The piping of the plumbing, drainage, and
venting systems shall be tested with water or air except that
plastic pipe shall not be tested with air. The Authority
Having Jurisdiction shall be permitted to require the
removal of cleanouts, etc., to ascertain whether the pressure
has reached all parts of the system. After the plumbing
fixtures have been set and their traps filled with water, they
shall be submitted to a final test.
The water test shall be applied to the
drainage and vent systems either in its entirety or in
sections. Where the test is applied to the entire system,
openings in the piping shall be tightly closed, except the
highest opening, and the system filled with water to point of
overflow. Where the system is tested in sections, each opening shall be tightly plugged, except the highest opening of the section under test, and each section shall be filled
with water, but no section shall be tested with less than a 10
foot head of water (30 kPa). In testing successive sections,
not less than the upper 10 feet (3048 mm) of the next
preceding section shall be tested, so that no joint or pipe in
the building (except the uppermost 10 feet (3048 mm) of the
system) shall have been submitted to a test of less than a 10
foot head of water (30 kPa). The water shall be kept in the
system, or in the portion under test, for not less than 15
minutes before inspection starts. The system shall then be
tight at all points.
The air test shall be made by attaching an
air compressor testing apparatus to a suitable opening and,
after closing all other inlets and outlets to the system,
forcing air into the system until there is a uniform gauge pressure of 5 pounds-force per square inch (psi) (34 kPa) or sufficient to balance a column of mercury 10 inches (34 kPa) in height. The pressure shall be held without introduction of additional air for a period of not less than 15 minutes.