[mjr0773]

Please can anyone tell me what this capped pvc pipe is? It is located on our courtyard villa on the exterior wall of the garage. (It is not the AC drain as that’s in a different place and wouldn’t be capped )
Serious answers only please.
Thanks in advance.

[retiredguy123]

It could be a water softener flushing outlet. Some water softeners do an automatic backflushing process to clean the system. So, if the previous owner had a water softener that was removed, they would have capped it off. Just a guess.

[villagetinker]

Originally Posted by mjr0773

Please can anyone tell me what this capped pvc pipe is? It is located on our courtyard villa on the exterior wall of the garage. (It is not the AC drain as that’s in a different place and wouldn’t be capped )
Serious answers only please.
Thanks in advance.

Take a look inside the garage(?) and see if there is a pipe on the inside and follow to the end. If there is no visible pipe, then it could be a drain from the AC or water heater. I also agree with above about a water softener.

[mjr0773]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

Take a look inside the garage(?) and see if there is a pipe on the inside and follow to the end. If there is no visible pipe, then it could be a drain from the AC or water heater. I also agree with above about a water softener.

Unfortunately the interior part of the pipe is behind drywall so difficult to trace. The AC drain is readily visible on the other side of garage closer to air handler so it’s not that. I don’t think there ever was a water softener in the house but it is pretty close to the water main shutoff valve that is behind a panel near the front of the garage in about the place that a water softener would be installed so I wonder if it’s just there as part of the builders design in case a water softener were to be installed at a later date after the house was built.

[rhood]

We have one too, but not capped. Located just outside the wall from the shutoff in the garage. I’m thinking it is a pressure relief valve. Perhaps theirs was dripping so it was capped.

[retiredguy123]

Typically, there should be 2 pipes where the A/C condensate drain is. The other one is for the water heater drain pan overflow. But, the pipe on the side of your house appears to be too high to be the water heater drain, and it wouldn't be capped off. Hopefully, you have an overflow drain from the water heater pan, and it drains somewhere outside the house.

[mjr0773]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Typically, there should be 2 pipes where the A/C condensate drain is. The other one is for the water heater drain pan overflow. But, the pipe on the side of your house appears to be too high to be the water heater drain, and it wouldn't be capped off. Hopefully, you have an overflow drain from the water heater pan, and it drains somewhere outside the house.

Yes sorry I should have noted that. The AC and water heater have their drains on the other side of the garage so all good with those.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by rhood

We have one too, but not capped. Located just outside the wall from the shutoff in the garage. I’m thinking it is a pressure relief valve. Perhaps theirs was dripping so it was capped.

If so, that would be a bad idea. If the water heater has a drain pan, the relief valve outlet should discharge directly into the drain pan. The discharge water can be very hot.

[Michael G.]

I would remove that cap and see if there's any drainage for starters.

[Bogie Shooter]

Give the warranty dept a call, they have a lot of information.

[MrFlorida]

Every house on my street has one of these. Nobody really knows what it is for. It does drip when the HWH is in use... I can tell you all that it is not ..... A condensate drip for the a/c, A relief valve for the HWH, or for any water softener . The pipe leading to these things are behind the wall, so you can't tell what it is connected to.. If anybody REALLY knows what it is , please let us know.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by MrFlorida

Every house on my street has one of these. Nobody really knows what it is for. It does drip when the HWH is in use... I can tell you all that it is not ..... A condensate drip for the a/c, A relief valve for the HWH, or for any water softener . The pipe leading to these things are behind the wall, so you can't tell what it is connected to.. If anybody REALLY knows what it is , please let us know.

How can it drip if it is capped?

[mjr0773]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

How can it drip if it is capped?

Correct. Mine is capped so no drip. My guess is for those who have no cap, over time the pvc broke down in the sunlight as pvc is not good for direct sunlight exposure over time and the cap came off.

[retiredguy123]

You could buy one of those flexible camera probes from Amazon for about 20 dollars and fish it through the water valve box.

[villagetinker]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

Give the warranty dept a call, they have a lot of information.

good point, with several of the other comments, and your replies, I agree, call home warranty and ask.