Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 51 - PUBLIC HEALTH-SANITARY CODE › Part XIV - Plumbing › Chapter 3 - General Regulations › Section XIV-319 - Tests

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Required Tests.
				The permit holder shall make the applicable tests prescribed in §319. B thru
				319.E of this Part to assure compliance with the provisions of this code. The
				permit holder shall give reasonable advance notice to the plumbing official
				when the plumbing work is ready for tests. The equipment, material, power, and
				labor necessary for the inspection and test shall be furnished by the permit
				holder and he is responsible for assuring that the work will withstand the test
				pressure prescribed in the following tests. All the piping of the plumbing
				system shall be tested with either water or air. After the plumbing fixtures
				have been set and their traps filled with water, the entire drainage system
				shall be submitted to final tests. The plumbing official may require the
				removal of any cleanouts to ascertain if the pressure has reached all parts of
				the system.
B. Drainage and Vent
				Tests. The following applies to the testing of drainage and vent systems.
1. A water test shall be applied to the
				drainage system and vent system either in its entirety or in sections. If
				applied to the entire system, all openings in the piping shall be tightly
				closed, except the highest opening, and the system shall be filled with water
				to point of overflow. If the system is tested in sections, each opening shall
				be tightly plugged except the highest openings of the section under test, and
				each section shall be filled with water, but no section shall be tested with
				less than 10 ft head of water [29.9 kilopascal (kPa)]. In testing successive
				sections at least the upper 10 ft (3048 mm) of the next preceding section shall
				be tested, so that no joint or pipe in the building (except the uppermost 10 ft
				(3048 mm) of the system) shall have been submitted to a test of less than a 10
				ft head of water (29.9 kPa). The water shall be kept in the system, or in the
				portion under test, for at least 15 minutes before inspection starts; the
				system shall then be tight at all points.
2. An air test shall be made by attaching an
				air compressor or testing apparatus to any suitable opening and, after closing
				all other inlets and outlets to the system, forcing air into the system until
				there is a uniform gage pressure of 5 psi (34.5 kPa) or sufficient to balance a
				column of mercury 10 inches in height (33.8 kPa). This pressure shall be held
				without introduction of additional air for a period of at least 15 minutes.
a. Exception. Cast iron soil pipe joined with
				compression gaskets or mechanical couplings shall be tested with 6 psi (41.4
				kPa) of air and allowed a 1 psi (6.9 kPa) reduction in pressure or a 2-inch
				(50.8 mm) drop in the column of mercury in a 15 minute period.
3. The final test of the completed
				drainage and vent system shall be visual and in sufficient detail to assure
				that the provisions of this code have been complied with, provided, however,
				that, for cause, it may be necessary to subject the plumbing to either a smoke
				or peppermint test. Where the smoke test is preferred, it 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, they shall be closed and a pressure
				equivalent to a 1-inch water column [248.8 Pascal (Pa)] shall be maintained for
				15 minutes before inspection starts. Where the peppermint test is preferred, 2
				oz (59 mL) of oil of peppermint shall be introduced for each stack.