Plumbing question: is this normal?

[Foreshot]

My space is a former commerical kitchen so I assuming this is by design not flaw. Whenever I use something that foams a lot the foam comes out of this junction. Is this normal and/or ok? I believe it is so that the foam does not come back up into the sinks. It's a bit of a pain as most of the stuff I am using to clean/sanitize foams like hell.

[Hudson bay distillers]

not a plumer but thats not normal or good , the inlet on the trap should be air tight or the trap is useless 

tim 

[whiskeytango]

Shoot a wider pic so we can see where all the plumbing is running to and from 

 

[CasualAddiction]

Sorry for not introducing myself before posting (long time lurker on this forum)

I come from a restaurant background.

In my area this is a health code setup in commercial kitchens. It the case of an unseen sewage backup, it prevents contamination of food in prep sinks, or ice in bar wells and is mandatory. IMO since you are no longer a commercial kitchen, fill the gap with some spray foam and call it a day. This is it's only purpose.

Once again apologies for no introduction 

[HedgeBird]

47 minutes ago, Foreshot said:

My space is a former commerical kitchen so I assuming this is by design not flaw. Whenever I use something that foams a lot the foam comes out of this junction. Is this normal and/or ok? I believe it is so that the foam does not come back up into the sinks. It's a bit of a pain as most of the stuff I am using to clean/sanitize foams like hell.

 

An air gap (Indirect Drain) is required in most all commercial kitchen environments, so thats almost certainly by design.  That particular setup would fail inspection from a picky inspector as technically there needs to be space between the top of the waste/drain pipe and the bottom of the pipe coming from the sink/dishwasher, ice bin, etc.

Best would be to replace with a 3" x 3" x 2" (or whatever size pipes they are) PVC T fitting and put a clean out plug on the top end of the T.  Spray foaming it would be pretty lazy work but would certainly get the job done faster!

https://www.homedepot.com/p/3-in-x-3-in-x-2-in-PVC-DWV-All-Hub-Sanitary-Tee-C4811HD332/100342376
https://www.homedepot.com/p/NIBCO-3-in-PVC-DWV-Spigot-x-Cleanout-Adaptor-with-Plug-C4816HD3/205808372

 

 

[Roger]

As previously mentioned, that is a standard for any sink in a bar / restaurant, as it keeps anything from coming backwards up the drain, into your sink. Typically there is a large bell/flange fitting on top of the drain pipe coming up, which acts as a bit of a catch basin for momentary overflow when draining.

[HedgeBird]

57 minutes ago, Hudson bay distillers said:

not a plumer but thats not normal or good , the inlet on the trap should be air tight or the trap is useless 

The trap is still doing its job of preventing sewer gasses from passing up and out the air gap.  Same as if it was a floor drain or floor sink, etc.

[Foreshot]

Thanks everyone. I'll put it on my list of stuff to fix. 

[Michaelangelo]

Most health departments look at a three compartment sink and immediately draw upon the need to enforce controls designed for restaurant applications. Those include an air gap of at least six inches flowing into a floor sink that has been tied into a $15,000 grease trap. Best to check with your local health department before making any repairs. If you use that sink to clean anything from your tasting room it falls under their jurisdiction. You might want to check the local health department website to see if their construction/remodel requirements are online before you call them.