Exam Cheat Sheet · Quick Reference
Kansas Journeyman Plumber with Gas Exam (ICC KGR, 2018 IPC/IFGC)
Kansas · Pearson Vue
Kansas State Portion 70 questions
Key Distinctions
A horizontal pipe or fitting makes an angle of less than 45 degrees with the horizontal plane (so 40 degrees is horizontal), while a vertical pipe makes an angle of 45 degrees or more with the horizontal.
IPC 2018 Chapter 2 — Section 202, definitions of Horizontal Pipe and Vertical PipeA stack vent is the extension of a soil or waste stack above the highest horizontal drain connected to that stack, whereas a vent stack is a vertical vent pipe installed primarily to provide circulation of air to and from the drainage system.
IPC 2018 Chapter 2 — Section 202, definitions of Stack Vent and Vent StackA plumbing appurtenance is an adjunct device that demands no additional water supply and adds no discharge load to a fixture or the drainage system, while devices dependent on energized components are plumbing appliances.
IPC 2018 Chapter 2 — Section 202, definitions of Plumbing Appurtenance and Plumbing ApplianceFull-open valves are required at system locations such as the discharge side of every water meter, the water supply pipe to every water heater, the entrance to the structure, and the base of every water riser (in occupancies other than multiple-family residential two stories or less and one- and two-family dwellings), while shutoff valves are the valves required at individual fixture supplies.
IPC 2018 Sections 606.1 and 606.2Shutoff valves are required on the supply to each plumbing fixture, except bathtubs and showers in one- and two-family residential occupancies and fixtures in individual sleeping units of hotels, motels and boarding houses that are provided with unit shutoff valves.
IPC 2018 Sections 606.1 and 606.2S-traps are prohibited with no exception, while drum traps are prohibited but excepted where used as solids interceptors or serving chemical waste systems.
IPC 2018 Section 1002.3Potable water-supplied trap seal primer valves conform to ASSE 1018, while ASSE 1044 covers waste water-supplied trap primer devices and ASSE 1072 covers barrier-type trap seal protection devices.
IPC 2018 Section 1002.4.1.1Under the longest length method every section and branch is sized from the table row for the system's longest run (not the branch's own short length), while under the branch length method each branch is sized using its own total length measured from the meter.
IFGC Section 402.4.1, Longest Length Method; Table 402.4(2), Schedule 40 Metallic Pipe (natural gas, 0.5 in. w.c. drop)Pot sinks, prerinse sinks and floor drains into which kettles are drained must discharge through a grease interceptor, but a food waste disposer shall not discharge to a grease interceptor.
IPC 2018 Section 1003.3.2Urinals shall not be substituted for more than 67 percent of required water closets in assembly and educational occupancies, while in all other occupancies the limit is 50 percent.
IPC 2018 Section 424.2The general exception threshold for omitting separate facilities is an occupant load of 15, while the business-occupancy exception applies where the maximum occupant load is 25 or fewer; at 30 occupants neither applies and separate facilities for each sex are required.
IPC 2018 Section 403.2 Exception 4The general 2-inch minimum of Section 413.3 applies to ordinary floor drains, but rooms containing automatic clothes washers in public coin-operated laundries and central washing facilities of multiple-family dwellings require floor drains with outlets not less than 3 inches in diameter.
IPC 2018 Chapter 4, Section 413.4 — Public Laundries and Central Washing FacilitiesA cast-iron drainage and vent system may be air tested at a uniform gauge pressure of 5 psi (or enough to balance a 10-inch mercury column) held not less than 15 minutes, but plastic piping shall not be tested with air.
IPC 2018 Chapter 3 — Section 312.3 Drainage and Vent Air TestDetached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses not more than three stories high with separate means of egress, plus their accessory structures, comply with the IRC, while buildings exceeding three stories and other occupancies such as hotels and apartment buildings remain under the IPC.
IPC 2018 Chapter 1 — Section 101.2 ScopeKey Terms
Formulas to Know
Capacity = 6 cu ft for the first 100 sq ft drained + 1 cu ft for each additional 100 sq ft (example: 500 sq ft → 6 + 4 = 10 cu ft; 400 sq ft → 6 + 3 = 9 cu ft)Capacity (gal) = peak drain flow (gpm) × 30-minute retention time (example: 40 gpm × 30 = 1,200 gallons)Depth = not less than 6 inches below the frost line and not less than 12 inches below grade (example: 18-in frost line → 18 + 6 = 24 inches)Greater of 18 inches, or (outermost front lip projection + 6 inches) measured from the finished backwall surface (example: 14 + 6 = 20 inches governs)cfh = Btuh ÷ 1,000; reverse: Btuh = cfh × 1,000 (example: 44 cfh × 1,000 = 44,000 Btuh)Section load = sum of the Btuh of all outlets served downstream ÷ 1,000 (examples: 40,000 + 35,000 + 100,000 = 175 cfh; past the last tee only the remaining appliance counts, e.g., 30,000 ÷ 1,000 = 30 cfh)Spare cfh = table capacity at that length − appliance demand (examples: 137 − 80 = 57; 117 − 40 = 77; 44 − 40 = 4; 237 − 230 = 7)Size every section and branch from the table row for the system's longest run length, not the branch's own length (example: a 5-ft or 12-ft branch is sized on the 50-ft or 70-ft row)Each branch uses its own developed length measured from the meter (example: 15 ft main to tee 1 + 8 ft branch = 23 ft → use the 30-ft row); mains on the longest run use that run's rowFemale occupant load = total occupant load ÷ 2, then divide by the table ratio (example: restaurant, 150 total → 75 females ÷ 75 per WC = 1 water closet)Threaded pressure rating = rated pressure reduced by 50 percent, and the pipe wall thickness shall be not less than Schedule 80