Condo plumbing question

[Peter]

Hello all,

I live in a condo in Toronto, ON, Canada. Our condo was built in 2002. Each condo unit has it's own water heater/furnace room. In that room there is a drain, which I believe drains the relief line for the water tank and another line for the furnace.

I have also noticed that there is a small pipe that drains in there, as well. This small pipe releases water into the drain while we are showering. I have zero clue what the plumbing term is for this small pipe.

The reason I ask this is because recently it the small pipe has moved slightly and due to this, water will ricochet off the bottom of the drain and begins to build up on the floor of the room. We've also had some plumbing work done in the building recently, which has increase water pressure and, I believe, has made the water pressure in this small pipe increase.

So my questions are:
What is the name of this small water line that only runs while shower?
Is this something that is easy to shorten?
If it is easy to shorten, how high above the bottom of the drain should it sit? Currently it touches the drain "grate".

I am new here!

Thanks for your help.

 

[frodo]

that pipe is called a trap primer, when you use your shower it squirts a little water into the floor drain in your mechanical room, . the reason it does this is to keep water in the p trap that is beneath the floor drain.
the water seal on the ptrap stops sewer gas from entering the room and making it very smelly.

welcome to here

 

[justin_dewan90]

Pictures would help.

 

[Peter]

Thanks to the both of you for your responses. Keep in mind that the shower is like 20 feet away from here. I suspect they have a tap in somewhere in the pipe that services the shower? Here is what it looks like:

 

[justin_dewan90]

Reread frodos comment. That's all you need.

 

[Mr_David]

trap primer should be some where that has an access panel or attached to the water system in an accessible location.
Google images of trap primer might help you identify it when you see it.
They have a internal giggle valve that dribbles water when there is a slight pressure change in the system.
They shouldn't be squirting water out.

 

[Rossando]

Peter your on the right track. The water supply for your shower is tied into this trap primer which is on the cold line for your unit and ties into every fixture. Whenever you use any fixture you will this this occurs. You can change out the trap primer with a new one but first look for a small metal box that is the access panel. Hopefully you have a water shut off for your unit because condos here in California are cheap and never install any. We usually have to shut it down for the whole building to change a shower valve. Pretty ridiculous if you ask me.