AskCodeMan

taking to a plumber this am that was insistant that the new codes no longer allowed Tpr to be piped to the outside and that it was ok to pipe a tpr to the drain pan. My question is have these changes made? ps Jerry I am over here in Gainesville
Thanks

The T&P relief valve discharge pipe is no longer allowed to go directly to the outside, and has been that way for a couple of code cycles.

Whether it is allowed to drain to the pan is a question I still have not gotten a definitive answer on, but common sense says no, the manufacturer of the water heater says not to let it set in water (and it will if any water from any source, such as the T&P, gets into the pan), and the plastic pans are not rated for use with T&P temperature water ...

... yet it is common practice to allow it in most AHJ, with only some not allowing it (in my opinion, the smart ones are thinking it out and not allowing it).