My son just bought a house. In looking around, we found the main feed for water, a 1" copper line. As you can see in the two pics, the line branches a couple of times, and then seems to elbow into a 4" drain line. Am I missing something?

Drain Line clogs up and they flushed water through to unclog? Looks like the fitting leaks.

Hi John

Follow the water pipe in both directions... only thing that this could be should be a T&P valve discharge line and/or condensate line from an air conditioner or something like that. No matter what it is, it is done wrong (as you know)... if it is a T&P valve or condensate line a properly vented PTRAP should be installed and the copper drains should "connect indirectly" into the drain.

If this is some kind of blow down to drain the system it is simply not needed and should never be piped as presented.

If these really are water pipes, obviously the water pipe needs to be removed from the drain and properly capped (drain will obviously need work, too).

Back to you...

Mark

I'll look at again next time I'm over there. The shut off valve is a little perplexing if it's just a drain line. It really looked like the main feed for water. The hot water heater is in that room and had its own drain line for the TP valve, as did the central AC unit.

If I remember correctly, my son told me that closing the shut off valve turned off water to the entire house. Not sure how that could be true since it would seem that water would be running non stop into the drain.

Mark[/QUOTE]

Surely they didn't run the supply through the drain pipe? Never know, I looked at a job where the hot and cold water pipes ran through the return air plenum!

I have only seen this in homes that were vacant in the winter and the lines needed to be drained each year. Vacation cottages mostly

I think Mark is on something. It appears to be an A/C condensation line or T&P valve overflow line. But in either case it is wrong to have it installed that way and it should have been pointed out by the Inspector before the sale closed. I suggest you have it corrected.

Milo

The hot water T&P overflow is there in that room, so that's not it. Same thing is true of AC.

I also wondered if they had run the water line in through the drain. That would be incredible, but maybe so.

jlisenbe:

Follow the 1" copper pipe going up ( photo #2 ) and see if you can trace it where goes or what it feeds

Also, close that valve ( photo #1 ) and see where it cuts of water supply.

I cannot imagine somebody would drill Cast Iron pipe to run water pipe through it.

Back to you...

Milo

Will do, but it will be a while. He's in a different city.