Can You Use Air Admittance Plumbing Vent Valves on Your Next Construction Project? 

Glad you liked it and glad you learned something.

You're welcome and thanks for watching.

Thank you, I will

Glad I could help

Exactly and is it really juice?

😂

Toilet juice is the best.... Obviousley, why else would it be therr

Rehydration after a wet one

$20 says it's old frying oil.

Plug it with a little 100% silicone Caulk

Yes. Don't just cap it off or you'll cause drainage issues. Use an air admittance valve.

As far is I know, you're not allowed to do this. It was probably missed by the building inspector, but it also might've been approved by an engineer or local building authority, but I'm only guessing. There is no reason why they couldn't have went around the King studs that I can think of from the picture in the video. All of the pipes would've still been hidden in the cabinetry.

Good point.

Probably not, but it will depend on the design of the waste drains. Some building codes require a single drain and vent per sink, while other don't.

I wanted to see if I could find a picture, so I typed in "island sink vent"into an Internet search engine and it brought up a few pictures that will provide you with an excellent example. Let me know if you can't find it.

Thanks Greg. Looks very strange to someone who is used to British plumbing, but, yes, makes sense when you think about it. We'd not usually have the secondary vent going downhill like that - it would always go up to a vent above. More often, the vent pipe is not considered to be needed at all because we can run 4m (13') horizontally (to a vented stack) with a 2" waste without risk of running full-bore and siphoning out the sink trap, but then our houses tend to be comparatively small. I suspect custom has more to do with this than physics, and in an island situation more than 4m from a wall, our standard methods would not really work. So it's really interesting to have to think outside the box of what is usual for me.

I never thought about it, but your method seems like it would work just fine. Maybe it's another method that provides additional insurance for preventing the water from getting sucked out of the trap.

I was told a vent pip should never run back down as it will hold water from backups or condensation, unless they are sloping it under the floor and it is going to a vent only pipe in the wall or something, but it looks like it cam back up and tied in forming a U shape that would hold water. Our inspectors here would flag that, but allow a mechanical vent as long as it is accessible for cleaning and maintenance.

I don't think it's coming from the Studor Vent - it's designed to go one way. There is probably bio film in the P-Trap that needs to be cleaned if you have bugs.

Could you provide me with a building code reference number for that?

Russell Common I was told a sanitary tee was necessary because a long sweep can clog itself due to the angle and flow of water.

Long sweep for horizontal to horizontal . Vert to horizontal can be a regular 90

Only on stacks bro

Awesome.

I agree and was wondering if you ever had any problems with the S trap. I know they are no longer used, but never worked on a project where they were a problem.

@@gregvancom S-traps can be okay, and one's I've seen never pulled water out of the sink trap enough to matter. I guess it's all about having enough room in the pipe for air flow. I had to replace the entire galvanized branch as it rusted shut, so it wasn't my S trap that failed I suppose but I also wonder if reduced air flow prevented corrosion from being carried away and reduced air flow seems like more residue can get left behind as it travels down. A book I read said the goal is for water and solids to keep the same pace in a pipe system. The consensus seems to be against S-traps however, so I figured if I'm going to replace most of it then might as well vent it. Keep up the vids, they're great!

Excellent points and thanks for sharing.

I'm going to guess that it could smell and/or leak.

Don't worry about it, your plumbing sounds like it was built correctly, not like this one that was part of a remodel project gone wrong. Most homes are built with vent pipes, but this was a remodeling project where someone added these plumbing fixtures and didn't complete the project.

You're welcome and thanks for commenting.

I live in mobile home park my sink have's the same vent set up, the pummer coming back today water backing in kitchen sink alot second time in three mouths , I have two full baths sinks toilets showers all drain good! It all starts in bedroom bath when I run sink loud gurling noise in kitchen sink? Is that vent causing the back up water leaking out of vent. should I cap it off! thanks for your video!

If you're local building codes allow it.

They can solve one problem, but create another problem. Feel free to read some of the comments I've already posted.

I agree completely. They ARE a mechanical component that CAN fail over time, but for it to cause damage to your house you would need to both have the vent fail and have your plumbing backup at the same time. When a studor vent fails it's pretty glaringly obvious - it usually makes a very loud gurgling noise. Unscrew it, replace another $20 vent, and rest easy on vacation with the $5000 it would cost to add a new vent out your roof.

It wouldn't really matter if the toilet was vented, if the sink wasn't. If the sink isn't vented and you flush a toilet, then it could pull the water out of the sink trap. I've seen this done hundreds of times. Remember the two different colored fittings aren't glued together in this situation.

@@gregvancom it's a toilet is vented, then it's not possible for the water and sewage it's flushing to create any negative pressure and suck water out of the sink. How does that happen? Plenty enough air can come in through the 4 inch roof vent for the toilet to drain on its own, it does not need to suck a ditional air through the sink drain

@@bueler4950 That's what I figured too, I don't understand how it would drain the sink p trap.

I don't know if any studies have been made to suggest that venting through the roof is a bad idea. However, I'm curious as to how you could get cleaner air or save energy by using air admittance valves.

@@gregvancom hey there! the obvious “environmental benefit” that I see is less piping overall, by using AAV’s. For everything else, I would like to see studies and evidence, as well.

You have a clog forming. You need to cable it. Hire a plumber. They would solve you issues without added headache.

@@ForeverSinz I added an actual vent, up thru the wall and out the roof, problem solved. I left the air admittance valve in place, be super easy to just cap it off if we decide to

You will need to remove and replace it, unless you can somehow install a rubber clamp over it. This video might be helpful for a method I used to fix a hole in a drain pipe. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LYjpYBjve5w.html

The point I'm trying to make is that some building departments might not allow them at all. You would need to check with your local building department for clarification. Don't assume that information in my videos or others will or will not meet local building codes. A good example of this would be the person I'm responding to, suggesting that I'm wrong, when I might be right.

6” above the flood rim. Loop vent is the way to vent an island

I don't really know, but I think it would have something to do with the fact that air admittance valves are mechanical devices that could fail and create problems for the building occupants.

@@gregvancom Ah I see makes sense, do they have a maintenance schedule/expiry associated with them?

@@radekw708 Another disadvantage to air admittance valves, is that they are not bidirectional with which way gasses can flow. That of course, is the ENTIRE point of them, so that they only let air in. For the individual fixture, this is a good thing, but for the wastewater management system as a whole, this can be a serious problem. The sewer/septic needs a way to vent, and most sewers depend on the customer houses along the route to vent it periodically. If everyone just used AAVs instead of standard plumbing vents, the sewer would build up a pressure of decomposition gasses. This is why plumbing codes often require standard vents on new construction, but permit AAVs to be used for retrofitting a non-vented drain. It seems like a double standard, but there is a reason for it, to encourage the construction of standard vents for the wastewater management system as a whole, to function properly. Otherwise, the AAV would seem like it clearly has the advantage. No roof penetrations, no routing pipe to the roof, no pitfalls of tree debris & snow plugging up the vent, and no major surgery to clear a clogged vent. Just a simple replacement of a valve, if there is a problem. As long as the home owner knows about it, and how to maintain it.

Excellent and thanks for sharing.

Because the workers must not have thought it was necessary and this job probably wasn't legally permitted.

Yes, definitely check with your local building department, to verify whether or not they can be used.

Could you send us a building code reference number and what book your building code suggestion is from?

gregvancom it's in several local codes I didn't even know you responded, Philly, Chicago, a lot of local calls require for you to install it 6 inches above the flood level Rim, just Google 6 inches above the flood level rim and you will see codes pop up. Granite that's not Universal.

I kind of agree with the other comment that it should be common sense and if I was going to install one of them I would install it above the flood level for the sink. Again, I've said this to me at times and will probably continue to say it and that is that you should always check with your local building department or building officials for additional information about local building codes.

I've always wondered if the air admittance valves will stop the water, even if it is installed below the top rim of the sink.

I think that's the reason why they're not allowed to be used everywhere ( leaking )by approved building authorities that want waste pipes to vent through roofs.

Yes, it's one of the reasons they aren't used.

@@gregvancom yeah I thought mine had failed only 2v years old and it ended up being holes were the pex comes up from crawl space making it smell and now mold

I don't know if I'll be much help, but feel free to send me a picture and I'll see what I can do.

@@gregvancom How do I add a photo?

@@PugMama64 Go to the website and at the bottom on any page you should find the word contact. Click on the link in it should provide you with our email address.

Cut it with a a sawzall and glue a new female adapter on there. Then thread the AAV (studor vent) on there. Use tape and dope to keep sewer gas from seeping

I definitely can't argue with that. I think the real reason why most building departments don't allow them is because they are mechanical components that have the possibility of failing.

Ideally, you would want a conventional vent for any plumbing fixture, but I think the main reason for the use of vent valves is for simplicity in island sink applications where no wall is present to contain a vent stack. Otherwise, your only other option is a bow vent which is rather complicated and expensive to install. The vent valve is a much easier solution. If you're worried about it failing, just unscrew it and replace it every few years for piece of mind since they are so cheap.

Modern aavs are not considered mechanical(not saying they don't fail) you do however have to have at least one vent to atmosphere in every state modern aavs are much more reliable than older mechanical types with a spring