In Floor Drains

[Maple Man 85]

Has anyone done in floor drains in there sugar house? If so what size of PVC did you use? Pipe size is based on the volume expected to go through the pipe with that be said I think I can get away with 2'' pipe for a sink drain, plus 4 floor drains for washing down and evaporator, RO and canning room.

Any experienced plumbers out there?;)

Maple Man 85

[MISugarDaddy]

We put in-floor drains in our sugarhouse when we built it. We used 2" drains for the sink and 3" for the floor drain. The reason for the 3" floor drain pipe size was that the drain we purchased for the floor came with fittings for 3" PVC. After the concrete had cured for 30 days we sealed the floor to allow for easier cleanup of messes.
Gary

[Maple Man 85]

We put in-floor drains in our sugarhouse when we built it. We used 2" drains for the sink and 3" for the floor drain. The reason for the 3" floor drain pipe size was that the drain we purchased for the floor came with fittings for 3" PVC. After the concrete had cured for 30 days we sealed the floor to allow for easier cleanup of messes.
Gary

Thanks for the feedback Gary, doing the dirt work this week for the water/drains/and slab. Does the water/permeate that you use to clean your RO exit the building through your drain system as well? Just wasn't sure if the 3" pipe would handle the flow water from the rinsing process (didn't want back up into the building).

[MISugarDaddy]

Our RO is in an adjacent building and the drain for it is not connected to the sugarhouse system.
Gary

[PerryFamily]

I'd go with 4" in the ground and slab
you can bush the sink and other things down to the 4"

The last project I worked on with floor drains it was a troth (spelling?) and it could be used with 3" or 4"

[BAP]

I would use 4" solid green drain pipe like is used for foundation drains. It is thick walled and can take the heat of hot water coming off the evaporator, plus has plenty of capacity when flushing your R/O. Also it is fairly inexpensive, that is what I am installing in my new sugarhouse I am building.

[Super Sapper]

Make sure you talk to the plumbing inspector beforehand if it needs to be inspected. I had to put in traps and cleanouts besides having to use the most expensive drains that menards sells because it needed to have removable baskets for sand.

[PerryFamily]

Make sure you talk to the plumbing inspector beforehand if it needs to be inspected. I had to put in traps and cleanouts besides having to use the most expensive drains that menards sells because it needed to have removable baskets for sand.

Good call. I never gave that a thought.
I did the prep work for a small building that was a commercial kitchen on a farm several years ago. The plumber ( I think they did it themselves) put floor drains in. When I came back to put the septic system in the engineer made me fill in several with concrete and I had to put a trap outside the building.

Again good call on the inspection and codes.

[Spanielslovesappin]

your right on... SDR35 (thats the heavier green stuff) is way better that soil pipe but much cheaper than schedule 40 PVC though i am not sure you will find it in 2" and i was warned by a local site work contractor that he had just finished a job at a food plant where they had to bust up the floors and replace the schedule 40 PVC with schedule 80 PVC because the hot water flows softened and allowed the pipes to collapse. Clearly a food plant will be discharging hot water for a longer duration but i would never use light weight soil and drain pipe in a sugar house drain system. also 3" would do all you need if...IF its sloped properly.... the ro will not overwhelm it.

[rhwells2003]

Good call. I never gave that a thought.
I did the prep work for a small building that was a commercial kitchen on a farm several years ago. The plumber ( I think they did it themselves) put floor drains in. When I came back to put the septic system in the engineer made me fill in several with concrete and I had to put a trap outside the building.

Again good call on the inspection and codes.

I know in Vermont with residential and commercial water/wastewater permits theres a box to check of floor drains are going to be installed, and if they are this usually triggers the need for an Indirect Discharge Permit. Most people say they aren't installing floor drains, and then when the contactor is there digging they just install them and just hope you don't get a random visit from the state and they see it.

[sap retreiver]

I used 4" sch40. My sink goes in also but that's just 2" sdr is fine but you have to put sand around it. It will crush especially if it's near the surface. Under your slab should be at least sch 40, Will not be fun cutting your floor up years from now when it fails if you use anything less. I ran 80 out then 40 from there.

[DrTimPerkins]

Many people now use open troughs, with grating across the top. Very easy to keep clean and handles a lot of water at once.

I second (third) the concern about using something that'll take hot water. This is especially true if you have a Steamaway or Steam-pans which generate a lot of near-boiling temperature water. If that is the case, you probably want to use something other than plastic altogether, as it will soften and break, in which case you'll be essentially injecting hot water under your slab, which will thaw the ground, then it'll freeze again, then thaw, then freeze.....the result being NOT GOOD.

[GeneralStark]

SDR 35 Sewer Pipe is rated to 140F so that may be something to consider if you are putting large quantities of hot water down your floor drains.