How To Use A Plumbing Test Ball

Why Traditional DWV Plumbing Test Balls are a Thing of the Past

Today, plumbers require the all-time products available to get the job done efficiently and safely. While drain, waste material and vent testing, or DWV testing, has been around for decades, traditional DWV systems aren't upwardly to par. Outdated DWV plumbing fittings and bladders oftentimes put plumbers at gamble and slow them down also.

But we've created an innovative DWV testing solution at HoldRite that addresses the limitations of outdated methods. Leave dated DWV testing systems behind for something better: TestRite.

DWV Plumbing Code Requirements

As required past plumbing code, new pipe installations must be drain, waste and vent tested to ensure water tightness, and for over 60 years, contractors accept used inflatable test balls, or plumbing test balls, to perform this task.

Evolving DWV Testing Methods

There have been several materials and installation methods for DWV testing over the past 6,000 years. The first system was made of baked clay and used in Babylon around 4,000 BCE. Testing evolved to include forest logs followed by cast iron. Then, in the early 1950s, the inflatable test ball system was introduced.

HR_SM_TestRite_DWVBlog_Infographic_03.2021_Final

Plumbing Exam Balls: What You Need to Know

To employ the inflatable plumbing test brawl system, you lot first have to insert and inflate the ball without accidentally rupturing information technology. Then, add h2o into the upper pipage system until it reaches the upper last of the system. After yous check for escaping h2o and call your inspector to become the let signed off, you deflate the test ball and echo the whole process multiple times if you're working on a multi-story building.

Inflatable test balls get the job done — stopping the catamenia of water and so you can exam force per unit area and check for leaks — just they aren't the most efficient method, nor are they the safest.

Wasted Time

While the DWV testing procedure is tedious to begin with, it gets even more than time consuming if there'southward a leak. With inflatable test assurance there is no manner to merely allow some of the water out to fix the effect. You lot accept to drain all the examination water and start over.

They have more time to consummate, costing you money every infinitesimal you're not completing some other job. Plus, plumbing ball systems require a host of tools, from air pumps to compressors to thread sealants — all of which add up. If the test ball leaks or fails, in that location's no manner repair it. You must buy a new ane. Most contractors say it has a lifespan of virtually five uses maximum.

Safe Issues

Ane of the most significant facts to note nearly the traditional plumbing ball testing method is that it tin can expose contractors to all of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) "Fatal Four" meridian causes of worker fatalities: falls, electrocution, struck past object and caught in/between.

Falls: If the test ball ruptures, you're going to go floors and installers wet. When it'southward deflated at the end of the testing process, water can spray out of the test port location besides. This could create a slip-and-autumn hazard on the job, especially in the wintertime.
Electrocution: Water spillage could mix with power cords on site, creating an electrocution take a chance.
Struck by object: Test balls are very sensitive to inflation pressures. This makes it easy for them to over-inflate and flare-up, which could cause flight shrapnel to hitting an installer.
Caught in/between: When a examination ball deflates after the test is done, it can sometimes get sucked down the pipeline, which as well puts a contractor at hazard of getting their hand sucked into the pipe because of the force of rushing water.

Plumbing test balls oft fail during the placement, inflation and removal of the device, whether information technology'south because of aging equipment, user error or faulty gauges. This could not only put you at risk only as well the job site itself. If rupture happens in a multistory building and water spills onto floor, it tin travel down to finished floors of the building, causing damage. It can too introduce potential mold.

TestRite: A Better DWV System

These issues called for an update of DWV testing methods. At HoldRite, nosotros believe in putting plumbers' needs start, so nosotros created the TestRite family of products to address the common challenges of working with inflatable test assurance.

You can fill or drain water from the examination location. No demand to empty the whole pipe.

A triple seal protection design ensures a dry, safe surroundings.
You can apply TestRite five-10 times more than than a plumbing ball. You tin can also replace the O-rings if damaged, to extend the life of the device.
It only requires one elementary tool and fewer steps to complete the test, making the process 2-iv times faster.
Information technology meets plumbing code.
Rated up to 50 ft of head pressure / 22 PSI / 5 floors

Explore the TestRite DWV Testing System

Our TestRite products include anything yous would need for a DWV exam. Browse test tees, fittings, valves, cleanout plugs, wedge seals, spanner rings or become the entire system for your specific pipe type.