I live in a shared building with a flat above me. My upstairs neighbour has just fitted an unvented hot water cylinder. The plumber has run the 22mm copper discharge pipe into the old plastic Marley hopper and downpipe, which discharges straight into the sewer. This downpipe also carries greywater from the upstairs kitchen and water from the guttter, straight into the sewer. (This is an old Victorian property and we pay a surcharge for rainwater disposal to the water company). The picture shows the plastic hopper and downpipe, before the discharge pipe was added. The aluminium rim is simply clipped to the top of the hopper to stop water splashing out.
Is the cylinder discharge arrangement currently to code? I am satisfied it is safe. As a test, I have tried pouring boiling water onto old Marley plastic gutter and it doesn't distort significantly. However, I am concerned about a sub-standard installation being noticed by a surveyor when I come to rent or sell the property, then having to spend time and money getting it up to code. As far as I understand the regs, the discharge pipe should be metal or heat-resistant plastic (marked with a certain BS number) all the way to the ground or to a sewer. I am sure old Marley plastic, though probably up to the job, is not certified as being suitably heat resistant. The wall is crowded with fittings in this location and it would be hard to get a 22mm pipe all the way to the ground. My solution would be to replace the plastic hopper and downpipe with metal.
What do you think? Is the existing 22mm copper discharge pipe into Marley plastic OK?
Is the cylinder discharge arrangement currently to code? I am satisfied it is safe. As a test, I have tried pouring boiling water onto old Marley plastic gutter and it doesn't distort significantly. However, I am concerned about a sub-standard installation being noticed by a surveyor when I come to rent or sell the property, then having to spend time and money getting it up to code. As far as I understand the regs, the discharge pipe should be metal or heat-resistant plastic (marked with a certain BS number) all the way to the ground or to a sewer. I am sure old Marley plastic, though probably up to the job, is not certified as being suitably heat resistant. The wall is crowded with fittings in this location and it would be hard to get a 22mm pipe all the way to the ground. My solution would be to replace the plastic hopper and downpipe with metal.
What do you think? Is the existing 22mm copper discharge pipe into Marley plastic OK?
