(a) Drainage and vent systems.
(1) Rough Plumbing. Except for outside leaders and perforated or open jointed drain tile (subsoil drains), the piping of plumbing drainage and venting systems shall be verified as to materials and shall be tested upon completion of the rough piping installation and proven to be watertight. The commissioner may require the removal of any cleanout plugs to ascertain that the prescribed pressure has been reached in all parts of the system.
a. Water test. A water test shall be applied to the drainage system either in its entirety or in sections after rough piping has been installed. If applied to the entire system, all openings in the piping, except the highest opening, shall be tightly closed and the system filled with water to the point of overflow. If the system is tested in sections, each opening, except the highest opening of the section under test, shall be tightly plugged and each section filled with water. 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 following 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 fifteen minutes before inspection starts; the system shall then be tight at all points.
b. Air test. An air test may be used only when permission for this type of test is obtained from the commissioner. The air test shall be made by attaching an air compressor testing apparatus to any suitable opening and, after closing all other inlets and outlets of the system, forcing air into the system until there is a uniform gauge pressure of five psi. This pressure shall be held, without introducing additional air, for a period of at least fifteen minutes.
(2) Finished Plumbing. After the plumbing fixtures have been set and their traps filled with water, the entire drainage system shall be verified as to materials, and shall be tested and proven gastight by either a smoke test or a peppermint test.
a. Smoke test. The smoke test 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, these openings shall be closed and a pressure equivalent to a one inch water column shall be maintained for the period of the inspection.
b. Peppermint test. The peppermint test shall be made by introducing two ounces of oil of peppermint into the roof vent terminal of every line or stack to be tested. The oil of peppermint shall be followed at once by ten quarts of hot water (one hundred sixty degrees Fahrenheit or higher), whereupon all roof vent terminals shall be sealed. The detection of the odor of peppermint at any trap or other point in the system shall determine the location of any leaks. Persons who have come in contact with the oil of peppermint shall be excluded from the test area.
(b) Building house sewer. The building house sewer shall be tested by inserting a test plug at the point of connection with the street sewer before such connection is made. The building house sewer shall then be filled with water under a head of at least ten feet. The water level at the top of the test head of water shall not drop for at least fifteen minutes.
(c) Water systems. Upon completion of a section of a water system or of the entire water system, the completed section or system shall be verified as to materials, and shall be tested and proven tight under a water pressure at least twenty-five percent greater than the working pressure under which it is to be used. The water used for tests shall be obtained from a potable source of supply.
(d) Gas piping systems. Upon completion of the installation of a section of a gas system or of the entire gas system, and before appliances are connected thereto, the completed section or system shall be verified as to materials, and tested and proven tight as follows:
(1) Gas distribution piping:
a. Distribution pressures up to and including one-half psig. The completed piping is to be tested with a non-mercury gauge at a pressure of three pounds per square inch gauge (psig) for a minimum of thirty minutes.
b. Distribution pressures over one-half psig through three psig. The completed piping is to be tested at fifty psig for a minimum of thirty minutes.
c. Distribution pressures over three psig through fifteen psig. The completed piping is to be tested at one hundred psig for a minimum of one hour.
d. Distribution pressures above fifteen psig. The completed piping is to be tested to twice the maximum allowable operating pressure, but not less than one hundred psig, for a minimum of one hour.
(2) Meter piping shall be pressure tested in accordance with the requirements of the serving utility. These requirements shall be either the same as those for testing distribution piping in paragraph one of this subdivision, or if different, the piping shall be certified by the local utility as being tested in compliance with their requirements.
(3) Notwithstanding the above, all coded or wrapped pipe shall be pressure tested at a minimum of ninety psig. For testing, the piping shall be filled with air or an inert gas, and the source of pressure shall be isolated before the pressure readings are made. All test duration time periods are to be measured after stabilization of testing medium. Fresh water may be used as the test medium only where the required test pressure exceeds one hundred psig.
(4) The commissioner shall publish a list of non-mercury gauges certified by a nationally recognized testing lab or promulgate rules with standards for non-mercury gauges within one hundred and twenty days of the effective date of this paragraph.
(e) Other piping systems. All other piping systems shall be tested in accordance with the requirements prescribed in reference standard RS-16.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2001/017.