To test the piping, an air pump and a gage connected with the pipes are placed in a convenient position. The job should now be thoroughly gone over, making sure that all plugs and caps are on and that no outlet is open, also that all pipe that is to be put in has been installed. After this has been attended to, the pump is operated until 10 pounds is registered on the gage. The connection leading to the pump and the piping is now shut off. If the gage drops rapidly, there is a bad leak in the system. This leak should be found without difficulty and repaired. If the gage drops slowly, it denotes a very small leak, such as a sand hole or a bad thread. This kind of leak is more troublesome to find. When it has been found, the pipe or fitting causing the leak should be taken out and replaced. If black caps have been used to cap the outlets, the chances are that a sand hole will be found in one of them. Nothing but galvanized fittings should be used. In case the small leak mentioned above cannot be found by going over the pipe once, there are other means of locating the leak. Two of the methods used, I will explain. If the job is small, each fitting is painted with soap suds until the fitting is found that causes the leak. If the leak is not in the fittings, then the pipe can be gone over in the same way. As soon as the soap suds strikes the leak, a large bubble is made and the leak discovered. It is possible that there are more leaks, so the gage is noted and if it still drops, the search should be continued. The pump should be operated to keep the pressure up to 10 pounds while the search is being made for the leak. When the gage stands at 10 pounds without dropping, the job is then tight. The pump and gage fitting should be gone over first to ascertain if they leak. The other method employed to discover leaks is to force a little ether or oil of peppermint (not essence) into the system by means of the pump. A leak can readily be noted by the odor. To make this method successful, the ether or peppermint should not be handled by the men who are to hunt for the leak. The bottle containing the fluid should not be opened in the building except to pour some into the piping, otherwise the odor will get into the building and as the odor comes out of the leak it will not be noted. For the benefit of the gas fitter, the piping should be tested again after the plastering is completed. The next test is made when the fixtures are put on, and as the piping is tight any leak that develops in this test indicates that the fixtures leak. There are in common use various methods to stop leaks in gas pipe when they are found. If a piece of piping or a fitting is defective, it should be taken out and replaced. This should be remembered so that while the piping is being installed any defects should be noted and the defective fitting or pipe thrown out. Before the gas job is accepted, the gas company will inspect it and look for traps and sags in the pipe. Therefore, the piping should be installed without any traps and it should be arranged to pitch toward the meter, or toward a convenient place from which any condensation can be taken out. If provision is not made for this condensation, it will accumulate and stop the flow of gas.
SHOWER-BATH CONNECTIONS
The sketches show clearly the methods employed to make a shower-bath waste and stall water-tight. The shower bath, as a separate fixture, is in use and the demand for it as a separate fixture is increasing rapidly. This demand comes from the owners of private houses. The plumber must therefore devise some way to make these connections tight and prevent any leak from showing in the room below. This fixture is so constructed that all waste pipes and trap come under the floor level with no way of getting to them from below. Therefore the piping for this fixture must be of a permanent nature. No pipe or trap made of material that is liable to give out in a short time should be allowed under a shower-bath fixture or stall. The two sketches, Figs. [82] and [83] illustrate two methods of connecting and making tight a shower stall. A plumber should always consider it his special duty to make his work complete and free from all objections. He should always prepare for any emergency that may occur in the future. This is rather a big task, yet the plumber when accepting all of his responsibilities has a big task. I state this to the beginner and emphasize the all-important fact that he must learn to perform and think deeply of the elements of plumbing to be able later on to handle successfully the problems that present themselves in the plumbing trade.
The heavy brass trap shown in the sketch has proved itself very satisfactory and can be made to fit almost any condition of piping or building construction. A flashing of sheet lead is soldered on the trap and carried out to the outside edge of the stall where it is turned up 1 inch, or to the floor level. When the flashing is carried out for only a foot on each side of the trap, the possibilities of a leak are greater.
