8.

Prevention of Trap Seal Failures

Trap seal losses can be prevented by applying,
1. Resealing and Anti-siphon Traps
2. Self-Sealing Waste Valve

Resealing and Anti-siphon Traps

• There are many types of resealing traps are available in the market and most common types
are,

Self-Sealing Waste Valve

• This compact device has been developed by Hepworth Building Products for use on all sanitary
appliances with a 32 or 40 mm nominal diameter outlet.
• This system is a straight section of pipe containing a flexible tubular sealed membrane.
• This opens with the delivery of waste water and fresh air into the sanitary pipework, resealing
or closing after discharge.
• System design is less constrained, as entry of fresh air into the waste pipework equalises
pressures, eliminating the need for traps with air admittance/anti-siphon valves on long waste
pipe lengths.
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8. Types of above ground drainage systems
There are four types of systems in use today and these are:
 Single stack system
 Single Stack system- Modified
 Collar Boss Single Stack System
 Modified Single Stack System
 Fully Vented One-pipe System
All these systems can be installed either inside or outside the building.

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Single stack system
• The concept is to group appliances around
the stack with a separate branch pipe
serving each.
• Branch pipe lengths and falls are
constrained. Initially the system was
limited to five storeys, but applications
have proved successful in high rise
buildings of over 20 storeys.
Branch pipe slope or fall
Sink/ Bath 18 - 90 mm/m
Basin/ Bidet 20 -120 mm/m
WC 9 mm/m

• The stack should be vertical below the

highest sanitary appliance branch.
• If an offset is unavoidable, there should be
no connection within 750 mm of the
offset.
• The branch bath waste connection must be
at least 200 mm below the centre of the
WC branch to avoid crossflow.
• This may require a 50 mm nom. dia.
parallel pipe to offset the bath waste pipe,
or an `S' trap WC to offset its connection.
• The vent part of the stack may reduce to 75 mm nom. dia. when it is above the highest branch.

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Collar Boss Single Stack System
• Eliminates the restrictions imposed between bath
waste pipe and stack.
• Bath waste connected to the stack at a higher
point (no risk WC discharge backing up into bath
waste pipe)
• Loop vent pipes to the basin/ sink traps and
connecting these to the collar boss, the waste
pipes from these appliances drop vertically
before running horizontally to stack.
• Loop vent pipe on the basin trap prevent its
siphonage when the bath is discharged.

Modified Single Stack System

• The ventilated stack system is used in buildings
where close grouping of sanitary appliances occurs
(typical of lavatories in commercial premises).
• The appliances need to be sufficiently close
together and limited in number not to be individually
vented.

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 Appliance Max. Nos. Branch Pipe Branch Pipe Gradient
of Units Dia. Length
WC 8 100 mm 15 m 9 and 90 mm/m
Basins 4 50 mm 4m 18 and 45 mm/m
Urinals (bowls) 5 50 mm Short as possible 18 and 90 mm/m
Urinals (stalls) 7 65 mm Short as possible 18 and 90 mm/m

Fully Vented One-pipe System

• Used in buildings where there are a large
number of sanitary appliances in ranges, e.g.
factories, schools, offices and hospitals.
• The trap on each appliance is fitted with an
anti-siphon or vent pipe. This must be
connected within 300 mm of the crown of the
trap.
• Individual vent pipes combine in a common
vent for the range, which is inclined until it
meets the vertical vent stack.
• This vent stack may be carried to outside air
or it may connect to the discharge stack at a
point above the spillover level of the highest
appliance.
• The base of the vent stack should be
connected to the discharge stack close to the
bottom rest bend to relieve any compression
at this point.
• Size of branch and stack vents:

Discharge pipe or stack (D) (mm) Vent Pipe (mm)

< 75 0.67 D
75- 100 50
> 100 0.50 D

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The Two-pipe System
• Connect soil (WC and urinal) and waste
(basin, bath, bidet, sink) appliances to
separate stacks.
• The terms soil and waste pipes are
generally defined as discharge pipes and
discharge stacks respectively.

9. Wash Basins -Waste Arrangements

• The arrangement of waste and vent pipes for ranges of basins depends upon the type of building
and the number of basins in the range.
• For ranges of up to four basins, branch ventilating pipes are not necessary, providing that the
inside diameter of the main waste pipe is at least 50 mm and its slope is between 18 mm to 45
mm/m).
• For ranges above four basins, the inside diameter and slope is the same, but a 32 mm nominal
inside diameter vent pipe is required. Alternatively, resealing or anti-siphon traps may be used.
• In schools and factories a running trap may be used, providing that the length of main waste pipe
does not exceed 5 m. Alternatively, the wastes may discharge into a glazed channel with a
trapped gully outlet to the stack.
• For best quality installation work, all traps may be provided with a vent or anti-siphon pipework.

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10. Air Test on Sanitary Pipework Systems
• Determining air tightness of sanitary pipework systems.
• Installations must be capable of withstanding an air or smoke test pressure at least equal to a 38
mm head of water for a minimum of 3 minutes.
• Smoke testing is not recommended for use with uPVC pipework.

Equipment:
Manometer (U gauge), Rubber tube, Hand bellows and two drain plugs or stoppers.

Procedure:
i Stoppers are inserted at the top and bottom of the discharge stack.
ii Each stopper is sealed with water, the lower seal with a flush from a WC.
iii Traps to each appliance are primed to normal depth of seal.
iv The rubber tube connected to the manometer and bellows is passed through the water
seal in a WC.
v Hand bellows are used to pump air into the stack until the manometer shows a 38 mm
water displacement.

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vi After a few minutes for air
temperature stabilisation, the water
level in the manometer must
remain stationary for 3 minutes.
vii During this time, every trap must
maintain at least 25 mm of water
seal.

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11. Fire Stops and Seals
 Where pipes penetrate a compartment interface, they must have a means of preventing the
spread of fire, smoke and hot gases through the void they occupy.
 Non-combustible pipe materials may be acceptably sealed with cement and sand mortar, but
the most dangerous are plastic pipes of low heat resistance.
 The void through which they pass can be sleeved in a non-combustible material for at least 1
m each side.
 One of the most successful methods for plastic pipes is to fit an intumescent collar at the
abutment with, or within, the compartment wall or floor. Under heat, these become a
carbonaceous char, expand and compress the warm plastic to close the void for up to four
hours.

12. Basic maintenance and cleaning

 Traps can be a potential source of problems as they often accumulate hair, soap residue,
tooth paste and other objects that are small enough to fall through the grid of the waste hole
and create blockages.
 Traps should be cleaned through the access points if fitted, if not the trap should be broken
at its joints or removed completely.
 Chemical cleaning agents are also available that can be used for both traps and overflows.
 Blockages to discharge pipework on sinks, washbasins and baths can often be cleared using
a force cup (sink plunger).
 A blocked WC or external gulley can be cleaned using WC plunger.

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  Mechanical equipment is also available for cleaning blockages in pipework systems (eg.
Closet auger, Hand spinner, Power spinner).

13. Gutters and rain water systems

 Gutters are used to collect rain water that falls on any type of roof.
 It then flows down the rainwater pipe and into the drainage systems or soakaways.
 Gutters and rain water pipes are used to prevent damage to gardens caused by water running
off the roof and wearing away its surface, it would also wet and stain the external walls.
 Gutters are classified by their section,

 Securing gutters and fall pipes, the gutter will be fixed to fascia boards using fascia
brackets, Top Hanging Brackets or Rafter Brackets.

14. Calculation of Sanitation Flow Rate

Using Formula (Simultaneous demand process)
Considers the number of appliances likely to be used at any one time, relative to the total number
installed on a discharge stack.

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Example 1:
An office building of ten floors with four WCs, four urinals, four basins and one sink on each floor.
Calculate the simultaneous demand for following given data.
Average time for an appliance to discharge = 10 seconds (t)
Intervals between use (commercial premises) = 600 seconds (T)
(public premises) = 300 seconds (T)
Discharging flow rates,
WC - 2.3 𝑙/𝑠
Urinal - 0.15 𝑙/𝑠
Basin - 0.6 𝑙/𝑠
Sink - 0.9 𝑙/𝑠

Using Discharge Units and K- factors

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• Total flowrate (Qtot) is the design flowrate in a part or in the whole drainage system where
sanitary appliances, appliances with continuous flow and/or waste water pumps are connected
to the system.
• Continuous flows and pump discharge rates shall be added to the waste water flowrate without
any reduction.

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For convenience, drain capacities calculated from Colebrook-White formula using an effective
roughness of kb = 1.0 mm and clean water with a viscosity of ν = 1.31×10-6 m2/s are listed in Tables
B.1 and B.2.

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Example 2:
Find the stack and drainage sizes for the following building as per the given data.

Basement 1
Floors 3
Apartments 12 (4 on each Floor, 6 on each stack)
Laundry in basement
Discharge Units System I
Frequency factor (K) 0.5
Stacks 2 (square-entries)
Drain 1 slope = 2 %, filling-degree = 0.5.

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