Plumbing Question

[DuluthGA]

On the cold water supply side in our main bathroom there is a line that runs to valve and is open on other end. There is a very slow drip out of it. The bottom of the valve says “set at 125 PSI”. The other pipe in the picture goes into the wall.
Is it as simple as connecting the two? I don’t know where the pipe into the wall goes

 

[mountainsoft]

Without seeing the "bigger picture" it's difficult to know what is going on there. It looks like the CPVC pipe has been cut, or was never glued into the fitting?

Is the leak occurring from the cut pipe, or from the CPVC fitting on that brass fitting (I'm assuming it's some kind of pressure valve based on the arrows and the 125psi rating)? I wouldn't be surprised if the pressure valve had a slow leak.

I'm guessing the top (copper) pipe is the supply, based on the arrows on the brass fitting? Where does that come from? Either the picture is upside down, or something odd is going on there.

Without knowing more, it seems like the obvious solution would be to glue that pipe to the fitting.

Still, I don't know what this assembly connects to. You normally wouldn't need a pressure valve on any bathroom fixture. Maybe a water heater drain, though the valve is usually mounted on the water heater with a manual test lever.

Strange, need more info...

 

[target2019]

It's a pressure relief valve. When there is more than 125psi in the supply, it will relieve, and go to the white pipe in wall (drains somewhere).

If it's dripping continuosly, then maybe there is buildup. The bottom is a plug for cleanout.

There probably is or was a high pressure problem in the bathroom. That would not be great for the toilet valve, for instance. So this PRV helps out.

There's more to the story, I'm sure.

 

[DuluthGA]

I'm guessing the top (copper) pipe is the supply - Yes. Cold side supply
Either the picture is upside down, or something odd is going on there. Pic not upside down.
We do have a hot water circulating pump, if that matters.
The cut PVC does fit into the into the open end of the valve. It;s at a slight angle to the wall and may have just never been glued and knock out when the previous owners moved out or my DW put her stuff under there.

Thanks!

 

[DuluthGA]

Two pics. One head on shot if I connect the valve to the PVC going into the wall. That may be more than a slight angle.
2nd pic from side. The cut length of PVC is accurate. It’s the slight angle that has me wondering.

 

[JoeWras]

This is a new application of a PRV to me! But that's what it is. One guess is that you are on well water instead of city water and a PRV is required somewhere. This "somewhere" may be a convenient place to have an exit drain.

They forgot to glue it. Didn't have it handy, meant to go to the truck and then the plumber forgot or was in a rush. It doesn't typically release, so you'd never know.

If it were my house, I'd get a new one since these tend to fail over time.

Other things I'd do:
1) Get a simple pressure tester and see what PSI your house is running at.
2) Find the exit/drain for this. You should know.

 

[DuluthGA]

1) Get a simple pressure tester and see what PSI your house is running at.
2) Find the exit/drain for this. You should know

Thanks, I think you got it. I looked around outside and found a drain coming out of the house near the bathroom, put a napkin under it, went back in and poured a cup of water in the pipe, Napkin was drenched, I connected valve to PVC and it can drain outside if it needs to.
House pressure is low. County said its within their range but I feel like my lawn sprinkler is low compared to neighbors,
We are on county water system

 

[JoeWras]

Thanks, I think you got it. I looked around outside and found a drain coming out of the house near the bathroom, put a napkin under it, went back in and poured a cup of water in the pipe, Napkin was drenched, I connected valve to PVC and it can drain outside if it needs to.
House pressure is low. County said its within their range but I feel like my lawn sprinkler is low compared to neighbors,
We are on county water system

Cool, always good to know where these drain and keep an eye on them.

Since it is releasing, you should probably replace it. Alternatively, you could cut the PEX line above and cap it off with a simple sharkbite cap if you really want simple and easy DYI. Of course, your county must require this for some code reason and you'd be out of compliance, but I can say this kind of thing not too common.

 

[mountainsoft]

Two pics. One head on shot if I connect the valve to the PVC going into the wall. That may be more than a slight angle.
2nd pic from side. The cut length of PVC is accurate. It’s the slight angle that has me wondering.
View attachment 51453
View attachment 51454

I still don't understand the purpose of the pressure relief valve in this situation, but it does appear the pipe just wasn't glued to the fitting. There's no sign of purple primer or CPVC glue on the pipe in the original photo. Quick fix would be to prime and glue the pipe into the fitting.

If the valve is leaking, it might be a good time to replace it.

Personally, I would want to know the purpose of that valve. Based on the two lines and the accompanying drain, It looks like it's tapping off one of the supply lines running to a sink? I agree with JoeWras, pick up a pressure tester and see what kind of pressure you have coming into the house (private well or city water?). An outdoor faucet is often a good place to test. If your water pressure is too high, you should probably install a water pressure regulator at the point of entry into the house. High pressure could damage every faucet, clothes washers, water heater, etc.

Curious...

 

[DuluthGA]

I checked the pressure on the outside faucet and I’m getting around 58. I’m on city water.
The valve is on cold water supply, It is near the end of the line in the house..
There is a pressure regulator where it comes in the garage I can reduce if 60 is to high.

 

[JoeWras]

58 or 60 is perfect.

We're perplexed as to why you even have this valve. Very strange.

 

[CardsFan]

58 or 60 is perfect.

We're perplexed as to why you even have this valve. Very strange.

I agree, there seems to be no reason for the regulator, when on city water. Maybe the house was on well water at one time?

Anyway, I suspect the fittings were not glued for a reason. For pressure relief you would want a free flow. Just in case the outlet of the drain got plugged.

My fix, like others, would be to simply eliminate that relief valve. If for some reason it is a code requirement, then replace it.

 

[DuluthGA]

Thanks guys. I’ll check with my neighbors and see if any of them have one, We’re in a 5 year old, 88 home 55+ community. There are several that have my floor plan, built by the same GC at the same time. If they don’t I’ll remove and cap.

 

[Slotracer]

It isn't good to have a blind end. Without regular water movement waterborne pathogens may grow.

 

[Jerry1]

Thanks guys. I’ll check with my neighbors and see if any of them have one, We’re in a 5 year old, 88 home 55+ community. There are several that have my floor plan, built by the same GC at the same time. If they don’t I’ll remove and cap.

I’m a believer in putting things back the way they were originally intended. In this case, I’d replace the valve (because it’s leaking) and connect it properly to the outlet tube. It shouldn’t cost much and it wouldn’t be a difficult job.

Otherwise, I’d just cap it off and be done with it. I don’t think I’d make my decision based on what I find at other houses. I’d assume that they were all done the same.

 

[sailor]

Is it possible that this PRV was installed to save on installing thermal expansion tank?
Do you have one looking like this? https://www.lowes.com/pl/Expansion-tanks-Water-heater-parts-accessories-Plumbing/3020791948877
Also it's quite common here (I'm also near Duluth, GA) to have whole house water pressure regulator as the water pressure can be high due to elevation differences - at the entrance to my house it's 165 psi, my regulator is set to 50 psi.
DuluthGA - are you running your sprinklers past the county pressure regulator or before?

 

[Dean56]

Is it possible that this PRV was installed to save on installing thermal expansion tank?
Do you have one looking like this? https://www.lowes.com/pl/Expansion-tanks-Water-heater-parts-accessories-Plumbing/3020791948877
Also it's quite common here (I'm also near Duluth, GA) to have whole house water pressure regulator as the water pressure can be high due to elevation differences - at the entrance to my house it's 165 psi, my regulator is set to 50 psi.
DuluthGA - are you running your sprinklers past the county pressure regulator or before?

This type of PRV was used in older houses before expansion tanks were mandatory. My neighborhood was built in the late 90's and every house had one of these PRV's installed in the main bathrooms. Expansion tanks were not required back then.

See here: https://www.dca.ga.gov/sites/default/files/ipc_2020_amend_final_version.pdf

 

[JoeWras]

Ding, ding, ding! We have some smart people here and this makes sense! Thank you to the last two posters.

Agree that the long leg on that PRV is dead water, which is now known to not be good.

If it were my house, I'd install an expansion tank properly near the water heater, and replace the tee with a coupler and throw away this leaking garbage.

One thing about expansion tanks: a lot of them come pre-charged at 40psi which is typically too low. This causes way too much action on the bellows inside and will wear it out fast. It should be matched closer to the actual pressure.

 

[mountainsoft]

The expansion tank sounds like a plausible explanation. Otherwise, maybe it was an attempt at solving water hammer? If you already have an expansion tank, I would probably cut that drain line up close to the tee and install a water hammer arrestor.

 

[skyking1]

First and foremost, let me apologize for not replying to this while I was working on the cabin over there. I hope I can clear some things up. That is not a prv.
It is a serviceable right angle check valve. I don't know why there's a check valve in your system, but it's on a dead piece of plumbing. That dead piece of plumbing has a valve, up stream of it that is leaking slightly.
The 125 refers to its PSI rating as an assembly. The knurled portion down below allows you to change or service the seat in the check valve while everything is still installed as opposed to an inline check valve that may not have that functionality.
If I were wearing your shoes I would cap it off with confidence that it would:
A) not cause a dead leg of water because it's behind that slightly leaking valve.
B) never give you a lick of trouble again.

There's lots of this kind of stuff out there in the wild. Older homes have great mysteries.
Since people do like to speculate, typically a valve like that in a location like that is part of a circ system for hot water, not cold.

 

[JoeWras]

It is not an old home though. OP says 5 years. Sorry skyking1, but I have to disagree.

 

[skyking1]

Okay I did more digging into it.

 

[JoeWras]

 

[skyking1]

Thanks Joe. I missed that it was set to 125 in the first post. Not that it was just marked 125.
Now the question is where was it dumping? And why was it cut off?

 

[JoeWras]

Thanks Joe. I missed that it was set to 125 in the first post. Not that it was just marked 125.
Now the question is where was it dumping? And why was it cut off?

It was dumping out the wall. It wasn't cut off, just never glued. The glue appears to have been missed during the rush of the build.

If I could summarize what we've come up with:
- For OP's housing area, code apparently allows a PRV in lieu of an expansion tank for hot water expansion
- This device is under the sink and is very simply plumbed with an exit straight out the wall

And here's my editorial: this is cheaper than an expansion tank and a plumber can plumb this up in 10 minutes. 5 minutes to cut the hole in the wall, 5 minutes to Pex crimp and tighten the "drain" line. Apparently for this builder, 10 minutes was too much and they did it 9 minutes by not gluing the drain line. I'm joking, but you get the drift.

This application is not at all common in North America and almost stands out as a wild duck.