Plumbing Terminology - A

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ABS Pipe

Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) Pipes are rigid plastic pipes with superior range of performance values used for drain, waste, and vent lines. ABS pipe and fittings were originally developed in the early 1950s for use in oil fields and the chemical industry. In 1959, John F. Long.

ABS pipes and fittings are highly lightweight, only half the weight of aluminum pipes and fittings and one-sixth the weight of steel pipes – reducing transportation, handling, and installation costs. ABS pipe and vent lines are extremly durable with high tensile and high impact strength.

Access Panel

In the plumbing business wit an access panel is a covered opening in a wall or ceiling near a fixture that allows access for servicing a plumbing or electric system. After finishing a wall in your home you might have covered some pipes or valves that you will need access to in the future. The most problematic would be a water shut off valve that should be accessible. This is why you need to install a plumbing access panel. Access Panels come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

Adapter Fitting

In the plumbing industry an Adapter fitting is a fitting that joins two different types of pipe together, or joins threaded to non-threaded pipe ends, such as ABS to cast-iron, or threaded to non-threaded they come in Aluminium, (Stainless) Steel, Brass, Bronze & Nickel. Male adapter fittings are widely used to connect tubes and pipes to male pipes and tubes and are available in both inch as well as metric designs and specifications.

Air Admittance Valve

an Air admittance valve or AAV is a negative pressure-activated, one-way mechanical vent, used inside a plumbing system to eliminate the need for conventional pipe venting and/or roof penetrations.

A discharge of wastewater causes the Air Admittance Valves to open, releasing the vacuum and allowing air to enter plumbing vent pipe for proper drainage. Since Air Admittance Valve will only function under negative pressure situations they are unsuitable for all venting applications, such as venting a sump, where positive pressures are created when the sump fills.

Air Gap

An Air Gap in the plumbing trade is a device that is mounted to the back of a kitchen sink and connects the drain line between a dishwasher and disposer to allow the dishwasher to discharge freely into the disposer while preventing contaminated water from siphoning back into the dishwasher.

Angle Stop

An angle stop is the angled valve that is located between the fixture and the water pipes, and works as a shutoff valve. This valve is perpendicular to the pipe, positioned next to the fixture, and designed to be an emergency stop for the fixture's water supply.

Anti-Scald Valve

An Anti-Scald Valve is a shower mixing valve that automatically maintains balance between incoming hot and cold water supplies by immediately regulating fluctuations in pressure. As a result, temperature remains constant, though the outlet pressure may drop. Also called pressure-balanced valve.