KY Plumber flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Plumbing fixture unit

A unit of measure expressing the load a fixture imposes on the drainage or water supply system. Drainage fixture units size drains; water supply fixture units size supply piping.

Trap seal depth

The vertical distance from the crown weir of a trap to the top of the dip, which must be at least 2 inches and no more than 4 inches to prevent sewer gas passage.

Building drain

The lowest pipe of a drainage system that receives soil and waste inside the building. It extends 30 inches beyond the building wall and becomes the building sewer there.

Developed length

The total pipe length measured along the centerline including fittings, used to size water supply piping. Equivalent fitting lengths are added to the measured run.

Wet vent

A vent that also serves as a drain for fixtures on the same floor. It must be at least 2 inches and may serve only fixtures within one bathroom group.

Air gap

The unobstructed vertical distance through free atmosphere between a water supply outlet and a fixture's flood level rim, at least twice the outlet diameter and never less than 1 inch.

Backwater valve

A device installed on a building drain or sewer that closes automatically when flow reverses, preventing sewage backup into fixtures located below the upstream manhole level.

Temperature and pressure relief valve

A safety valve on every water heater that opens at the tank's rated pressure or at a temperature no higher than 210 degrees F, discharging through a full-size gravity drain.

Drainage fixture unit values

Code-assigned loads by fixture: water closet 3, lavatory 1, bathtub 2, kitchen sink 2, floor drain 1. These values are summed to size the building drain.

Stack vent

The extension of a soil or waste stack above the highest horizontal drain, extending above the roof and sized no smaller than the stack it serves.

Grease interceptor

A device required for commercial kitchens that separates grease from waste before discharge. It must be sized by fixture capacity and be accessible for cleaning.

Fixture trap arm limit

The maximum developed length from the trap weir to the vent fitting, such as 3 1/2 feet for 1 1/4-inch pipe and 5 feet for 1 1/2-inch pipe.

Water service minimum size

The smallest permitted building water service is 3/4 inch, and the smallest permitted fixture supply is 3/8 inch, sized by water supply fixture units.

Residual fixture pressure

The minimum pressure required at a fixture outlet: 8 psi for flush valve fixtures and 15 psi for tank-type fixtures, measured while the fixture is flowing.

Horizontal drain slope

Drainage pipe must slope uniformly at not less than 1/4 inch per foot for 2 1/2-inch and smaller pipe and 1/8 inch per foot for 3-inch and larger pipe.

Vent termination height

A vent stack must extend at least 6 inches above the roof and 3 feet above any roof surface within 10 feet, and stay 10 feet from windows and air intakes.

Kentucky license tiers

A master plumber may contract for plumbing work and employ others; a journeyman works under supervision; an apprentice must be registered and directly supervised.

Permit and inspection sequence

A permit is required before installation or alteration. Rough-in inspection occurs before concealment, followed by water and drainage testing and a final inspection.

No-hub cast iron coupling

A listed coupling joining hubless cast iron soil pipe, tightened to the manufacturer's specified clamp torque and used for service-weight and extra-heavy-weight pipe.

PEX installation limit

PEX tubing must be listed to ASTM F876/F877 with listed fittings, and may not be installed within 18 inches of a water heater outlet unless the manufacturer approves.

Thermal expansion tank

A tank required on a closed domestic water system to absorb the volume increase caused by heating water, controlling pressure that would otherwise stress the system.

Garage water heater elevation

A water heater in a garage must have its ignition source raised at least 18 inches above the floor, or be a flammable-vapor-ignition-resistant model.

Primary and secondary roof drains

A roof drainage system requires a primary drain and a secondary drain or scupper so that blockage of the primary will not cause water to accumulate on the roof.

Storm and sanitary separation

Storm drainage must not connect to the sanitary drainage system; the two systems remain separate, independently vented, and discharge to different destinations.

Clinical sink requirements

A bedpan washer or clinical sink needs a trap and flushing rim, plus a backflow preventer on its water supply, in health care occupancies.

Medical gas installer

Medical gas and vacuum piping must follow NFPA 99 and manufacturer instructions and may be installed only by appropriately licensed medical gas installers.

Gas piping sediment trap

A sediment trap installed downstream of the appliance shutoff valve on the gas supply, unless the appliance is designed to prevent sediment accumulation.

Gas piping test pressure

Fuel gas piping is tested at not less than 1 1/2 times working pressure, with a minimum of 3 psi held for 10 minutes, or as the code specifies.

Isometric orientation

On a plumbing isometric, vertical lines represent vertical pipe while lines at 30 degrees to horizontal represent horizontal pipe running in two directions.

Slope percentage conversion

Divide the drop by the run and multiply by 100. A 1/4 inch per foot slope equals 0.25 divided by 12 times 100, or about 2.08 percent.

Cleanout locations

Cleanouts are required at each stack base, at the building drain, at the drain-to-sewer junction, and at intervals not exceeding 100 feet in horizontal runs.

Trap primer purpose

A device that delivers water to a trap to maintain its seal where evaporation occurs, such as floor drains in garages, mechanical rooms, and unoccupied spaces.