A bathtub filler is being installed in a hotel guest bathroom served by a system stored above 140 degrees F. What does the IPC require of the bathtub fill valve?
- AIt must be set so that the water leaving the fill spout never exceeds 110 degrees F, the tempered water limit
One hundred ten degrees is a genuine code ceiling, for tempered water at public hand-washing facilities and at a bidet. Applying it to a tub filler swaps one fixture's limit for another fixture's limit.
- BNo temperature limiting is required at a tub filler, because the bather tests the water at the spout and adjusts it before ever getting into the tub
User judgment is not a code-recognized safeguard. Tub scald injuries disproportionately involve children and older adults who cannot test the water or climb out quickly, which is why the limit lives in the valve.
- CIt must be a metering type that shuts off automatically after a fixed fill period, so the tub cannot overfill
Metering valves are real fixtures and they do shut themselves off, but they are a public lavatory device for limiting the volume of a hand-wash cycle. Nothing about them limits the temperature at a bathtub.
- It must be equipped with a device that limits the temperature of the water discharged from the fill spout to a maximum of 120 degrees F
Why D is correct
The fixture fittings section requires bathtub and whirlpool bathtub valves to be equipped with a device that limits discharge to a maximum of 120 degrees F. Because storage temperatures are commonly kept much higher for water quality reasons, that limiting device is what stands between the storage temperature and the bather.
What this question is testing
The item tests recall of the fixture-specific temperature limits and whether the candidate keeps the 120 degree bathing limit separate from the 110 degree tempered-water and bidet limits.
On the job
In hotels and assisted living you will store water hot and temper it down, either at a master mixing valve on the distribution or at each fixture. Field crews get caught when they install a code-compliant tub valve and then set the master valve above the tub limit, or when they replace a scald-limiting cartridge with a standard one during a service call. Note the setpoint on the valve and leave the cartridge that came listed with it.
Memory technique
One twenty for the tub, one ten for the hands.
Exam tip
Bathing fixtures cap at 120. Hand washing and bidets sit at 110. Match the number to the body part.
Where to look it up
Chapter 4, Section 424, the bathtub and whirlpool valve paragraph. UPC sets its own maximums for tub and shower valves and states them differently, so verify against your adopted code.