What is it?

[Old Man Roger]

Anybody got a clue what these are? I thought they were some kind of vent but they’re blocked off. I followed one that went through the ceiling right next to one of the sewer vents, but no idea where it goes after that because it’s inside of a wall I believe.

They’re in my attic, the house is in south Florida.

 

[gmcgeo]

only reason for running into attic space and through roof is for a vent or drain. seeing that is capped off would tell me it is no longer in use and easier to cap it then start ripping it out.

if you have no issues i would not mess with it.... or try to get a hold of previous owner and ask what it is

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Maybe remnants of a solar water heater that was removed?

 

[joe_padavano]

Maybe remnants of a solar water heater that was removed?

Good guess.

 

[gmcgeo]

That's a really good guess

Maybe remnants of a solar water heater that was removed?

 

[Jinks]

I can't imagine any kind of solar water heater that would use that size pipe. Mine has one feed, & one return, both copper & the same size used to feed a normal sink.

 

[wrenchguy]

radon vent?

 

[58Yeoman]

Conversation starter?

 

[rlitman]

The solar water heater makes the most sense, but do you have a fire sprinkler system?

 

[Wrench97]

Does the pipe below it tee into it or just run up alongside of it?

 

[LeonardY]

It's interesting that the pipe looks like it's been exposed to the sun.

 

[gmcgeo]

It's interesting that the pipe looks like it's been exposed to the sun.

Thats what i thought at first, i wonder if because in Florida and pvc in the attic if it got hot enough to discolor?

 

[Old Man Roger]

The previous owner passed away.

it doesn’t look like it ever went through the roof, I don’t see any holes. The roof has been replaced though, so the plywood may have been replaced.

 

[Old Man Roger]

It does get hotter than hell in a Florida attic lol it could’ve discolored the pipe.

 

[Wrench97]

It's probably CPVC rather then PVC.

 

[gmcgeo]

that would make sense being cpvc is a light yellowish color

 

[FredWanaker]

i concur - solar water heater, for the house or a pool. The larger photo shows those pipes are much smaller than the vent, and the spacing of the two are about what we see in older solar water heaters around here.

 

[steve308]

Was there ever an AC unit up there? Could be piping for condensation draining.....just a guess.

 

[Old Man Roger]

The air handler has always been in the closet downstairs.

If it was for solar hot water wouldn’t it just run to the water heater? These things go off in all different directions up there

 

[larry4406]

I recommend you go up in the attic, on the hottest day of the year, then open them and see what happens

(No don't do this.)

 

[gmcgeo]

that would defiantly tell you if its sewer vent or not

 

[thammel]

Looking at the maze of pipes up there...I see some gray conduit "pipes". Perhaps the solar hot water is the best guess. And check and see if the capped pipes are cpvc or pvc. (can tell this by inspecting closely the fittings for markings). If CPVC, then the solar heated water is probably correct.

 

[Pate]

I know when I built my house I had PVC pipes run from the basement to the attic for future wire runs.

 

[JRC3]

Why would anyone install airlines in the attic???

 

[The Cobbler]

is it grey electrical conduit for a potential AC unit in the attic?

 

[GreenIron]

I'd have to say it is for, or was for an attic installed water heater.
My previous house had a 40-gl. water heater in the attic and had CPVC for the HOT side and PVC for the COLD side.

The water heater was either remove from the attic and the lines plugged, or the lines are there for a future water heater use.

 

[nadogail]

As I recall the CPVC pipe I worked with 20+ years ago was Grey.

 

[PassnThru]

Have you looked in the crawl space?

 

[Old Man Roger]

GreenIron, an attic mounted water heater seems like it could be the answer. Because it does seem like the pipes run to both the bathrooms and the kitchen.

And now that I think about it there was some heavy duty bracing up there that didn’t seem to do anything. That’s probably where the water heater was mounted.

There are two gray conduit pipes right next to that area also that probably ran power to the water heater.

I knew someone on this site would know what it was lol

PassnThru, there is no crawlspace, it’s a CBS house on a slab. The rafters and roof are wood, but the rest of the house is concrete block.

 

[Old Man Roger]

And I guess, in a way, having your water heater in the attic in Florida is kind of solar heating lol Great idea until it leaks, and we know all water heaters eventually leak.

 

[driftpin]

Now look for the electrical service to the hot water heater.

I emailed it to my HVAC contractor friend in Wellington FL to get his opinion.

 

[JRC3]

As I recall the CPVC pipe I worked with 20+ years ago was Grey.

That was probably Vanguard. Lots of damage and eventual class-action with that product.

When I saw the grey whatever in the background that was the first thing I thought of...Like maybe a water heater was replaced and placed outside and PB pipe was used while the CPVC was abandoned.

Or maybe the grey Vanguard was replaced with the CPVC years ago...Then, the attic tanked water heater (WH) was replaced with a tankless and was placed outside or somewhere else and the CPVC was then abandoned. OP, is there a tankless outside or in some other location possibly not original of the WH?

​

 

[GreenIron]

And I guess, in a way, having your water heater in the attic in Florida is kind of solar heating lol Great idea until it leaks, and we know all water heaters eventually leak.

In our previous house, the water heater (40 gallon) was in the attic. I had the builder installed a large pan under it with a capacity of 15 gallons. A 2" drain line ran from the pan and exited at the house's front overhand with a 90° and short tattle-tail line. If the water heater ever developed a leak, it would run out and exit at the front of the house. This would allow me to notice it and react to the leak. We lived there for 26 years and never had an issue.

We live in southeast Louisiana and the electric elements in the water heater didn't work very much with it in the attic to heat the water.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Now look for the electrical service to the hot water heater.

I emailed it to my HVAC contractor friend in Wellington FL to get his opinion.

The water heater is now downstairs in the closet underneath the air handler.

That was probably Vanguard. Lots of damage and eventual class-action with that product.

When I saw the grey whatever in the background that was the first thing I thought of...Like maybe a water heater was replaced and placed outside and PB pipe was used while the CPVC was abandoned.

Or maybe the grey Vanguard was replaced with the CPVC years ago...Then, the attic tanked water heater (WH) was replaced with a tankless and was placed outside or somewhere else and the CPVC was then abandoned. OP, is there a tankless outside or in some other location possibly not original of the WH?

​

it has a conventional water heater but all of those pipes in the attic are still being used, it looks like they just re-located the water heater.

I’m glad to see you mentioned that the CPVC wasn’t the bad stuff, half the pipes up there are PVC but some of them are CPVC. I remember the class action lawsuit with that gray pipe, a lot of people took the check but didn’t replace the pipe lol

In our previous house, the water heater (40 gallon) was in the attic. I had the builder installed a large pan under it with a capacity of 15 gallons. A 2" drain line ran from the pan and exited at the house's front overhand with a 90° and short tattle-tail line. If the water heater ever developed a leak, it would run out and exit at the front of the house. This would allow me to notice it and react to the leak. We lived there for 26 years and never had an issue.

We live in southeast Louisiana and the electric elements in the water heater didn't work very much with it in the attic to heat the water.

Well my water heater is no longer in the attic, but I had a problem today lol I moved a board and broke one of the CPVC pipes!! That’s how I knew those pipes were still being used. I got the water turned off pretty quickly though and minimize the damage.

I was putting down some flooring so I could have a little storage space up there. The first picture you can see some of the flooring I put down, the second picture Shows me pointing where it leaked.

 

[Old Man Roger]

The whiter pipe is PVC yellower stuff is the CPVC.

After a quick Google search it looks like they used the CPVC on the hot water and the PVC on the Coldwater.

 

[JRC3]

After a quick Google search it looks like they used the CPVC on the hot water and the PVC on the Coldwater.

That's what I was about to mention.

 

[GreenIron]

Roger(Old Man), Glad you got the water leak stopped quickly, without too much damage.

I too laid flooring in the attic of my previous house. It's nice for storing thing and makes it easier to get around the attic.
In our new house, the builder laid down flooring in the attic, so I didn't have to do that. Of course, nothing is going to be stored up there. Everything that we used to store in the attic will be stored in the garage's mezzanine.

 

[couch67]

I was putting down some flooring so I could have a little storage space up there. The first picture you can see some of the flooring I put down, the second picture Shows me pointing where it leaked.

Ah that explains the fan in the first photo! I was going to ask about that...

 

[TRWham]

CPVC does get brittle with age but is not an issue if it is undisturbed. When working on a CPVC system, be careful not to move any existing pipe that will remain, and use an appropriate tool to cut old pipe (i.e. not shears). Occasionally you might run into CPVC fire sprinkler pipe that is distinctly orange in color. PVC will be white and CPVC more beige.

 

[rburke65]

A small water heager would be my guess….disclaimer…I’m not a plumber