washing machine drain pan

mark123

Can the a safety pan under a washing machine be used as the primary drain. I was thinking if a trap was used under the pan and the washer's discharge hose could empty into the drain in the pan. It would have to be a loose, hose into pipe connection to allow the pan to drain if a leak occured. Other wise I assume a trap primer would be needed to keep water in the pans drain trap.

Just Bill

I don't think that will work. The pans are intended for minor leaks, not the full dump of washer pump, too much water.

COLDIRON

I wouldn't try it ..just like Bill said. And I believe the hose dump has to be so far off the floor due to siphoning.

Scuba_Dave

A washing machine can pump out 40-45g of water very quickly
Your "pan" would need to be big enough to hold all that water until it drains
That would be 30x30 by over 12" deep
Draining water is much slower then pumping water down a drain

AllanJ

Even though the washing machine outflow is gray water rather than black, consistently using the floor pan as part of the drain path is unsanitary. It would also lead to rusting out of the underbody of the machine.

Actually the standard washing machine drain pipe is gravity fed, hence the minimum diameter (2") and minimum height (18" above its trap outlet). The washing machine hose must never be sealed into the drain pipe otherwise the machine pump could get damaged if a blockage occurred.

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The average homeowner who lost his house in the Oklahoma tornadoes should move for good and not rebuild. Too much complexity watchdogging the contractor. Too much a chance to be defrauded.

mark123

Lets say you had a flange in the bottom of the pan with 1.5" abs and then a trap below it and then put the hose into the drain, the pan would never have any water on it unless there was a leak. Or how about using a common trap under the pan for the pan and for the normal drain behind the washer on the wall.

fabrk8r

I see major water damage in your future.

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mark123

OK, so what is the proper method of instalation? Do you need 2 seperate traps, one for the normal drain and 1 for the pan's drain? Does this mean you also need a trap primer for the pan's drain because it will evaporate?

braindead

This all depends on the area you live in, most don't want a pan tied into the sanitary system, they want it piped to an open trapped drain and not tied in solid, you then don't need a trap. If you can tie it into the sanitary you MIGHT need a trap primer, depends on the local jurisdiction.

AllanJ

The pan and a standard washing machine drain may not share a trap, otherwise every time the washing machine drained itself, some of the water will back up into the pan.

__________________
The average homeowner who lost his house in the Oklahoma tornadoes should move for good and not rebuild. Too much complexity watchdogging the contractor. Too much a chance to be defrauded.