ethics, which states, 'Ensure that their products and services are properly applied or installed when they are responsible for such application or installation.'

A person may say it's a one in a million chance for backflow contamination due to a cross connection. It is my guess there are over 500,000 water softeners installed every year in this country. Therefore, every other year someone has a problem.

This problem, when it occurs, could be on a private well system or municipal system. The media coverage of just such an event has already occurred in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, when a local television investigative reporter discovered a plumbing cross connection directly to a sewer line underneath a manufactured home, installed by a local systems dealer. With this type coverage comes more investigation, and eventual regulation. We all know we don't need more regulation. Make sure you use a proper air gap. And remember that an air gap device may add to the cost per installation, but also can be an additional marketing tool in your belt, convincing customers of your professionalism and dedication to their safety. John Harding President J.H.

Verneco Incorporated.