SANITARY DRAINAGE

SYSTEMS
PLUMBING VENTILATION
Portion of the drainage pipe installation, designed to
maintain a balance atmospheric pressure inside the
system to prevent problems like
• Trap Seal Loss
• Retardation of flow
• Deterioration of the materials
SANITARY SYSTEM PROBLEMS:

Trap Seal Loss

-Direct effect of the Minus & Plus Pressure inside the system due to inadequate
ventilation of traps

-Attributed to the following conditions:

1. Siphonage- direct and momentum
2. Back Pressure
3. Evaporation
4. Capillary Action

Siphonage – the result of the minus pressure

in the drainage system.
• Siphonage classified into two types:

• Direct or Self Siphoning

• Indirect or Momentum Siphoning

• Direct or Self-Siphoning – occur in

unventilated traps which serves as oval bottom
fixtures like lavatories or slop sink. It is created
when a rapid flow of water passing through the
pipe siphon down the water seal inside the
traps with no vent provision.
Indirect or Momentum Siphoning – result of a
minus pressure in the pipe created by heavy
discharge of water from a fixture installed on a
line serving another fixture at a lower floor.
BACK PRESSURE – plus pressure

When large amount of water drops downward

rapidly forming a slug like, the air inside the
pipe will be compressed downward. In the
absence of adequate ventilation, the
compressed air will be forced to find its way out
through a weaker point. The trap being the
weaker point, will give way and blow out of the
fixture
EVAPORATION
A minor problem and less probable to drain the water inside the trap.
They happen only on floor drain which are not regularly used to admit water, but
exposed to extreme temperature.

WIND EFFECT
A wind velocity passing over the top of the soil pipe may affect the trap seal. This
kind of trap seal loss is one improbable thing to happen by removing the entire
water seal inside the P-trap.
CAPILLARY ACTION

Seldom happen and is rarely experienced

Draining of water seal caused by foreign
objects like thread or string suspended
and extended over the outlet arm of the
trap.
Retardation of flow
- Due to the effect of atmospheric pressure and/or gravity
- Ex. Condensed milk, one punched with one hole and the other one
punched with two holes. Effect of the atmospheric pressure.
Same principle is applied to plumbing system by providing ventilation of
pipes to equalize or balance the atmospheric pressure inside the
plumbing installation.

Deterioration of the Materials

- Due to the formation of acids
VENTILATING THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM
TYPES OF VENTILATION IN THE PLUMBING SYSTEM
1. Main soil and waste vent
2. Main vent
3. Individual vent
4. Unit vent
5. Circuit or loop vent
6. Relief vent
7. Yoke vent
8. Wet vent
9. Looped vent
10. Local vent
11. Utility vent
1. The vent pipe to ventilate the soil and waste pipes are the Main Soil
and Waste Vents.
2. The main vent and other subsidiary form of relief vents, are classified
according to the function they perform, and they are called Relief and
Yoke vent. They only serve the fixture trap indirectly. Main function is to
maintain the balance atmospheric pressure inside the waste pipe system.
3. Other types of vent whose purpose is to protect the trap seal against
back pressure and siphoning are called:
a. Individual or back vent
b. Unit vent
c. Circuit or loop vent
d. Wet vent
e. Looped vent
VENTS
M a i n Ty p e s :
Main Soil & Waste Vent

the ‘backbone’ of the entire sanitary system

Connected to the Main Soil & Waste

Stack

The portion where waste does not travel

through
Continues to the roof; the portion
penetrating the roof is called the
Vent Stack Through Roof (VSTR)
GENERAL CONDITIONS IN INSTALLING THE MAIN SOIL AND WASTE
VENTILATION:
1. It must be installed as direct as possible
2. Short radius fittings should b avoided bec it reduces the flow of air
3. As much as possible, long horizontal line must be avoided
4. Generally, it should have the same diameter as the soil and waste
pipe.
The Plumbing Code on Extension of Soil or Waste Stack to the roof
provides that:
“All roof extensions of soil or waste stack shall run fall size at least 30
centimeters above the roof and when the roof is used for other
purposes than weather protection such extension shall not be less than
2m above the roof…the roof terminal of any stack or vent, if within 3m
of any door, window, scuttle or air shaft, shall extend at least 1m above
the same.
Main Vent

• the principal artery of the venting system to which

vent branches are connected.
• a.k.a. ‘Collecting Vent Line’
• serves as support to the Main Soil & Waste Vent
• Source through which air is admitted to the plumbing
system
• The drainage system is a combination of waste pipe,
vent pipe and water supply. The efficiency of one
depends on the other.
Individual Vent or BackVent

Portion of the vent pipe system tat

serves as a single trap. It is connected
closer to the trap directly underneath
and back of the fixture, and
reconnected into the main vent above
the overflow line of the fixture it serves.

Individual Venting is the most effective

means of venting fixture to prevent
minus or plus pressure.
• However, the idea of venting each trap
individually is very costly, but economy could be
attained through group venting, which is allowed
under the following conditions, provided that, it
will not affect the efficiency of the system:
• It must be connected close as possible to the
fixture traps
• It should be directly located underneath or
back of the fixture
• It must be connected to the main vent
above the overflow line of the fixture.
The National Plumbing Code on distances
of vent from trap seal provides that:

1. No trap seal shall be placed more than

1.5m horizontal developed length from
its vent.
2. The distance should be measured
along the central line of the waste or
soil from the vertical inlet to the trap to
the vent opening.
3. The vent opening from the soil or
waste pipe, except for water closet and
similar fixtures, should not be the dip of
the trap.
Unit, Common, or DualVent

an arrangement of venting so
installed that one vent pipe
serve two (2) traps.
Relief Vent

It is installed to ventilate the soil and

waste pipe and the connecting
branches rather than the fixture traps.
As to where it will be connected, no
specific rules have been formulated for
this. It is upon the good judgment of
the plumber wherever back pressure is
most likely to occur
On Relief Vent, the Plumbing Code provides
that:

1. Waste branches which are circuit vented,

shall be provided with relief vent.
2. The base of the soil stack on tall building
installation is susceptible to back pressure,
due to the large volume of water rushing
down inside the pip. Hence, a Relief Vent in
this portion of the installation is necessary.
3. Relief vent may be installed at interval on the
soil pipe having changes in directions.
4. On long vertical soil pipe, a Relief Vent is
installed at 3 to 5 floor intervals. In this
manner of installation, the relief vent is
sometimes referred to as Yoke or By-
Pass Ventilation.
5. Relief vent serving a circuit vented
branch, should have at least one half ½
diameter of the said soil pipe, but in no
case, be less than 38mm diameter. For
instance, if the soil pipe is 100mm, the
relief vent is 50mm.
6. A relief vent used on a change of
direction, and at the base of the soil
pipe, shall have a diameter equal to the
main vent again not be less than 50mm
diameter.
7. Yoke vent between the main vent and
the soil pipe at 5 floor intervals must
have equal pipe diameter as the main
vent.
Yoke or By-pass Vent

a pipe connecting upward from a soil or waste

stack below the floor and below horizontal
connection to an adjacent vent stack at a point
above the floor and higher than the highest
spill level of fixtures for preventing pressure
changes in the stacks.
Circuit /Loop Vent

a group vent pipe which starts in front of the

extreme (highest) fixture connection on a
horizontal branch and connects tothe vent stack.
a.k.a. ‘Loop Vent’
Serves a battery of fixtures
On circuit vent for a battery of water closets, the code says that “ No
more than 8 water closets or other fixtures shall be allowed on any
circuit or loop vent. If there are 14 or 16 which are to be vented, two
pieces of 100mm pipe should be installed.
Looped Vent

a vertical vent connection on a horizontal soil or waste

pipe branch at a point downstream of the last fixture
connection and turning to a horizontal line above the
highest overflow level of the highest fixture connected
there

Used in spaces without partitions

Common to beauty parlor, barber shop, dental clinic and
operating room.
It is not practical to use but sometimes tolerated when other
methods of ventilation could not be possible.

The size of the looped vent is also determined in the same

manner of that individual vent.
Wet Vent
that portion of a vent pipe through which wastewater also flows through.
• Wet ventilation is considered as one
interesting topic for arguments
• Effective installation on building of
moderate height, wherein the
horizontal branch vents are
connected to the vertical soil stack.
Under this type, the main vent is
eliminated and naturally cost is also
reduced.
Those advocate against wet venting contended that, a minus
and plus pressure may be developed, when large amount of
discharges from the upper floor fixtures rushed down rapidly
inside the soil stack.
It is defined as that portion of the vent-pipe system where liquid
waste regularly flows.
Stack Vent

the extension of a soil or waste stack above the highest horizontal drain
connected to the stack.

Vent Stack

the vertical vent pipe installed primarily for providing circulation of

air to and from any part of the soil, waste of the drainage system. The
uppermost end above the roof has traditionally been
referred to as Vent Stack Through Roof (VSTR).
REQUIREMENTS:
Vents REQUIRED
Each trap shall be protected against siphonage and back-pressure
through venting.

Vents NOT REQUIRED

on a primary settling tank interceptor which discharges through a horizontal indirect
waste pipe into a secondary interceptor. The secondary interceptor shall be properly
trapped and vented.

Traps serving sinks in an island bar counter. Such sink shall discharge by means of an
approved indirect waste pipe into a floor sink or other approved type receptor.
GOOD DAY