Section 27-922. Requirements

(a) Drainage and vent systems.
    (1)  ROUGH PLUMBING. Except for outside leaders and perforated or open
  jointed drain tile (subsoil drains), the piping of plumbing drainage and
  venting systems shall be verified as to materials and  shall  be  tested
  upon  completion  of  the  rough  piping  installation  and proven to be
  watertight. The commissioner may require the  removal  of  any  cleanout
  plugs  to ascertain that the prescribed pressure has been reached in all
  parts of the system.
    a. Water test. A water test shall be applied to  the  drainage  system
  either  in  its  entirety  or  in  sections  after rough piping has been
  installed. If applied to the entire system, all openings in the  piping,
  except  the  highest  opening,  shall  be  tightly closed and the system
  filled with water to the point of overflow. If the system is  tested  in
  sections,  each opening, except the highest opening of the section under
  test, shall be tightly plugged and each section filled  with  water.  No
  section  shall  be  tested  with  less than a ten foot head of water. In
  testing successive  sections,  at  least  the  upper  ten  feet  of  the
  following  section  shall  be  tested,  so  that no joint or pipe in the
  building (except the uppermost ten feet of the system) shall  have  been
  submitted  to  a  test  of less than a ten foot head of water. The water
  shall be kept in the system or in the portion under test  for  at  least
  fifteen minutes before inspection starts; the system shall then be tight
  at all points.
    b.  Air  test.  An  air test may be used only when permission for this
  type of test is obtained from the commissioner. The air  test  shall  be
  made  by  attaching  an air compressor testing apparatus to any suitable
  opening and, after closing all other inlets and outlets of  the  system,
  forcing  air  into the system until there is a uniform gauge pressure of
  five psi.  This pressure shall be held, without  introducing  additional
  air, for a period of at least fifteen minutes.
    (2)  FINISHED  PLUMBING. After the plumbing fixtures have been set and
  their traps filled with water,  the  entire  drainage  system  shall  be
  verified  as  to  materials,  and shall be tested and proven gastight by
  either a smoke test or a peppermint test.
    a. Smoke test. The smoke test shall be made by filling all traps  with
  water and then introducing into the entire system a pungent, thick smoke
  produced  by one or more smoke machines. When the smoke appears at stack
  openings on the roof, these openings shall  be  closed  and  a  pressure
  equivalent to a one inch water column shall be maintained for the period
  of the inspection.
    b.  Peppermint  test. The peppermint test shall be made by introducing
  two ounces of oil of peppermint into the roof  vent  terminal  of  every
  line  or  stack to be tested. The oil of peppermint shall be followed at
  once by ten quarts of hot water ( one hundred sixty  degrees  Fahrenheit
  or  higher),  whereupon  all  roof  vent  terminals shall be sealed. The
  detection of the odor of peppermint at any trap or other  point  in  the
  system  shall determine the location of any leaks. Persons who have come
  in contact with the oil of peppermint shall be excluded  from  the  test
  area.
    (b)  Building house sewer. The building house sewer shall be tested by
  inserting a test plug at the point of connection with the  street  sewer
  before  such  connection is made. The building house sewer shall then be
  filled with water under a head of at least ten feet. The water level  at
  the  top  of  the test head of water shall not drop for at least fifteen
  minutes.
    (c) Water systems. Upon completion of a section of a water  system  or
  of  the  entire  water  system, the completed section or system shall be
  verified as to materials, and shall be tested and proven tight  under  a

  water  pressure  at  least  twenty-five percent greater than the working
  pressure under which it is to be used. The water used for tests shall be
  obtained from a potable source of supply.
    (d)  Gas  piping  systems.  Upon  completion  of the installation of a
  section of a gas  system  or  of  the  entire  gas  system,  and  before
  appliances  are connected thereto, the completed section or system shall
  be verified as to materials, and tested and proven tight as follows:
    (1) Gas distribution piping:
    a. Distribution pressures up  to  and  including  one-half  psig.  The
  completed  piping is to be tested with a non-mercury gauge at a pressure
  of three pounds per square inch gauge (psig) for  a  minimum  of  thirty
  minutes.
    b.  Distribution  pressures over one-half psig through three psig. The
  completed piping is to be tested at fifty psig for a minimum  of  thirty
  minutes.
    c.  Distribution  pressures  over three psig through fifteen psig. The
  completed piping is to be tested at one hundred psig for  a  minimum  of
  one hour.
    d.  Distribution pressures above fifteen psig. The completed piping is
  to be tested to twice the maximum allowable operating pressure, but  not
  less than one hundred psig, for a minimum of one hour.
    (2)  Meter  piping  shall  be  pressure  tested in accordance with the
  requirements of the serving utility. These requirements shall be  either
  the  same  as  those for testing distribution piping in paragraph one of
  this subdivision, or if different, the piping shall be certified by  the
  local utility as being tested in compliance with their requirements.
    (3)  Notwithstanding  the  above,  all  coded or wrapped pipe shall be
  pressure tested at a minimum of ninety psig.
    For testing, the piping shall be filled with air or an inert gas,  and
  the  source  of  pressure shall be isolated before the pressure readings
  are made. All test duration  time  periods  are  to  be  measured  after
  stabilization  of  testing  medium.  Fresh water may be used as the test
  medium only where the required test pressure exceeds one hundred psig.
    (4) The commissioner  shall  publish  a  list  of  non-mercury  gauges
  certified  by  a  nationally  recognized testing lab or promulgate rules
  with standards for non-mercury gauges within one hundred and twenty days
  of the effective date of this paragraph.
    (e) Other piping systems. All other piping systems shall be tested  in
  accordance with the requirements prescribed in reference standard RS-16.