Master Plumber Tests

Excerpt from The Master Plumber Practice Exam Kit by R. Dodge Woodson, Master Plumber

Those who pass their plumbing exams for the designation of a master plumber have two options.  They can be one of the highest paid employees in a plumbing company.  For man, the most important benefit is having the ability to open their own full-service plumbing business on their own.  The income earned from such a venture can be fantastic.  In either case, master plumbers rule the roost in the plumbing trade.

All plumbing exams can be stressful.  None of them are easy.   Many of those who take them fail the exams on their first attempt.  Some states require a long waiting period, often months, before the test can be taken again if it is failed.  This makes it all the more crucial to be prepared to pass your plumbing exam on the first attempt.

I got my master plumber license in Virginia in 1979 on my first attempt.  Then I took tests for other states and passed all of them the first time around.  Of course, I used to study the code book in my work truck on my lunch break every day.  You have to be committed.  The trail to success is no cake walk in the plumbing trade...

If you don't care if you move up in the trade, the odds are that you will not.  You have to want it and you have to see the benefit to improving your licensing status.  I can tell you what to expect.  Providing you with sample exam questions is not difficult for me.  But it is all lost on anyone who doesn't want to succeed. 

If you want to pass your plumbing exam, you have come to the right place.  I am not only a 30-year veteran plumber, I have written countless books on plumbing for major publishers, which include interpretations of the major plumbing codes in the United States.  More importantly, I have trained countless people in a classroom and even more in the field who worked for my corporation.  I know how to prepare a person to step up to the next level of their plumbing career.

So, are you up for it? Do you want to pass your plumbing exam? Are you willing to do what it takes to walk out of the testing room confident that you passed the master plumber exam? I can give you the tools, but you will have to do the work.  But, I can make it a lot easier for you and give you a much better chance of being victorious your first time out of the gate at the exam site.

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The Master Plumber Practice Exam Kit includes sections on every major Master Plumbing Exam Top.  Here are five sample questions from the Water Heater Section:

1.  When you install a water heater, you are required to obtain a permit and have your work inspected by a code officer upon completion.  But, is a permit and inspection needed when you are merely replacing an existing water heater with a new one? The plumbing code requires _____________ when a water heater is simply being replaced in the exact location of the existing water heater.

a.  No permit

b.  A permit and inspection

c.  No permit, but does require a code officer to inspect the work

d.  A permit, but no code inspection of the work

Answer: b - The replacement of a water heater requires both a permit and a code inspection of the completed work. This may seem unusual since the replacement of plumbing fixtures in exact locations of the fixtures being replaced does not typically require a permit or a code inspection.  Since water heaters can pose a health and safety risk if they are not installed and protected properly the code requires both a permit and a code inspection.

2.  A master plumber can ___________.

a.  Install water heaters without supervision

b.  Can send a licensed journeyman plumber to install water heater with indirect supervision

c.  Allow apprentice plumbers to assist in the installation of water heaters as long as the apprentice is supervised directly be either a journeyman or master plumber

d.  All of the above

e.  Both a and c

Answer: d - Master plumbers have the authority under their license to install water heaters and other fixtures without supervision.  However, a job that requires a permit still requires the inspection of a code officer.  Journeyman plumbers work under the supervision of master plumbers but are not required to have direct supervision.  Master plumbers can authorize apprentice plumbers to work with journeyman or master plumbers in the installation of all forms of plumbing.

3.  Imagine that you are called upon to install a water heater for a triplex rental property.  The water heater will be used for domestic purposes. Which of the following is required for the satisfactory installation?

a.  An indirect waste and drain pan

b.  An indelibly stamped metal plate that is permanently attached to the water heater in a clear and conspicuous location that shows the maximum working pressure of the water heater       

c.  Pipe insulation on the inlet and outlet piping that extends a minimum of 18 inches above the water heater

d.  A stop and waste valve on the cold-water inlet pipe

e.  Both b and d

Answer: b - Water heaters for domestic use are to have the water heater's maximum working pressure clearly and indelibly attached in a permanent manner to the fixture. The most common means of this is a factory installed plate on the water heater.

4.  Third-party certification is required for all water heaters.

True / False

Answer: True - Water heaters must be third-party certified and should be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.

5.  Water heaters and water-heating systems for domestic hot water are required to be equipped with _____________.

a.  Ball valves on the outlet piping

b.  An automatic temperature control

c.  Drain pans

d.  1-inch diameter condensate drains for relief valves

Answer: b - When you are installing water heaters or water-heating systems for domestic hot water you must be sure that they are equipped with automatic temperature controls that are adjustable between the minimum and maximum allowable temperature ranges.

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